Orchids diversity on six forest types in Wasur National Park, Merauke, Papua, Indonesia

Abstract

Orchidaceae is one of the two largest families of flowering plants. Wasur National Park is the habitat of many orchid species and one of the in-situ conservation areas in Papua that is very suitable for orchids. This research aimed to determine the orchid species in Seksi Pengelolaan Taman Nasional Wilayah III (SPTN III) Wasur, Wasur National Park, Merauke District, Papua Province, Indonesia and to determine the distribution of orchid species in six different types of forest. This research was conducted using the exploratory method. A total of 25 orchid species belonging to 11 genera have been identified from SPTN III Wasur. Monsoon forest is the type of forest with the highest number of orchid species, with 15 orchid species. It is followed by savanna with ten species, Melaleuca forest with ten species, woodland forest with nine species, riparian forest with six species, and Melaleuca-Eucalyptus forest with 5 species. Dendrobium smillieae and Dendrobium rigidum are the most widely distributed epiphytic orchid species, and occur in almost all forest types. However, the terrestrial orchids, Geodorum densiflorum and Apostasia wallichii, are only found in the monsoon forest.