The Composition and Important Value Index of Trees for Wildlife Feed in Bacan Island, South Halmahera

Abstract

Forests provide protection, food, and habitats for wild animals such as monkeys, birds, bats, squirrels, and weasels that depend on the fruits and seeds from the trees. Due to human's activities, the functions of the forest in Bacan Island have decreased significantly in terms of numbers, kinds, and important value index. Local people have conversed forests into agricultural lands. As a result, the existence of natural resources especially trees, which supply nutrients for wild animals such as monkeys, birds, bats, squirrels and weasels, is being threatened. The current study aimed to investigate the composition and important value index of every type of plants used for wildlife feed. An inventory method was employed in plots of 20 m × 20 m for tree-level observation. This method would be useful to obtain the list of plant composition for wildlife feed and to determine some vegetation parameters including the density, domination, frequency, and important value index of the plants. This research showed that Duobanga moluccana, Drancontomelon dao, Bacacaurea anguilata Merr, Theobroma cacao, Mangifera indica, Canarium casferum, Myristica fatua and Myristica sperciosa are the composition of plants that could supply nutrients for the wild animals. The highest important value index (IVI) (52.78%) was observed in Drancontomelon dao. Medium IVI which ranged from (31.47-44.42%) was reported by Duobanga moluccana, Bacacaurea anguilata Merr, Theobroma cacao, Canarium casferum, Myristica fatua and Myristica sperciosa. Meanwhile, the lowest IVI (29.52%) was found in Mangifera indica.