Tree Diversity at La Mesa Watershed in Luzon, a Reforested Urban Watershed

The condition of a watershed is vital to its provision of goods and services. Unfortunately, in the Philippines, a lot of watersheds are degraded due to various causes like deforestation and mining. Restoration of these areas has been initiated through reforestation, with limited information generated on the impact of such practice to the overall tree diversity in the area. As such, a study was conducted at La Mesa Watershed (LMW), situated near an urban area, to determine the impact of reforestation on tree diversity.  Data were generated through a field inventory of trees following a stratified cluster sampling technique where the area was subdivided into three elevation classes (<100 masl, 100-150 masl and >150 masl) and a corresponding number of plots were established in each classes.  Results showed a relatively high diversity of native trees with 70 species of the total 92. Fourteen species are found to be endemic to the country while 7 species are listed in either the IUCN or Philippine Red List.. The current vegetation in LMW shows a rare success story of reforestation efforts in the country implemented through private-public partnerships.

 

Keywords: La Mesa Watershed, restoration, plant diversity, endemism, environmental services