| Summary, etc. |
The study assessed the floral diversity of selected urban forests in the City of Batac and the Municipality of Dingras, Ilocos Norte, from April to May 2023. It determined the plant species composition present in the selected urban forest; their relative density, frequency, dominance, and importance value as well as the species richness, abundance, diversity index, size classification, height classification, their taxonomic status, conservation, and soil characteristics. It also figure out the geographic coordinates of tree species found in the study area. A total of 403 individuals (294 trees, 89 palms and 20 shrubs) belonging to 37 species and 17 families were recorded in the City of Batac while 413 individuals (353 trees, 57 palms, and 3 shrubs) belonging to 36 species and 20 families in the Municipality of Dingras. Fabaceae recorded the highest number of species with Big leaf mahogany as the most abundant species, both in the City of Batac and Dingras. The study areas were dominated by small-sized species and half of the plant species are 5-9m tall. Twenty-five plant species found in the urban forests of the City of Batac are exotic while 12 are indigenous, while 24 species are exotic and 12 indigenous are found in Dingras. Three species: Big-leaf mahogany, Narra and Manila palm were categorized as vulnerable, and one critically endangered – Bottle palm. xix In the City of Batac, Big-leaf mahogany recorded the highest RD (20.84%), while Mangga had the highest RF (8.75%), Rdom (37.66%), and IV (60.06%). On the other hand, in Dingras, Big-leaf mahogany recorded the highest RD (47.94%), RF (10.13%), RDom (86.51%) and IV (144.58%). The Species Diversity Index (SDI) of the selected urban forests both in the City of Batac and Dingras was categorized as moderately low and low level, with SDI value of 2.80 and 2.26, respectively. Both study sites have neutral soil pH (6.7 and 6.8), low OM and N soil content, high phosphorus and sufficient potassium content. On one hand, geo-tagging of trees in the study area was done using a mobile phone with GPS-tool application (GPS Status) while their location maps were plotted on an image map using the Aeronautical Reconnaissance Coverage Geographic Information System (ARCGIS). |