Tree Health Assessment in the Urban Forests at the Municipalities of Adams, Dumalneg and Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte / Jan Lester M. Campañano

UTHESIS (Bachelor of Science In Forestry)

Bibliography: leaves 111 to 118

The study assessed the tree health in the urban forests at the municipalities of Adams, Dumalneg and Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte from March to May 2023. Specifically, it identified the site factors affecting the health of the trees and the health characteristics/status of the different species of trees within the vicinity of various establishments such as churches, parks, municipal halls, markets, schools and main roads; determined the pests/diseases affecting the health of the trees; and identified the most prevalent defect/disease/pest of the trees comprising the urban forests in the study areas. The study was undertaken through a field survey/documentation with 100 percent assessment of the trees in the urban forests at the municipalities of Adams, Dumalneg and Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte focusing on their health status. The study areas in Adams lies from 18.46272° N latitude and 18.46231° N and from 120.90133° E longitude to 120.90197° E longitude. Meanwhile, in Dumalneg, the study areas lies from 18.52203° N latitude to 18.52344° N latitude and from 120.80842° E longitude to 120.80603° E longitude. Moreover, the study areas in Pagudpud lies from 18.55861° N latitude to 18.56367° N latitude and from 120.78725° E longitude to 120.78669° E longitude. A total of 21 species belonging to xx 14 families were identified in Adams, while, a total of 31 species belonging to 17 families and 34 species belonging to 17 families were noted in Dumalneg and Pagudpud, respectively. The highest number of species was obtained from family Fabaceace with four species in Adams, nine in Dumalneg and eight in Pagudpud. Among the problems/defects noted, branch decay is the most prevalent, infecting 109 individual trees in Adams, 227 in Dumalneg and 149 in Pagudpud. The species which is highly infected is Small leaf mahogany. Information gathered from the MPDO of the tree municipalities revealed that pruning of urban trees is done only as needed in the municipality of Dumalneg and Pagudpud, while in Adams, pruning is only done when there is an undesirable part of the tree. Pruning is done to lessen falling leaves and branches, prevent damage to buildings, improve the tree's aesthetics, and for safety purposes. Geo-tagging of trees and their health conditions (dead, diseased/infected/defective, and healthy) in the study areas was done using a mobile phone with Global Positioning System (GPS) status application, while their location maps were prepared and exported using Quantum Geographic Information System (QGIS) software to generate base maps. Based on the results of the study, immediate treatment of the defective trees should be done and the trees which posed danger to the community should be eliminated immediately. Moreover, proper and intensive cultural management practices should be done to maintain and sustain the benefits that they provide. xxi Additionally, there should be more intensive social studies regarding cultural management practices applied on the tree species in the three municipalities.