Check List 19(6): 983-1011, doi: 10.15560/19.6.983
The mangal flora diversity of Del Carmen Forest on Siargao Island, Philippines
expand article infoGenea Nichole G. Cortez‡, Jorge Anton D. Ordas‡, Sarah Grace S. Zamudio‡§, Carmela Dawn D. Caguioa‡, Mary Ashley A. Rodriguez‡, Rosario R. Rubite|, Danilo N. Tandang, Cecilia B. Moran‡
‡ University of Santo Tomas, Manila, Philippines§ De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines| University of the Philippines Manila, Manila, Philippines¶ National Museum of the Philippines, Manila, Philippines

Corresponding author: Genea Nichole G. Cortez ( genea.cortez@gmail.com )

Academic editor: M. Nazre
© Genea Nichole G. Cortez, Jorge Anton D. Ordas, Sarah Grace S. Zamudio, Carmela Dawn D. Caguioa, Mary Ashley A. Rodriguez, Rosario R. Rubite, Danilo N. Tandang, Cecilia B. Moran.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation: Cortez GNG, Ordas JAD, Zamudio SGS, Caguioa CDD, Rodriguez MAA, Rubite RR, Tandang DN, Moran CB (2023) The mangal flora diversity of Del Carmen Forest on Siargao Island, Philippines. Check List 19(6): 983-1011. https://doi.org/10.15560/19.6.983
Open Access
Abstract
The municipality of Del Carmen, Siargao Island, hosts one of the Philippines’ most important contiguous mangrove stands. However, there is limited knowledge about the area’s floral assemblages and communities. Hence, we provide a comprehensive species list through exhaustive botanical explorations within its 11 barangays. We report 166 species in 145 genera and 73 families, of which 20 are true mangrove species. Twenty species are Philippine endemics, and seven are threatened based on the IUCN listing. The most dominant families in the area in terms of density are Rhizophoraceae and Rubiaceae, and the dominating species include Rhizophora mucronata Lam. and R. apiculata Blume. Our results exhibit a very high diversity for the entire municipality, with barangays Del Carmen and Katipunan demonstrating the highest diversity among the 11 barangays. We emphasize the value of floristic surveys as essential baseline information in formulating effective conservation and management strategies for these vital wetland ecosystems.
Keywords
Checklist, mangroves, Philippine biodiversity, protected area, Surigao del Norte, vegetation analysis