International Journal of Tropical Drylands

Ecological change detection in PT. Semen Gresik Rembang, Indonesia (limestone mining) activities between 2016 to 2022

Fri, 02 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Abstract. Hanum U, Dianti, Safitri RN, Pratiwi VMR, Hermawan WG, Indrawan M, Setyawan AD. 2024. Ecological change detection in PT. Semen Gresik Rembang, Indonesia (limestone mining) activities between 2016 to 2022. Intl J Trop Drylands 8: 59-68. Limestone mining, such as at the PT. Semen Gresik Rembang (Persero) Tbk in Rembang District, East Java Province, Indonesia, impacts long-term environmental changes. One way to minimize environmental impacts due to mining activities is through remote sensing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to determine the dynamics of landscape management. This study aims to assess ecological changes due to the cement industry or limestone mining activities in Rembang between 2016 to 2022, the assessment was carried out by considering the dynamics of land use-land cover (LULC), and measuring the emergence of water bodies and the dynamics of vegetation productivity. The data used includes Landsat 7 ETM+ satellite image data in 2016 and three Landsat 8 OLI/ TIRS satellite image data in 2018, 2020, and 2022 with a 30 m spatial resolution. Therefore, satellite image data is collected before image processing, including correction, band merging, and cropping. The maximum likelihood image classification technique was used to analyze the dynamics of land use, land cover, and the growth of water bodies. Changes in vegetation productivity were analyzed with NDVI. In the LULC analysis, an accuracy test has been conducted with satisfactory results of more than 0.81. In the occurrence of water bodies with LULC analysis, it is known that there is a possible occurrence of water bodies in the form of ex-mining ponds. During the vulnerable years of 2016 to 2022, it is known that the area of the water body increased by 5.26 hectares. The vegetation productivity results show that those area's productivity is improving; the increase in water body cover is associated with decreased vegetation land cover by 18.58 hectares and open land cover by 8.71 hectares. The increase in mining land coverage between 2016 and 2022 is 38.07 hectares; meanwhile, the increase in built-up land area from 2016 to 2022 also increased by 15.88 hectares. Thus, remote sensing and GIS can be used to determine the dynamics of landscape management in an area.

Checklist of microfungi of Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary, Karnataka, India

RASHMI DUBEY, SHREYA SENGUPTA CHATTERJEE, AMIT D. PANDEY — Fri, 27 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Abstract. Dubey R, Chatterjee SS, Pandey AD. 2024. Checklist of microfungi of Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary, Karnataka, India. Intl J Trop Drylands 25: 69-82. Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary (BRT WLS) situated at the confluence of Eastern and Western Ghats, India, exhibits a unique blend of climatic and ecological conditions that support a rich and diverse biota. The present study aims to investigate its microfungal diversity and was conducted from 2014 to 2016. Fungi were collected from various substrates including plant litter, living leaves, and rhizospheric soil (rs). Identification of these fungi involved routine microscopic techniques, supplemented by advanced Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) for rare and novel fungi. The study resulted in a significant checklist of a total of 290 fungal isolates, categorized into 164 species across 114 genera. Among these, five taxa were newly discovered, including 1 new genus viz., Biligiriella S. Sengupta & Rashmi Dubey along with its type species Biligiriella indica S. Sengupta & Rashmi Dubey; and 3 other new species viz., Colemaniella biligiriensis Rashmi Dubey & S. Sengupta, Elotespora indica Rashmi Dubey & S.S. Chatterjee, Sporidesmium biligiriense Rashmi Dubey & S. Sengupta.

Survey of the butterflies (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera) species of the northern coast of East Java, Indonesia

AGUS SHOUMUL AROF, FELIPE FRANCISCO BARBOSA — Tue, 10 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Abstract. Arof AS, Barbosa FF. 2024. Survey of the butterflies (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera) species of the northern coast of East Java, Indonesia. Intl J Trop Drylands 8: 83-94. The cosmopolitan order Lepidoptera Linnaeus, 1758, is one of the major orders of hexapods and a megadiverse clade of holometabolous insects. Within this order is included, the mostly diurnal butterflies (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera: Papilionoidea sensu Kawahara and Breinholt 2014). The worldwide butterfly species richness is estimated to be ~18,768 species, distributed in ~1,815 genera and seven families. This group presents well-known ecologically important species that may serve as bioindicators. They are relatively well-studied, particularly in temperate biomes, although considerable gaps in information persist in tropical areas. The study area is classified as a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forest biome, specifically in the Eastern Java-Bali rain forests ecoregion in the Indo-Malayan realm, and is classified as a critical or endangered biome. More specifically, this area is located on the Java island, East Java province (Oriental Java), northern coast. Also, it is part of Sundaland, which is considered one of the major biodiversity hotspots. From October 2016 to August 2024, twice at a weekly, the authors employed the exploring method along with a visual encounter survey, observing, capturing, and documenting the species encountered to access the species composition. This study covers 126 species belonging to 85 genera, 41 tribes, and 17 subfamilies of five families, and this distribution in the frequency of species among families broadly reflects the global distribution of species of butterflies. This is the first field investigation to study the butterfly richness specifically on the northern coast of East Java. The present study contributes to the knowledge of the butterfly fauna in the Indonesian archipelago. Additionally, this study contributes to future studies of the conservation of biodiversity in this key endangered region. Moreover, this study can be the first step towards future studies focusing on community ecology, population dynamics, and the use of butterflies as bioindicators in the northern coast of East Java.

Unveiling the interplay between tree stand attributes, species diversity, and biomass carbon in Chunati Wildlife Sanctuary, Southeastern Bangladesh

Mon, 16 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Abstract. Rakib MH, Hossain SMS, Sadnan MWM, Chowdhury MIH. 2024. Unveiling the interplay between tree stand attributes, species diversity, and biomass carbon in Chunati Wildlife Sanctuary, Southeastern Bangladesh. Intl J Trop Drylands 8: 95-105. Biodiversity plays a pivotal role in maintaining ecosystem health and resilience, especially in tropical forest landscapes. This study investigates the intricate relationships between stand structure, biodiversity indices, and biomass carbon within forest ecosystems, specifically focusing on the Chunati Wildlife Sanctuary (CWS), a tropical forestland in Southeastern Bangladesh. The key structural attributes, i.e. tree height, diameter at breast height (DBH), basal area, and stand density, as well as biodiversity indices, were analyzed to understand their correlations with biomass carbon. The study exhibits the measured soil carbon levels ranging from 35.26 to 93.26 Mg C ha^-1 and tree biomass carbon from approximately 131.13 to 387.23 Mg C ha^-1. The findings revealed a strong positive correlation between tree height and biomass carbon (R² = 0.6517), indicating that taller trees generally store more carbon due to enhanced photosynthesis. Notably, DBH exhibited a robust correlation (R² = 0.8683), highlighting the significance of larger trees as carbon sinks. The basal area emerged as the strongest predictor of biomass carbon, with an impressive correlation (R² = 0.9119). The Shannon-Wiener and Margalef's richness indices had moderate to strong correlations with biomass carbon (R² = 0.4473 and R² = 0.5663) respectively. These results underscore the importance of maintaining diverse and structurally complex forests for effective carbon sequestration. The future study should incorporate additional ecological variables to refine models for predicting forest carbon dynamics with the vast change in tropical landscapes and inform better conservation strategies, leading to tropical biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation efforts on tropical landscapes.

Trees outside forest for Chure dry land conservation in Makawanpur District, Nepal

SANDESH BOLAKHE, PRAMOD GHIMIRE, PRASHANT PAUDEL, UCHITA LAMICHHANE — Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Abstract. Bolakhe S, Ghimire P, Paudel P, Lamichhane U. 2024. Trees outside forest for Chure dry land conservation in Makawanpur District, Nepal. Intl J Trop Drylands 8: 106-113. Trees outside forest (TOF) are considered as a potential strategy to meet the needs for timber, fuel wood, fodder and fruits of growing population and crop diversification to address land management problems and ecological concerns. In this backdrop, this study attempts to explore the contribution of TOF to Chure dry land conservation in Hetauda Sub-metropolitan City, Nepal. Field observation, household surveys (n=123), and in-depth discussions with local key informants were conducted to extract information about TOFs. The study documented 27 species of trees outside forest. About 19 species were present per household distributed on different locations like home gardens, terrace raisers, borderlands etc. More than 80% of these trees found on farmlands were planted, and only a few were naturally retained. Fruit trees (jackfruit and mango) dominated, followed by fodder (Litsea and Ficus) and other multipurpose species. Among the naturally regenerated trees, multipurpose species were abundant (>45%) and myriad fruit species (>60%) were seen among those planted. TOFs contributed to more than 40% of annual demands for fuel wood, fodder and bedding materials, whereas timber and poles are extracted in comparatively less amount. Almost all of the respondents agreed upon the positive impacts of TOFs on crop production, greenery enhancement and adaptation against drought. More than 90% of the respondents were positive about enhancing TOF for land productivity optimization and reducing pressure on forest to conserve fragile ecosystem of Chure dry land.

Short Communication: Diversity of fauna and local wisdom of Somopuro Cave, Pacitan District, East Java, Indonesia

Wed, 22 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Abstract. Sholiqin M, Mahendra AS, Waskito DN, Fathoni MFM, Maheswara VD, Indrawan M, Junaedi E, Setyawan AD. 2024. Short Communication: Diversity of fauna and local wisdom of Somopuro Cave, Pacitan District, East Java, Indonesia. Intl J Trop Drylands 8: 114-125. Karst is an area that has a remarkable landscape and hydrological pattern that is formed from a combination of rock properties that have a high level of solubility and well-developed secondary porosity. This research aims to determine the diversity of fauna and local wisdom in the Somopuro Cave karst area, Pacitan, East Java, Indonesia. The sampling was conducted in December 2023. The method used was direct observation and interviews regarding animals and the local wisdom of the local people. The fauna sampling technique and local wisdom are combining hand collection with trap method, direct count and in-depth interviews with Somopuro Cave sources. Data analysis used the formulas for the Shannon Wiener diversity, Evenness Index, Dominance Index, Species Richness Index, and local wisdom analysis through interviews with residents. The animal species obtained includes Actinopterygii (Barbodes binotatus, Poecilia reticulata, Barbonymus gonionotus, and Channa striata), mammals (Eonycteris spelaea and Limnogonus bonaparte), crustacea (Cardisoma carnifex and Paneaus merguiensis), arthropods (Limnogonus fossarum, Phrynus exsul, and Diestrammena heinrichi), Amphibians (Fejervarya cancrivora), and Mollusca (Faunus ater). The calculation results obtained a Diversity Index value of 1.26 in the medium diversity category, Evenness Index (0.45) in the medium evenness category, Dominance Index (0.44) in the low dominance category, and Species Richness Index (2.46) in the low species richness category. The value of fauna species diversity is still low in the community, and low dominance indicates balanced competition between fauna populations. The local wisdom found in Somopuro Cave is Tapa Mangsa which means meditating in a special month and makes the cave considered sacred and mystical. This action aims to gain peace, maintain the surrounding environment, and preserve the ecosystem so that it is not exploited or damaged by humans. The development of the modern era has made the community's analogy towards this belief decline so that currently, there is a lot of use of fauna resources in the cave by the community.