Distribution of invasive alien plant species, Bellucia pentamera, in forest conservation of oil palm plantation, West Sumatra, Indonesia

Abstract

Abstract. Solfiyeni, Mukhtar E, Syamsuardi, Chairul. 2022. Distribution of invasive alien plant species, Bellucia pentamera, in forest conservation of oil palm plantation, West Sumatra, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 23: 3667-3674. Bellucia pentamera has been found in disturbed forests across Indonesia, but little is known about how it spreads under its tree canopy. The spread of the invasive plant B. pentamera in the PT KSI conservation forest area was investigated. The goal of this research is to study B. pentamera's strategy for exploiting forest gaps horizontally and vertically on degraded forest vegetation invaded by B. pentamera at various degrees of invasion. An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and direct field mapping are used for the mapping approach. Aerial photographs revealed 40 B. pentamera trees and 32 non-B. pentamera trees in forest areas with varying degrees of B. pentamera invasion (based on the ratio of B. pentamera non-B. pentamera: dense and loose). Bellucia pentamera trees were distributed evenly in a large gap and randomly in a small gap/space between the canopy, whereas sapling and seedling B. pentamera trees were distributed in groups, uniformly and randomly, according to microhabitat conditions under the canopy of B. pentamera and non-tree trees. Bellucia pentamera seedlings and saplings were detected under the parent tree's canopy rather than in the canopy gaps. Different responses were seen in seedlings, saplings, and juvenile stages concerning the explanatory factors investigated and between the two stands. The purpose of the study was to determine the factors that influence the distribution of the B. pentamera species in conservation forest areas with different compositions of existence, both vertically and horizontally, using drones and direct measurements in the field.