The influence of edaphic factors on bamboo population in Mount Baung Natural Tourist Park, Pasuruan, East Java, Indonesia

Abstract

Sofiah S, Setiadi D, Widyatmoko D. 2018. The Influence of Edaphic Factors on Bamboo Population in Mount Baung Natural Tourist Park, Pasuruan, East Java. Trop Drylands 2: 12-17. There are 1250 bamboo species in the world, an estimated 161 of them are in Indonesia. Mount Baung Natural Tourist Park (MBNTP) is one of the bamboo forests located in a conservation area in East Java. The purpose of this research was to study the influence of edaphic factors on the growth of bamboo. This research was carried out from September 2011 to May 2012. The principal component analysis (PCA) was performed to determine the relationships between edaphic components and bamboo occurrences. Seven species of bamboo were found in MBNTP, namely, Bambusa blumeana, Bambusa vulgaris, Dendrocalamus asper, Schizostachyum iraten, Gigantochloa atter, Gigantochloa apus, and Dinochloa matmat. The edaphic factors affected the presence of bamboo in MBNTP. Phosphor (P) is one of the edaphic factors which contributes significantly to B. blumeana, B. vulgaris, D. asper and S. iraten presence in MBNTP. These bamboos grow in soil with high P levels of up to 27 ppm. The existence of G. apus was influenced by Manganese (Mn) and Sodium (Na) elements. This bamboo in this area was more commonly found in soil environments with low levels of Na (< 0.02 (cmol (+) kg-1)) and Mn (≤ 24 ppm). The species of bamboo with the densest population in Mount Baung, namely B. blumeana, was influenced by environment factor, i.e., the slope. Each bamboo has its own uniqueness in its growth. G. apus and G. atter populations were affected by solar radiation.