KAJIAN HABITAT DAN POPULASI PASAK BUMI (Eurycoma longifolia Jack) DI BLOK BARAT KAWASAN HUTAN KONSERVASI PT SABHANTARA RAWI SENTOSA, KUTAI TIMUR, KALIMANTAN TIMUR

Abstract

Pasak bumi ( Eurycoma longifolia Jack) is an Indonesian native plant species and widely used for its medicinal properties from generation to generation. The demand for this medicinal plant is increasing, both nationwide and worldwide. In contrary to the increasing demands, there are no plantations or such efforts to cultivate this plant to meet commercial needs. Thus, people fulfil the demands by harvesting the plants from its natural habitats in forests. In addition to this lack, there have been forest conversions into other uses such as mining, oil palm plantations and other uses. All those facts result in the decrease of pasak bumi population in the wild, and become the threats for the existence of this species. This study aims to observe the habitat and population of Eurycoma longifolia Jack in its natural habitat at the western block of the conservation forest of PT Sabhantara Rawi Sentosa in Kutai Timur, East Kalimantan. The study applied a transect survey method, comprising five transect lines, each transect contains 10 plots. The results showed that wild population of E. longifolia on the research site was very low. Only one seedling of E. longifolia found in the observation plots, however there were several individuals growing outside the observation plots. Heavy exploitation of the plant and forest conversion into other uses caused the population decrease. Researches to provide bases for commercial plantation of the E. longifolia are strongly recommended to ensure the existence of the species.