ABSTRACT

A tropical forest in Mount Makiling, UP Los Banos and tropical

grassland in Putinglupa, Calamba were observed. Species in
both biomes were observed and recorded. Species found in
tropical rainforest is relatively higher than those found in
tropical grassland. There were 27 species found and identified
in tropical rainforest while in tropical grassland, there were
only 16 species. Logically, it can be stated that the rainforest
has higher diversity and evenness of species which is equal to
2.593 and 0.787, respectively. However, when it comes to
dominance, the grassland has greater value which is equal to
0.189 thus; its species diversity is low. The dominant species in
the tropical rainforest is Palosanto while Imperata cylindrica
dominated the grassland. There is no similar species that can
be found in both biomes which states that grassland would not
be dominated by the species found in the forest. As studied, in
tropical regions, there are repetitive disturbances that inhibit
succession. Thus, ecological succession is not likely to occur in
the type of grassland observed.
INTRODUCTION
To most ecologists, the term community means an assemblage of species
that occur together in the same place. Ecologists also agree that the species living
together within a community can interact strongly as consumers and resources or
as competitors. Some ecologists have asserted that the community is a unit of
ecological organization having recognizable boundaries and whose structure and
functioning are regulated by interactions among species. Others have regarded
the community as a loose assemblage of those species that can tolerate the
conditions of a particular place or habitat, but which has no distinct boundary
where one type of community meets another (Ricklefs, 2008).
Biomes are major communities of organisms that have a characteristic
appearance and that are distributed over a wide land area defined largely by
regional variations in climate. There are many ways to classify biomes, and

different ecologists may assign the same community to different biomes (Johnson
and Raven, 2002).
The tropical rainforest is s hot and moist biome found near the Earths
equator. 60 to 10 inches of precipitation which is fairly evenly distributed
throughout the year is received by tropical forests. Tropical rainforests become a
suitable environment for many plants and animals through the combination of
constant warmth and abundant moisture present in it. It also contains the
greatest biodiversity in the world having over 15 million species of plants and
animals.
Grassland biomes, on the other hand, are large open regions on Earth
that have a lot of grass hence, the name grassland. Bushes do not grow much in
grassland and the trees are commonly found near the rivers. Grasslands make up
almost of the Earths land surface. It rains between 10 to 30 inches per year in
this region. If there is more rain, trees will grow and the land would become a
forest but when there is lee rain, the land would become a desert thus; grasslands
are often located between deserts and forests.
Communities exist in a state of continuous flux. Organisms die and
others are born to take their places; energy and nutrients pass through the
community. Yet the appearance and composition of most communities do not
change appreciably over time. But when a habitat is disturbed the community
slowly rebuilds. Pioneering species adapted to disturbed habitats are successively
replaced by other species as the community attains its former structure and
composition. The sequence of changes initiated by disturbance is called
succession, and the ultimate association of species achieved is called a climax
community (Ricklefs, 2008).
This study was designed to determine if ecological succession is likely to
occur in grassland biome. It also aims to infer stages of ecological succession after
the study of grassland and forest communities and describe the structures of
tropical grassland communities through measures of species diversity and
dominance indeces. This study was conducted at Putinglupa, Calamba and Mount
Makiling, UP Los Baos on July and August, 2007.

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

There are studies focusing on species diversity. Samuel M. Scheiner, Stephen B.
Cox, Michael Willig, Gary G. Mittelbach, Craig Osenberg and Michael Kaspari
conducted a study regarding patterns of species diversity as a scale. It also
determines how, for a given set of species, the species-area curve varies with
respect to latitude or productivity. Critical is whether the relationship is scaleinvariant (i.e. the speciesarea curves for different levels of the third variable are
parallel), rank-invariant (i.e. the curves are non-parallel, but non-crossing within
the scales of interest) or neither, in which case the qualitative relationship is
scale-dependent. This recognition is critical for the development and testing of
theories explaining patterns of species richness because different theories have
mechanistic bases at different scales of action. Scale includes four attributes:
sample-unit, grain, focus and extent. Focus is newly defined here. Distinguishing
among these attributes is a key step in identifying the probable scale(s) at which
ecological processes determine patterns (Cox, et al. 2000)

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Trails in biomes, tropical grassland and rainforest, were made in order to
determine the species present. The data gathered were organized in Table 4C.1,
4C.2 and 4C.3.
(Insert table 4C.1 to 4C.3 here)
Primary forest refers to untouched, pristine forest that exists in its original
condition. This forest has been relatively unaffected by human activities. Primary
rainforest is often characterized by a full ceiling canopy and usually several layers
of understory. The ground floor is generally clear of heavy vegetation because the
full canopy allows very little light, necessary for plant growth, to penetrate.
Occasionally, when a canopy tree falls, a temporary "light gap" is opened in the
canopy, allowing growth of floor and understory species. Primary forest is the
most biologically diverse type of forest.
Secondary forest is rainforest that has been disturbed in some way, naturally or

unnaturally. Secondary forest can be created in a number of ways, from degraded

forest recovering from selective logging, to areas cleared by slash-and-burn
agriculture that have been reclaimed by forest. Generally, secondary forest is
characterized (depending on its level of degradation) by a less developed canopy
structure, smaller trees, and less diversity. Due to the lack of a full canopy, more
light will reach the floor, supporting vigorous ground vegetation. "Jungle" is the
term often applied to secondary forest with dense ground growth, but it is also
applied to some tropical moist forests where seasonal variations permit thick
ground growth.
Based on the information gathered, a secondary forest community will not
replace the grassland community because no type of species that covers up the
forest was found in the forest and in most tropical grasslands there are many
repeated disturbances like fire or agricultural practices that inhibit ecological
succession.

The community with higher diversity, evenness, and degree of dominance were
determined (see Table 4C.4). Results showed that tropical rainforest has higher
diversity (2.593) and evenness (0.787) as compared to the tropical grassland
(1.996 and 0.720, respectively). One property of diversity is that it ensures an
even community to have a greater index of diversity than one, in which the
community is dominated by one or few of them n which case its diversity in the
intuitive sense would be less (Pielou, 1975). However, when it comes to
dominance, the tropical grassland has higher value (0.189) than that of rainforest
(0.131). The degree of dominance was computed by using the Simpson Index of
dominance. It takes a different approach- the number of times we would have to
take pairs of individuals at random to find a pair of the same species. Dominants
in a community may be the most numerous, possess the highest biomass, preempt the most space, make the largest contribution to energy flow or mineral
cycling, or by some other means, control or influence the rest of the community
(Smith and Smith, 2006). A community dominated by one or two species is
considered to be less diverse than one in which several different species have a
similar abundance.

The species, Imperata cylindrica and Mimosa, are found to be common in

grassland. Grass is a very successful plant because it can survive the harshest
conditions. Unlike most plants, grasses grow from the base, not the top. Creeping
stems above the ground are called stolons, and those below the ground are called
rhizomes. As these creeping stems spread out, shoots grow up and produce
leaves. The deep, spreading root systems make sure that even in drought; the
plants are able to get water. Long narrow leaves like grass do not lose as much
water in the heat as big leaves do. Grass can be cut quite close to the ground, and
new leaves (blades of grass) sprout from the base of the plant. This means that
grasses can be eaten and walked on by animals and are not killed.
Trees and shrubs have been observed to be rare in tropical grasslands. The
variable rainfall is not enough to support large trees but is sufficient for many
species of grass (Asis and Velasquez, 1993).
Trees, especially Palosanto, and shrubs turned out to be common in forest. In
sharp contrast, the climate of the tropical rainforest is hot and wet. With over 80
inches of rain per year, as opposed to the desert's 10 inches or less, plants
have adaptations that enable them to shed water efficiently. The leaves of many
rainforest plants have drip tips for this purpose. Buttress and stilt roots are
thought to provide extra support for trees growing in spongy, wet soils.
Tropical rainforest plants also have adaptations to take in what little sunlight is
available on the dark forest floor. Large leaves are common; they increase the
amount of sunlight a plant can capture. Other plants, like orchids, bromeliads and
ferns, grow as epiphytes high up in the canopy where there is more sunlight.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
To determine if ecological succession is likely to occur in grassland, an experiment
was conducted using two types of biomes: the tropical grassland in Putinglupa,
Calamba and the tropical rainforest in Mount Makiling, UP Los Baos. A belttransect (10m x 30m) and a line transect (30m) were laid out on the tropical
rainforest and tropical grassland, respectively. The species found in these areas

were identified and recorded in tables. There are 27 species in the belt-transect of
rainforest while 16 species present in the transect line of the grassland. Using the
same data, the indices of diversity were computed and results showed that the
rainforest has: H= 2.593, J= 0.787, D= 0.131, SID= 0.869, E= 0.032 while the
grassland has: H= 1.996, J= 0.720, D= 0.189, SID= 0.811, E= 0.051. Based on the
values computed, the rainforest has the higher diversity of species than the
grassland. The Palosanto and shrubs dominates the forest and the Imperata
cylindrica and Mimosa dominates the grassland. The species found in the two
biomes are completely different. These differences may be due to the distance of
the biomes observed. Ecological succession will most likely not occur in grassland
because no species in the rainforest will dominate or occur on it. If the study
would be changed and choose biomes near to each other, the chances of having
same species will increase. As studied, in tropical regions, the grasslands would
not exhibit ecological succession because it would be inhibited by repetitive
disturbances like agricultural practices or fire. Thus, ecological succession would
not occur in grassland.
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