Structure and Dominance of Secondary Forest Vegetation at the Coal Mine Plan Location, East Kalimantan, Indonesia

Andi Yusuf; Nisrina Putri Hanifah

doi:10.33541/pro-life.v13i2.8160

Authors

Andi Yusuf Program Studi Pengolahan hasil Hutan, Jurusan Lingkungan dan Kehutanan, Politeknik Pertanian Negeri Samarinda, Samarinda, Indonesia.
Nisrina Putri Hanifah Program Studi Pengolahan hasil Hutan, Jurusan Lingkungan dan Kehutanan, Politeknik Pertanian Negeri Samarinda, Samarinda, Indonesia.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33541/pro-life.v13i2.8160

Keywords:

Vegetation structure, species dominance, Importance Value Index, secondary forest

Abstract

This study documents vegetation biodiversity in the secondary forest area of the PT Alhasanie coal mining concession, East Kalimantan, Indonesia, as part of the pre-mining environmental baseline survey. Surveys were conducted in 2024 using a systematic nested plot design, "strip plot," across four vegetation strata: tree DBH ≥20 cm; pole DBH 10–19.9 cm; sapling height ≥1.5 m; DBH <10 cm; and seedling (height <1.5 m). Species composition and community structure were quantified using the Importance Value Index (IVI). A total of 32 plant species were recorded. Paraserianthes falcataria dominated the tree stratum (IVI = 149.98), Macaranga gigantea dominated both the pole (IVI = 97.59) and sapling (IVI = 115.45) strata, and Eupatorium odoratum dominated the seedling stratum (IVI = 44.57). Across all strata, the vegetation is overwhelmingly composed of pioneer, disturbance-adapted, and invasive species; Dipterocarpaceae are virtually absent from the upper strata and represented only by a single Shorea leprosula individual in the sapling layer. These findings confirm a severely disturbed young secondary forest with a clear history of shifting cultivation and land encroachment—no protected species under Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry Regulation No. P.106/MENLHK/SETJEN/KUM.1/12/2018 were recorded. The survey results serve as the reference condition for environmental impact assessment and provide the ecological foundation for post-mining land rehabilitation planning.

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