Keragaman Epifit, Karakteristik Pohon Inang dan Potensi Pemanfaatannya di Kampus Universitas Sumatera Utara (USU), Padang Bulan

Abstract

Epiphytes are one of the plant groups that form forest communities and have a considerably large species diversity. Epiphytes are characterized by the fact that they continue living attached to plants, are not rooted in soil, are smaller in size than host plants, and are not harmful to host plants. Epiphytic plants have an important role in the ecosystem including as a habitat for various animals. Epiphytes also have an important and very interesting role to show structural adaptation to their habitat. This study aims to identify epiphytic species, host tree species, threatened and utilization status of epiphytes at the University of Sumatera (USU) Campus. Data collection was carried out using the census method with exploration of host trees overgrown by epiphytic plants. In this study epiphytic morphology, host tree characteristics (height, diameter, bark thickness, bark roughness, branching angle, number of branches), epiphyte position on the tree, benefits and threat status were observed and measured. To analyze the correlation between host tree characters and epifit distribution pearson correlation were used. The results showed that 12 epiphytes and 52 host trees species were found. Based on its characteristics, epiphytes have a tendency for certain tree characters, but based on pearson correlation, tree height, tree diameter, tree bark thickness, number of branches, and branching angles have low correlation with epiphytes distribution. The founded epiphytes have various benefits as materials for medical purposes, decoration, and food ingredients. Only Rumohra adiantiformis is included in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list with the status of least concern (LC) while 11 other epiphytic species have not been included in the red list. The Shanon Wiener index shows a relatively low value of species diversity. Therefore, conservation measures by enriching host tree species in accordance with the characteristics of epiphytic plants need to be carried out to increase the diversity of epiphytes on the USU campus.