Vegetation analysis of the Forest Park of Pocut Meurah Intan (THRPMI), Seulawah Subdistrict, Aceh Besar, Aceh Province

A study entitled “Vegetation Analysis of the Forest Park of Pocut Meurah Intan, Seulawah Subdistrict of Aceh Besar, Aceh Province” has been conducted since April 2019 until November 2019. A transect method and squares were used in this study. The transect method was used to record species composition throughout the observation stations (inventory of species), including stands of pine (Pinus merkusii) with ten stations transect, stands of eucalyptus (Eucalyptus urophylla), stands of cacao (Theobroma cacao), and natural forests within a radius of 2 km around the THRPMI office. The squares method was used to record the species in the same locations to replicate each station by ten squares of samples for vegetation analysis. The parameters measured in the field were frequency, density, and dominance of each species. Analysis of vegetation covered Importance Values (IV), Diversity Index (H ’), and the Similarity Index (SI). Results showed that there were 49 familia found with the composition of species in the entire observation stations comprising of 111 species with 58 species of trees, 12 species of shrubs, and 41 species of herbs. Additionally, the results showed that the species of vegetation with the highest IV were coarse grass (Imperata cylindrica), lawn pait (Axonopus compresus), and selasi (Vernonia cinerea) with IV of 72.01, 65.34, and 57.24, respectively. Results of analysis Species Diversity Index (H ’) showed that the Pinus merkusii had H’ of 2,134, whereas Eucalyptus urophylla had H ’of 1.965, and Theobroma cacao had H’ of 1,067. The results of the analysis of Community Similarity Index showed that all stations had the same relative SI of 75%. It can be concluded that the species composition of the study area dominated by tree species, species diversity index (H ’) in all observation stations varied ranging from 1.067 to 2.134, and the relative Community Similarity Index was 75%.

Morphological variation of Aceh Pinus (Pinus merkusii)

The genus Pinus is classified as one of the most widely distributed genera of conifer trees, that are majorly distributed in the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Pinus merkusii is the only member of the genus Pinus that is adapted in the tropics and grows naturally in south Equator. Its natural distribution found through-out Southeast Asia, e.g. in Indonesia; particularly on Sumatran Island. Three native strains are known on Sumatra: Aceh, Kerinci, and Tapanuli; with the first one is known as the largest population among the three and grows naturally on the high altitudes. The wood has been utilized in building construction, while the resin collected is classified as one of the most valuable Non Timber Forest Products (NTFP) worth up to US $ 50 million/year and applied in many industries. Planting of citron grass (Cymbopogon sp.) has been ’booming’ over the past seven years in the middle regions of Aceh due to its attractive selling price. As consequences, many Pinus trees have been logged and demanded as fire woods in the distillation process of citron grass. Thus, the citron grass’ plantation has been directly threatening the existence of Pinus forests. Therefore, in-situ conservation effort should be started from now on. Here, we would like to report the morphological variation (N= 15 traits) of natural Pinus (e.g., plant height, diameter of main stem, number of crowns per branch, etc.). The morphological data collected were then analysed with the Principal Component Analyses (PCA), in order to cluster the major agronomical parameters among them. This morphological data would be complemented and benefitted the efforts in the genetic study of Aceh Pinus.

The Efficacy of Pine Wood Pellets reinforced with Active Hexaflumuron Against the Subterranian Termite Coptotermes curvignathus Holmgren

Bait formulation using hexaflumuron is the most used baiting techniques because it is relatively friendly to the environment. One of the potential wood species for bait formulation for termites is pine wood. The resin in pine wood can reduce termites preference. Therefore, the resin contained in pine wood needs to be reduced so that the level of termites preference for pine wood can be increased. This study aims to determine the efficacy of the bait formulation in the form of pellets from pine wood (Pinus merkusii Jungh er de Vries) which was pre-treated with presto (0.4 bar, 100 °C) for one, two, three, four, and five hours with active hexaflumuron (0.25%) against subterranean termites Coptotermes curvignathus. Pine wood chips were treated with presto for one hour, two hours, three hours, four hours, and five hours. The treated pine wood chips then made into sawdust by 40-60 mesh. Pine sawdust then added with hexaflumuron (0.25%) and formed into pellets without adding any adhesive material and then fed to the subterranean termites C. curvignathus (JIS K 1571: 2010). Solid pine wood used as a control sample. The result showed that palatability of formulation pellet bait with active hexaflumuron (14.33%) was higher than solid pine wood (6.58%). The formulation of pellet bait with 0.25% active hexaflumuron with presto pre-treatment was able to eliminate C. curvignathus termites.

Polyphenol contents and free radical scavenging activity of Pinus merkusii cone

This study aimed to investigate the polyphenol contents from the Pinus merkusii cone extract and their antioxidant activity. The cone powder (40 mesh) was extracted with n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and methanol successively for six hours. The cone of n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and methanol soluble extracts was subjected to total tannin content, total phenol content, total flavonoid content, and antioxidant measurements. The polyphenol contents were measured through the colorimetric method, while antioxidant activity was observed by inhibition of the DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) method. The results showed that total tannin content, total phenol content, total flavonoid content, and antioxidant activity of methanol soluble extract was higher than ethyl acetate and n-hexane soluble extracts. In this study, the high antioxidant activity of methanol soluble extract (IC50 of 196.73±13.93 ppm) might due to the high concentration of total phenol content (545.38±54.07 mg GAE/g sample). It was suggested that the P. merkusii cone is potential as the antioxidant source.