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Infeksi pada rongga mulut terutama di saluran akar gigi sering dialami oleh orang Indonesia, dan salah satu penyebabnya adalah bakteri Enterococcus faecalis. Tanaman yang potensial sebagai anti bakteri adalah dari dua species Macaranga yaitu merkubung (Macaranga gigantea) dan mangpurang (Macaranga triloba). Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis kandungan metabolit sekunder ekstrak kulit kayu dari dua species Macaranga dan kemampuannya dalam menghambat pertumbuhan bakteri faecalis. Metode penelitian yang dilakukan adalah pembuatan serbuk, pengukuran kadar air serbuk, penghitungan rendemen ekstrak, uji fitokimia dan pengujian aktivitas anti bakteri E. faecalis. Rendemen ekstrak etanol kulit kayu M. gigantea adalah 9,18% (KA 9,15%) dan M. triloba sebesar 9,70% (KA 8,56%). Ekstrak positif mengandung fenolik, tanin, saponin, terpenoid, flavonoid dan alkaloid. Level konsentrasi 100 mg/mL merupakan konsentrasi terbaik dari kedua jenis ekstrak untuk menghambat pertumbuhan bakteri E. faecalis, namun diantara kedua jenis ekstrak tersebut yang terbaik dalam menghambat pertumbuhan E. faecalis adalah M. gigantea.

Trade-offs in wood anatomical characteristics reflect different strategies used by trees to deal with water transport in response to variation in environmental conditions. To study vascular strategies for Bornean rainforest trees, we compared water transport-related anatomical characteristics in branch wood between the common tree species Vatica dulitensis (Dipterocarpaceae) from old-growth forest and the common pioneer tree species Macaranga gigantea (Euphorbiaceae) from selectively logged forest. We hypothesised that the vessel traits of the pioneer species would reflect the need to capture and transport resources to support its fast growth rate (resource-acquisitive strategy), while the species of the old-growth forest would display more conservative vessel traits (resource-conservative strategy). We found that M. gigantea had significantly greater vessel area, hydraulically weighted diameter, vessel area to number ratio, and potential hydraulic conductivity than V. dulitensis. These results suggest that vessel traits of the common old-growth species would ensure high hydraulic safety during occasional drought when soil moisture is limited, while the common species of selectively logged forest possesses an efficient water transport system but its vessels would confer lower hydraulic safety during drought conditions. These contrasting vascular strategies highlight the potential for divergent responses of species of Bornean forest trees to future climatic extremes.

Coal mining activities change the environment physically, chemically and biologically that affect post-mining vegetation. Reclamation and revegetation of post-coal mining land to restore the potential Kalimantan land as important production factor for crop cultivation. The pioneer plant function was to helps micro and macro ecosystems of post-coal mining environmental to be more stable. Kalimantan Island has many pioneering species, the most dominant is Macaranga gigantea, Trema tomentosa, Alstonia scholaris, Croton argyratus and Homalanthus populneus. Indicator of canopy growth to find out land cover creates a micro climate, fertility, input of forest plants and wild animal feed. Homalanthus populneus, Trema tomentosa, Alstonia scholaris show optimal canopy growth. Three of the five pioneer species studied, Alstonia scholaris, Homalanthus populneus, Croton argyratus has optimal growth. Homalanthus populneus is a pioneer that can adapts well in open areas, especially post-mining land.

The utilization of traditional medicinal plants to medicate malaria caused by Plasmodium is currently more increased along with drug resistance and rising drug prices, and the side effects of using modern medicine. Additionally, Macaranga gigantea plant species have a unique ecological function such as a pioneer plant with good morphological and physiological adaptability to extreme conditions in dealing with natural stress due to pests, temperatures, and UV rays. Therefore, they have a unique biochemical system and a variety of new natural bioactive compounds produced with various activities such as antimicrobial, antioxidant and antiviral in the forest. As the results of previous study, antimalarial activity was shown on the bioactivity of methanol leaves extract of Merkubung (Macaranga gigantea). In short, this study aimed to obtain an active antimalarial fraction of Merkubung leaf (Macaranga gigantea). In this case, fractionation of methanol extract of Merkubung leaf (Macaranga gigantea) was carried out by using different organic solvents followed by an antimalarial bioactivity test using Plasmodium berghei. The results indicated that ethanol fraction of Merkubung left (Macaranga gigantea) had better antimalarial activity than others as a new candidate and supplemental source of antimalarial drugs. Keyword: Macaranga gigantea, malaria, Plasmodium berghei, fraction

Forest management activity wich applied selective cutting with line planting (TPTJ) caused disturbed on forest, especially due to the process of making the planting lines. Natural forest gives respond to disturbance by recovery of its vegetation. This research aimed to measure the potential seedlings by vegetation recovery process in logged over area and determine both of the diversity and evenness of communities. The result showed that the composition of the seedlings at the begining of a recovery in the cropping were not only pioneer, but also kinds of Dipterocarpaceae and non-Dipterocarpaceae. The entire lines is dominated by the pioneers types, such as: Macaranga gigantea, Ganua glaberrima, Aporosa apriniana and Polyalthia rumphii. The family with the most number of types found namely: Phyllanthaceae, Myrtaceae and Dipterocarpaceae. The value of diversity index all of community belongs to moderate ( 2 < H’ < 3) and value equity (e’) belongs to high. The entire community of between the lines have low IS value wich its IS < 50% that means tampering with the seedling in each line has a significant different due to the forest examined was divided into several blocks of high fells.Keywords : climax, diversity, equity, pioneer, selective cutting with line planting

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the anatomical, physical, and mechanical properties of four pioneer species, i.e., batai (Paraserianthes moluccana), ludai (Sapium baccatum), mahang (Macaranga gigantea), and sesendok (Endospermum malaccense). Correlation of factors influencing density, shrinkage, and mechanical properties were also discussed. Samples were obtained from the Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM) campus. From the result obtained, these four pioneer species characterised by medium-to-large vessel with absent of tyloses and gum deposit, fine ray, thin walled fibre, runkel ratio less than 1.0, low in density, and mechanical properties. Sesendok has significantly higher value in fibre length, fibre diameter, fibre lumen diameter, fibre wall thickness, vessel diameter, density, MOR, MOE, compression parallel to grain, and shear parallel to grain compared to the other three pioneer species which were 2001 µm, 45 µm, 35 µm, 5.1 µm, 300 µm, 514 kg/m3, 79.5 N/mm2, 9209 N/mm2, 38.7 N/mm2, and 10.1 N/mm2, respectively. Between these four pioneer species, ludai has significantly higher in runkel ratio which was 0.57, whereas mahang shows significantly higher in slenderness ratio and number of vessels/mm2 which were 50.2 and 5 vessel/mm2, respectively. On the other hand, batai has higher tangential, radial and longitudinal shrinkage compared to ludai, mahang, and sesendok which were 3.0%, 2.4%, and 0.8%, respectively. Based on the basic property study, batai, ludai, mahang, and sesendok could be suitable for pulp and paper, plywood, light construction, furniture, interior finishing, and general utility. Fibre length, fibre wall thickness, and vessel diameter correlated significantly with density and mechanical properties. Shrinkage and mechanical properties were significantly influenced by density.

This study was to obtain the description of tropical lowland forest of Papua in Sewan village, Sarmi District, Jayapura region. The main objective was to investigate the structure, species composition and ecological value of the forest vegetation. Research methods included line transect, documentation, interview and literature review. Index Shannon Wiener was used to determine the level of species diversity. The results revealed that 27 tree species that grouped into 17 families inhabited the study area. The density of trees was 209 individuals/ha. A number of saplings were identified into 17 species and grouped into 15 families with the density 104 individuals/ha. At the tree level, species with the high important value (IV) index. important value (IV) index were Pometia pinnata Forst. (54.31%), Macaranga gigantea M.A. (45.33%), Knema sp. (27.37%), Nauclea orientalis L. (20.69%), Intsia palembanica Miq. (13.86%), and the other species had lower INP. At the saplings level species that had high INP were Pometia pinnata Forst. (84.05%), Horsfieldia sylvestris Warb. (34.87%), Knema sp (25.92%), Celtis nerifolia (22.54%), and Pterocarpus indicus Willd. (18.12%). Diversity index at tree level and saplings level were 2.73 and 1.91 respectively, and this showed the high diversity of the trees compared to that of the saplings. The ecological value of the forest in Sewan village included the function as watershed area, buffer zone for the wildlife and as habitat for several fauna especially birds and bats. Key words: analysis of vegetation, species of trees, Sewan village, Sarmi.

The genus of Macaranga (Euphorbiacaceae) has 250 species of which 160 species are endemic in Kalimantan and New Guinea. They grow as pioneer trees and are used as traditional medicines in the Asian regions. This experiment concerns cytotoxicity in both cancer and normal cells of their methanol extracts from wood, bark and leaf parts. Some of them have not yet reported its cytotoxic activity in those cell lines. The 21 methanol extracts were prepared from seven Macaranga tree species (Macaranga bancana, Macaranga gigantea, Macaranga hullettii, Macaranga pruinosa, Macaranga tanarius, Macaranga trichocarpa and Macaranga triloba). The MTT assay was used to evaluate cytotoxic activity of extracts in cancer cell lines [human breast cancer (MCF-7), mouse melanoma (B16 melanoma), human colon cancer (HCT116), human cervical adenocarcinoma (HeLa)] and normal cell lines [human normal fibroblast (TIG-1) and normal human dermal fibroblast (NHDF)]. The leaf extracts of M. pruinosa, M. tanarius, M. trichocarpa showed more cytotoxicity than wood and bark in all cancer cell lines. In addition, the 5-fluorouracil was used as a positive control. These findings indicated the extracts from leaves of M. pruinosa, M. tanarius and M. trichocarpa had more potential than wood and bark parts to be developed as anti-cancer agents.

Susanto D, Kusuma R, Amirta R. 2018. Nutrient distribution on soil and aboveground biomass of Macaranga gigantea five years after planting. Asian J For 2: 12-19. The aims of this study were to evaluate growth of M. gigantea and to calculate nutrient distribution in the soil and 5-year-old M. gigantea. Soil sampling was conducted in all research plots with drill ground at a depth of 0-30 cm and 30-60 cm. The tree biomass was sampled within one stand to calculate the biomass of all the trees within a particular plot. The research findings revealed that plot 5 produces the best growth performance and the plant accumulates 2 times of N, P, K, Ca, Mg nutrients on wood, bark, branches, and leaves, compared to the plants in plots 1. The most distributed nutrients in the soil were magnesium, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus. Whereas the most accumulated nutrient in plant was potassium. The relative portion of K nutrients accumulates in the soil is quite small that is 44.18% but in stand was higher that is between 55.82%. It concluded that if the M. gigantea harvested at 5 years, it needs to give attention to potassium nutrient for the next of planting cycles.

This study presents the preparation of biocarbon material from Macaranga gigantea leaf biomass. In an attempt to examine its potential as adsorbent, the most essential part in determining the performance is to investigate their physicochemical properties. The physicochemical properties of the prepared biocarbon was characterized by their adsorptive nature towards methylene blue and iodine to estimate their surface area and pore volumes. The present study focused on the adsorption performance comparison of three different forms of pyrolyzed biomass which were granulated coconut shell (GCS), powdered coconut shell (PCS), and powdered Mahang leaves (PML), respectively to remove both methylene blue (MB) dye and iodine in aqueous solution. The iodine number for PML showed greater difference compared to PCS and GCS following range PML(557.72)>PCS(321.91)>GCS(188.14). The findings indicate that powdered biomass had higher adsorption for methylene blue dye than granulated biomass at all various initial concentration used due to higher surface area. Among which, PML has higher MB removal by 86.41% at initial concentration 50 mg/L. The data of MB adsorption of GCS and PML fitted well with the Freundlich model meanwhile Langmuir model was applicable for describing the adsorption data of PCS

The productivity of exotic species developed in pulpwood plantations in Indonesia (HTI-pulp) has been continuously decreasing. On the other side, there is a possibility to develop several promising native tree species in peatland HTI-pulp plantations. However, less information is available on the performance of those native tree species for planting in peatland pulpwood plantation. This study evaluates the performances (survival rate, growth and yield) of three native trees [mahang ( Macaranga pruinosa ), skubung ( Macaranga gigantea ) and geronggang ( Cratoxylum arborescens )] in drained peatland, in terms of suitability for pulpwood plantation. An experiment plot was established by planting three native tree species and krasikarpa ( Acacia crassicarpa ) in drained peatland at Pelalawan District, Riau. Survival, growth and yield variables were monitored frequently until 5.5 years after planting (YAP) and then were analyzed. Geronggang (survival rate = 80.0%) and mahang (survival rate = 65.6%) showed good survival rates at 5.5 YAP which were significantly (p

Susanto D, Mulyati S, Purnomo H, Ruhiyat D, Amirta R. 2017. Growth, biomass production and nutrient accumulation of Macaranga gigantea in response to NPK fertilizer application. Nusantara Bioscience 9: 330-337. Research described in this paper investigated the effect of fertilizer application on the growth, biomass production and nutrient accumulation of mahang (Macaranga gigantea) plant components. The experiment was carried out in a research area of the Faculty of Forestry, Mulawarman University, Samarinda, East Kalimantan. The effects of five dose levels of an NPK (16-16-16) fertilizer on the growth rate of mahang seedlings planted in field conditions were compared. The treatments consisted of a control group (with no fertilizer), and dosages of 40 g, 80 g, 120 g and 160 g per plant. Fertilization at those levels was applied twice: the first application at four weeks after the planting and the second application at 6 months after the first. Growth rates between treatments were compared over a twelve month period. The research findings revealed that as the dosages of fertilizer increased, so the growth, biomass production and nutrient accumulation in components of the plants also increased. The best growth was found in the treatment in which fertilizer was applied (twice) at a dosage of 120 g per plant; at this dose level, by twelve months of age, the stem basal diameter had reached 45.24.9 cm, stem height 219.239.1 cm, number of leaves per plant 17.31.2, and canopy diameter 246.725.0 cm. The highest production of above-ground biomass was also found in the fertilizer treatment of 120 g per plant; the largest proportion of the biomass was in the leaves, followed by the wood, and then bark. The nutrient element that had accumulated most in plants at 1 year of age was potassium, followed by phosphorus and then nitrogen. The highest nitrogen uptake of stands was found in the NPK fertilization with a dosage of 160 g per tree, while the highest phosphorus and potassium uptake was found at a fertilizer dosage of 120 g per tree. The amount of nutrients accumulated in producing one tonne of above-ground biomass increased in response to different fertilization treatments. The fertilizer treatment of 120 g per plant (applied twice; the first soon after planting and the next after 6 months) resulted in the accumulation within the 1 year old plants of 2.38 kg of nitrogen, 6.36 kg of phosporus and 17.83 kg of potassium, with an N:P:K ratio of 13.3 : 35.6 : 100. The availability of the element potassium needs special attention when this species is cultivated.

Susanto D, Hayatudin, Setiawan A, Purnomo H, Ruhiyat D, Amirta R. 2017. Characterizing nutrient status and growth of Macaranga gigantea in tropical rainforest gaps after selective logging in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 18: 996-1003. Selective logging caused the formation of forest gaps, which stimulate the growth of the pioneer tree species. This study aims to determine the characteristic of soil nutrients status and plant growth of Macaranga gigantea in the tropical rainforest gaps after selective logging in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. We established research plots 50mx50m in natural forest production, 1 until 10 years after selective logging. The measured data of each plot is the number of trees of M. gigantea, its stem diameter, and its height, and also the soil and leaf nutrient concentration. The results showed that the soil has a pH (H2O) of 5.3 ± 0.27, cation exchange capacity of 10.6 ± 2.98 meq. 100 g-1, base saturation of 27.7 ± 10.44%, while the concentration of nutrients carbon of 1. 04 ± 0.27%, nitrogen of 0.10± 0.02%, phosphorus of 6.35 ± 3.4%, potassium of 67.15± 30.1%, calcium of 1.7 ± 1.09% and magnesium of 0. 99 ± 0.8%. The highest stem diameter and height of M. gigantea (19.5 cm; 18.07 m) was obtained in plots of 8 years after selective logging and then declined, while the highest diameter increment and height increment obtained in plants located in a plot of 4 years after selective logging and decline until 10 years after selective logging. The concentration of nutrients accumulated in the leaves of M. gigantea was N with 1.51 ± 0.19%, P with 0.16 ± 0.01%, K with 1.37 ±0.28%, Ca with 1.78 ± 0, 43% and Mg with 1.53 ± 0.37%. The soil nutrients concentration of N, K, Ca and Mg correlated with plant growth of M. gigantea (p≤ 0.05), potassium concentration of soil positively correlated with a potassium concentration of leaves (p≤ 0.05), whereas magnesium concentration in the leaf correlated with plant growth (p≤ 0.05). We suspect that bases nutrient elements, potassium, calcium, and magnesium are nutrients absorbed in large quantities by M. gigantea and extremely important to its growth.

Elucidating the invasion history of non-native species has been dependent on coarse-grain and expensive methods or long-term monitoring during which the spread may have proceeded beyond feasible control. We used the case of a relatively recent introduction and spread of the neotropical Cecropia pachystachya in Singapore to develop a method for reconstructing spatio-temporal patterns of spread through a low-cost, cross-sectional study. Size and growth rates were measured for C. pachystachya trees as well as the native Macaranga gigantea. A power-expansion exponential-decline function was a better fit than the probability density function of the log-normal distribution in describing the growth-rate to size relationship for both species. C. pachystachya trees generally grew faster (up to 5.4 ± 0.1 cm per year at 12.2 ± 0.2 cm DBH) than M. gigantea trees (up to 3.8 ± 0.2 cm per year at 11.5 ± 0.3 cm DBH). We demonstrated that the integral of the reciprocal of these growth equations provides an estimate of the age of the individuals from their size. Using the size and geographic coordinates of C. pachystachya trees from an island-wide search, we estimate that the invasion front of reproductive trees (>5 cm DBH) showed at least a 20-year lag phase from the time of initial establishment to the year 2005, before advancing exponentially at median rates between 5 and 466 m year−1 with maximum rates of several km year−1. The extent of occurrence expanded by nearly tenfold from 2004 to 2012. Consequently, the spatial dynamics of trees can be reproduced using ontogenetic growth functions.

Annual wood increment and cambial activity in Macaranga gigantea and Endospermum diadenum growing in tropical rainforest were monitored to examine their relationship with stem sizes and climatic factors. The monitoring period was done from March 2013 to February 2014. Wood blocks containing phloem, cambium and outer sapwood were collected monthly from the main trunk of selected trees. Results showed that M. gigantea with smaller stem diameter showed higher annual diameter increment (16.63 ± 7.2 mm) than those with larger stem diameters (3.30 ± 0.1 mm) The total amount of wood formed in E. diadenum with larger stem diameter (9.17 ± 0.3 mm) was higher than the trees with smaller stem size (3.33 ± 0.3 mm). The rhythm of cambial activity were found different among tree species and stem diameters within the same species. M. gigantea with smaller stem diameter had longer active cambial growth period and produced higher number of cell layers than trees with larger stem diameter. In contrast, E. diadenum with larger stem diameter showed longer active growth period and higher number of cell layers than trees with smaller stem diameter. This study showed no significant correlation between mean number of cambial and enlarging cell layers with monthly total rainfall, monthly mean relative humidity, vapor pressure deficit and day length. Significant negative correlations were detected between maximum temperature and number of cambial and enlarging cell layers in M. gigantea with smaller stem size. For E. diadenum with smaller stem size, monthly mean temperature had significant negative correlation with the number of cambial cell layer. This study concluded that the intra-annual wood formation patterns of this two pioneer species are species specific and stem sizes specific.

Regeneration of Imperata grassland areas is becoming increasingly important, both to create new secondary forest and to recover the original biodiversity. The diversity of plant communities in secondary succession of Imperata grasslands was studied using 45 subplots of 9 linear transects (10 m x 100 m). Data was collected and all stems over 10 cm dbh were identified, the Importance Values Index (IVI) for all trees were calculated, saplings and seedlings were counted and analysed, and soil samples were taken and analysed. Results showed that after more than 10 years of regeneration, 65 families were encountered consisting of 164 species, which were dominated by Vernonia arborea Buch.-Ham, Vitex pinnata L., Macaranga gigantea (Reichb.f. & Zoll.) Muell.Arg., Symplocos crassipes C.B. Clarke, Artocarpus odoratissimus Miq., and Bridelia glauca Blume. The effects of regeneration, from Imperata grassland to secondary forest, on soil were the strongest in the A-horizon where an increase in carbon, N content, and pH were observed. Our result shows that Imperata grasslands appear to be permanent because of frequent fires and human interferences and so far few efforts have been made to promote sustainable rehabilitation. If protected from fire and other disturbances, such as shifting cultivation, Imperata grassland will grow and develop into secondary forest.

Most studies mentioned that Acacia crassicarpa belongs to invasive species that could threat the native biodiversity. To respond that issue, we conducted a study that covers the understory and soil macrofauna diversity of three native tree species, namely mahang (Macaranga pruinosa), skubung (Macaranga gigantea) and geronggang (Cratoxylum arborescens) and an exotic species namely krassikarpa in a drained peatland in Pelalawan, Riau. The observation of understory vegetation under each studied species was undertaken by using 2 x 1 m plots. Furthermore, the structure of macrofauna was observed by pitfall trap methods. Results revealed that there were two fern species namely Neprolephis biserrata and Stenochlaena palustris that dominated the understory vegetation in namely mahang (Macaranga pruinosa), skubung (Macaranga gigantea) and geronggang (Cratoxylum arborescens). The diversity index in vegetation structure among those four tree species was insignificantly varied. Moreover, the percentage of understory coverage under A. crassicarpa was significantly higher than that under all native tree species. On the other hand, Formicidae and Rhinotermitidae were dominant in skubung and krassikarpa. Meanwhile, Formicidae and Blattidae were high in mahang and geronggang. Furthermore, diversity index of macrofauna were significantly low at krassikarpas`s understory compare to other three native species. This study suggested that the introduction of krassikarpa affect the biodiversity.

Two flavonols, glyasperin A (1), and meliternatin (2) has been isolated from the leaves of Macaranga gigantea (Rchb.f. & Zoll.) Müll.Arg. Extraction and isolation of flavonols were used methanol with the maceration method. The process of fractionation and purification used column chromatography and radial chromatography. The structure of both flavonols was determined by spectroscopic methods, including UV-Vis, IR, HRESIMS, 1D NMR (1H, and 13C-NMR) and 2D NMR (HMBC and HMQC). The cytotoxic activity of glyasperin A (1), and meliternatin (2) toward P-388 leukemia murine cells by MTT method, showing IC50 values 3.44 and 30.04 µg/mL, respectively.

Cecropia is a pioneer genus from the Neotropics, whilst Macaranga is an ecological analog with a center of distribution in Southeast Asia. In the past few decades, introduced populations of Cecropia spp. have spread rapidly in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia. In Singapore, Cecropia pachystachya now occupies habitats that would have been expected to be occupied by Macaranga gigantea. We conducted germination experiments under 0, 20, 50, and 70 % shading and measured the survival rates and functional traits of the seedlings of these two species from material collected in Singapore. Seeds of C. pachystachya germinated in 3–12 days, whereas seeds of M. gigantea germinated from day 13 onwards. Germination success for C. pachystachya was between 90.3 % under full-light conditions and 55.8 % under 50 % shading, while for M. gigantea only 69.1 % of seed germinated under full-light conditions and germination completely failed when seeds were shaded by 20 % or more. The seedlings of C. pachystachya also had higher survival rates, faster shoot and root biomass accumulation, larger leaves, and lower total water content than those of M. gigantea. Thus overall, C. pachystachya possesses traits that may provide a competitive edge over the native M. gigantea and will be advantageous for its spread given the increasing proliferation of disturbed landscapes in tropical Southeast Asia.

Siregar M. 2017. Spatial distribution of abundant tree species at a mixed dipterocarps forest in Bukit Bangkirai, East Kalimantan, three years after long drought and forest fire. Pros. Sem Nas Masy Biodiv Indon 3: 246-251. This study aims to determine the distribution of abundant tree species that survive or grow three years after long drought and forest fires. The tree distribution data were extracted from the database of three permanent plots at Bukit Bangkirai, namely: 1.0 ha plot at heavily damaged forest due to forest fires (HD-plot), 0.3 ha at lightly damaged forest due to forest fires (LD-plot) and 1.0 ha plot in a natural unburnt forest (K-plot). The distribution pattern was analyzed by using Morisita's indices of dispersion and Jaccard's indices of species association. Correlation of tree density with height and slope of land were also analyzed in each plot.The results showed that the most of the abundant tree species were clumped at small scales, and the clumps were randomly distributed (inter-clump distribution is random). An exception was found for Macaranga glaberrimus at K-plot and Madhuca kingiana at LD-plot which have random distribution both on small and large plots. Individuals of M. kingiana in K-plot were clumped at larger scales, and they were distributed uniformly within the clumps (intraclump distribution is uniform), which were distributed in the valley and steep slope. Inversely, Shorea laevis is rarely found in valleys and steep slopes. In HD-plot, distributions of Macaranga gigantea, Homalanthus populneus and Mallotus paniculatus were concentrated in the valley and in the lower parts of the slopes which have water availability. It can be concluded that the distribution of secondary species in HD-plot is much influenced by water availability, whereas in LD-plot and K-plot more affected by light availability

Karyati, Ipor IB, Jusoh I, Wasli ME. 2017. The diameter increment of selected tree species in a secondary tropical forest in Sarawak, Malaysia. Biodiversitas 18: 304-311. The diameter at breast height (DBH) increments of dominant tree species in a secondary forest can determine forest growth in the area. This study was conducted to investigate the DBH increments of the nine dominant tree species in a secondary tropical forest. A total number of 180 trees representing nine species, seven genera, and six families were selected for the assessment of DBH increments during two years of study. Those nine species, namely: Acacia mangium Willd. (2.33 cm year-1), Endospermum diadenum (Miq.) Airy Shaw (1.05 cm year-1), Cratoxylum arborescens Blume. (0.96 cm year-1), Vernonia arborea Buch. Ham. (0.96 cm year-1), and Cratoxylum glaucum Korth. (0.80 cm year-1) had shown a high growth rate during the assessment, while the other four species such as Macaranga gigantea Mull. Arg., Macaranga triloba Mull. Arg., Euodia glabra (Bl.) Bl., and Vitex pubescens Vahl. had 0.53, 0.48, 0.37, and 0.30 cm year-1 in DBH increments, respectively. The average DBH increments for the entire selected species was 0.86 cm year-1 for periodic measurement and 0.75 cm year-1 for monthly measurement. This information is needed in order to understand the succession process in the secondary forests. It is important for the selection of the suitable species in a reforestation and a rehabilitation projects. Keywords: Diameter increment, fast growing species, secondary forest, selected speciesÂ

Regeneration of Imperata grassland areas is becoming increasingly important, both to create new secondary forest and to recover the original biodiversity. We studied the diversity of plant communities in secondary succession of Imperata grasslands using 45 subplots of 9 linear transects (10 m x 100 m). Data was collected and all stems over 10 cm dbh were identified , the Importance Values Index (IVI) for all trees were calculated, saplings and seedlings were counted and analysed, and soil samples were taken and analysed. Results showed that after more than 10 years of regeneration, 65 families were encountered consisting of 164 species, which were dominated by Vernonia arborea Buch.-Ham, Vitex pinnata L., Macaranga gigantea (Reichb.f. & Zoll.) Muell.Arg., Symplocos crassipes C.B. Clarke, Artocarpus odoratissimus Miq., and Bridelia glauca Blume. The effects of regeneration, from Imperata grassland to secondary forest, on soil were the strongest in the A-horizon where an increase in carbon, N content, and pH were observed. Our result shows that Imperata grasslands appear to be permanent because of frequent fires and human interferences and so far few efforts have been made to promote sustainable rehabilitation. If protected from fire and other disturbances, such as shifting cultivation, Imperata grassland will grow and develop into secondary forest.

Schlegel’s Banded Langur, P. neglectus is an understudied primate species in Johor. However, no data were recorded on the species feeding ecology from previous study. This study aims to assess the food selection of P. neglectus in Kampung Johor Lama, Kota Tinggi, Johor. Observations were made using scan sampling techniques and identification of plants was made using dichotomous key to record and identify the plants eaten by P. neglectus in Kampung Johor Lama, Kota Tinggi, Johor. 27 species of plants were recorded from 17 families during 2 months of observation starting from July 2018 to August 2018. Plant species found in the area comprises of a mixture of mangroves plants, orchard plants, pioneer forest plants and others. A notable plants species selected by P. neglectus includes pome trees, Nephelium lappaceum, commodity plants, Elaeis guineensis and Hevea brasiliensis, mangrove plants, Rhizophora mucronate, pioneer tree species, Macaranga gigantea and others. Plants selected by P. neglectus in this study suggested a viable adaptation to human settlement in Kampung Johor Lama.

Py-GC/MS study on fast growing wood Macaranga gigantea at different temperatures has been conducted. The pyrolysis yields and chemical compounds obtained based on the pyrograms of the biomass by Py-GC analyses were compared with those obtained from batch pyrolysis experiments under similar conditions. Results show that the pyrolysis yields of Macaranga gigantea from Py-GC/MS analyses and batch reactor experiments at 300-450 °C were generally similar, ranging from 35 to 65%. Pyrolysis of the woody biomass with both techniques produced compounds which are mostly derived from pyrolysis, thermal degradation, or volatilization of lignin and cellulose/hemicellulose.

In our effort to find materials for drugs and cosmetics from tropical natural resources, we screened 21 methanol extracts from 7 Macaranga trees species ( Macaranga bancana, Macaranga gigantea, Macaranga hulle ttii, Macaranga pruinosa, Macaranga tanarius, Macaranga trichocarpa, and Macaranga triloba) for antioxidant and antimelanogenesis. The antioxidant and melanogenesis (tyrosinase enzyme assay and melanin inhibitor in B16 melanoma) assays were used to determine the activities. The fractionation and the isolation of active compound were done by various chomatographic methods and the structure was determined by spectroscopic analysis data. We isolated a prenylated flavonoid, named Glyasperin A, from M. pruinosa leaf. This compound showed a potency as antioxidant and inhibited melanin in B16 melanoma but not tyrosinase activity. These results showed that the methanol leaf extracts of M. pruinosa could be developed for cosmetic applications especially as a skin whitening agent.

Slow pyrolysis of fast growing wood Macaranga gigantea has been studied. The product yields and chemical composition of products obtained from the experiments under different conditions (temperature, reaction time, sample mass) were described. In all cases, Macaranga gigantean gave total product yields, ranging from 45-65%. The increase in temperature and reaction time resulted in the increase in product yields. The organic phase of the pyrolysis products contained phenol and its derivatives, furans, benzene and its derivatives, eugenol and the isomers, methyl esters, aromatic ketones, poly-aromatic hydrocarbons, and carboxylic acids; these compounds were mainly derived from lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose.

The genus Macaranga comes from the family of Euphorbiaceae and it is the only genus in the subtribe Macaranginae that have a large genus with 300 species of which 27 species were found in Peninsular Malaysia. This plant grows as shrubs or trees that can grow up to 15 m tall and known for their mutual associations with ants. Fresh or dried leaves of some Macaranga species were used by traditional healers to treat swellings, cuts, sores, boils, and bruises. The isolation of chemical constituent from this genus has been shown to produce numerous results of phenolic compounds, such as flavonoids and stilbenoids. In this paper, we report the isolation of a prenylated flavonol, glyasperin A (1), together with a simple flavone apigenin (2) from the methanolic extract of the leaves of Macaranga gigantea. The structure of both compounds has been elucidated based on its spectroscopic data, including mass spectroscopy (MS), infrared (IR), ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis), 1D and 2D nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra and comparison with the previous literature.

Sprouting ability is highly variable among different tree species. In many cases, there are trade-offs in carbon allocations between growth and storage in seedlings. However, this trade-off is likely to change with growth stages from seedling to mature plant because carbon investments in reproductive activities and/or risk of disturbance also change by species and growth stage. To examine how sprouting ability and carbohydrate storage change with growth stage, we compared two tropical secondary-forest trees, Macaranga bancana and M. gigantea, which have different ecological traits. Maximum tree size and growth rate are higher in M. gigantea. We monitored sprout growth and stored resources, including total non-structural carbohydrate (TNC) and nitrogen in the root, among different tree sizes for 12 months following stem-cutting treatment. Sprouting ability (total sprout mass) and TNC concentrations were significantly higher in small individuals than in larger specimens in both species. TNC concentration decreased in all size classes after stem cutting. Macaranga bancana had greater sprout survivorship than M. gigantea, which had higher sprouting ability in larger tree-size classes. Thus, sprouting ability likely depends on root TNC concentration and tree-size class in both Macaranga species. Higher TNC concentration and sprout survival rates in M. bancana may be related to greater carbon allocation in survival than in growth. This hypothesis is consistent with the ecological traits of M. bancana, such as its growth rate, which was lower than that of M. gigantea.

Amirta R, Mukhdlor A, Mujiasih D, Septia E, Supriadi, Susanto D. 2016. Suitability and availability analysis of tropical forest wood species for ethanol production: a case study in East Kalimantan. Biodiversitas 17: 544-552. Fifteen species of woody biomass from tropical forest of East Kalimantan, Indonesia and identified as Acacia mangium, Aleurites moluccana, Alstonia scholaris, Anthocephalus cadamba, Artocarpus altilis, Artocarpus elasticus, Cananga odorata, Gmelina arborea, Lagerstroemia speciosa, Leucaena leucocephala, Macaranga gigantea, Macaranga tanarius, Paraserianthes falcataria, Shorea leprosula and Swietenia macrophylla were characterized and studied to find out and discover their potential utilization as suitable feedstocks for biofuel (ethanol) production. Characterization was done by evaluation of lignin, holocellulose and cellulose contents of woody biomass including the yield of reducing sugar (saccharification) after pretreated with alkaline (NaOH) at moderate temperature. Among 15 species of tropical forest wood biomass evaluated, our findings showed that M. gigantea was gave the highest yield of saccharified sugar (42.22%, weight of original wood dry basis) and also yield of theoretical ethanol (± 273 L/ton). We also found growth of M. giganteawas very fast to produce approximately 26,119 kg ha-1 dry biomass within 3 years. In general, the tropical wood biomass such as M. gigantea, A. moluccana, G. arborea, A. cadamba, and P. falcataria are suitable and potentially to be used as feedstocks for ethanol production due to their fast growing ability, availability and attractive chemical composition to produce high saccharified sugar and yield of ethanol.

Susanto D, Ruchiyat D, Sutisna M, Amirta R. 2016. Soil and leaf nutrient status on growth of Macaranga gigantea in secondary forest after shifting cultivation in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 17: 409-416. Macaranga gigantea is an important pioneer plant species in the tropical secondary forest of Kalimantan and as far the attractive wood species was not commercially cultivated. This study aims to determine the soil and nutrient status on growth of M. gigantea in the secondary forest particularly after shifting cultivation activity. For this purposes, the observation plots with 50m x 50m sizes were made and measured to collect the data of diameter, height, soil conditions and leaf nutrient concentrations -1 and 2.96 year -1 and it was gradually decreased until the 10 years old of plant. The negative correlations was observed from the soil nutrient K and growth of diameter and high of M. gigantea and this nutrient factor should be considered well when this species will be cultivated for the commercial purposes in the future.

The climate in Indonesia is a tropical climate with high rainfall, making Indonesia vulnerable to erosion. In addition to high rainfall, vegetation, slope and soil types also affect erosion. This study aims to determine the Important Value of Species (NPJ), the relationship between rainfall and surface runoff and the mass of eroded soil and the level of erosion hazard at different vegetation densities. Important Value The highest types of the three dominating types in plot I were Schima wallichii 115.12%, Macaranga gigantea 69.38% and Cratoxylum sumatranum 44.69%. Whereas in plot II the highest NPJ value of three types dominates, namely Macaranga gigantea 59.13%, Litsea angulata 39.52% and Aquilaria mallacensis 35.37%. The amount of eroded soil mass that occurred in PUE I was 0.13 tons / ha / year and PUE II was 0.19 tons / ha / year. Simple linear analysis of the relationship between rainfall and eroded soil mass at PUE I has a correlation value (r) = 0.79 with the equation Y = -8.34 + 0.39X, whereas in PUE II the correlation value (r) = 0.90 with the equation Y = -12.96 + 0.56X. The danger level of erosion (TBE) in PUE I and PUE II was very mild (erosion rate 90 cm).

Problem statement: Accurate, current and cost-effective individual standing tree data are required by forest management communities for use in forest inventory over large areas. Currently, most of the forest mapping process is done directly on the ground using many technique such as the bearing-distance and also the other technique that use the computer software as a support, such as Tree MapperTM. Instead of ground data collection and where there are difficulties in reaching the individual trees, hyper spectral remote sensing technology is the best option to map the tree positions. Approach: A novel approach to generating an individual tree crown mapping estimated for a lowland dipterocarp forest of Taman Rimba Ilmu, University Malaya, Kuala Lumpur using an airborne hyperspatial (1 m2 ground resolution) imager was presented. Results: A total of 297 individual tree crowns comprising of 83 Xylopia sp., 79 Ixonanthes sp., 56 Hevea sp., 15 Streblus elongates, 14 Pellacalyx sp., 12 Endospermum diadenum, 11 Macaranga gigantea, 10 Cratoxylum sp., 10 Cannarium sp. and 7 Ixonanthes icosandra were identified and delineated as individual polygons in a study area plot of 2 ha. Conclusion/Recommendations: It was found out that individual tree crowns in University Malaya can be detected and counted with reasonable field measured to image derived mapping accuracy of 98.65%. This study implied that acceptable individual tree crown classification maps and algometric equations relating diameter at breast height (dbh) or crown area to biomass can be used to generate timber volume estimates with established crown-diameter-volume correlations.

Acoustic properties such as specific dynamic Young’s modulus (E′/γ), internal friction (Q −1) and acoustic conversion efficiency (ACE) of wood are important properties frequently examined by researchers. Vibration technique is one of the non-destructive evaluation techniques used as an alternative method for measuring the acoustic properties of wood. The objectives of this study are to determine acoustic properties of selected low density tropical wood species namely Endospermum Diadenum, Cratoxylum Arborecens, Dyera Polyphylla, Macaranga Gigantea, Commersonia Bartramia and Alstonia Pneumatophora and their suitability for making violin and guitar (acoustic instruments). The acoustic properties were determined by using free-free flexural vibration method. The results show that there are significant and good relationship between log Q −1/(E′/γ) and log E′/γ with negative gradient for each and overall wood species studied. The P-value of regression equation is less than 0.01 whereas the coefficient of determination (r 2) is in the range of 0.565 to 0.894. The mean value of E′/γ, Q −1 and ACE of wood species studied are in the range of 1.69×1010 Pa to 2.73×1010 Pa, 0.017 to 0.035 and 1.50×107 to 3.56×107 respectively. Based on the mean value of E′/γ, Endospermum Diadenum, Cratoxylum Arborescens, Macaranga Gigantea and Dyera Polyphylla are preferred for making all component of violin and guitar except for the top plate of violin. Commersonia Bartramia is preferred for making the back plate of violin and guitar, whereas Alstonia Pneumatophora is only preferred for making the back plate of violin.

Dynamic Young's modulus (E d) of selected tropical wood species, namely Dyera polyphylla, Endospermum diadenum, Cratoxylum arborecens, Alstonia pneumatophora, Macaranga gigantea and Commersonia bartramia, used for the study was measured using the free–free flexural vibration method. Young's modulus from three point bending (E 3pb) and compression parallel to grain (E cp) was also studied. The results show that the relationship between E d and E 3pb for all wood species is very significant with the mean value of E d consistently larger than or sometime equal to E 3pb. Surprisingly, the relationship between E d and E cp is not significant except for Alstonia pneumatophora. The dynamic mechanical thermal properties were also investigated using the dynamic mechanical thermal analyser (DMTA). The results showed that the storage modulus of the wood species at –90°C is in the range of 1·48–4·09 GPa with a glass transition temperature ranging from 50 to 70°C.

The methanolic fresh leaf extracts of Macaranga gigantea, Macaranga pruinosa, Macaranga tanarius and Macaranga triloba were screened for their antioxidant properties (AOP), tyrosinase inhibition and antibacterial activities. Total phenolic content (TPC), 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging, ferric-ion reducing power (FRAP), ferrous-ion chelating (FIC) and lipid peroxidation inhibition (LPI) activities were used to evaluate the AOP. Modified 3,4-dihydroxy- L -phenylalanine ( L -DOPA) method was used to determine tyrosinase inhibition activity, whereas antibacterial activity was determined using the disc-diffusion technique. TPC screening of the same species from different collection sites showed no significant difference between sites. M. triloba showed the highest ascorbic acid equivalent antioxidant activity (AEAC), FRAP and LPI values. M. tanarius, which showed the lowest TPC, AEAC, FRAP and LPI activities, exhibited the best FIC activity. M. pruinosa showed the best tyrosinase inhibition activity, whereas M. triloba showed the best antibacterial activity against Gram-positive bacteria species, with minimal inhibition dosage (MID) values as low as 10 μg/disc.

The purpose of this study was to carry out a vegetative study on the slope of Lok Kawi Hill. A total of 12 plots were laid between 20 to 350 m altitude on the slope of lowland hilly forest at Lok Kawi in Sabah State of Malaysia. These plots were subjected to cluster analysis using Ward Linkage Method (WLM) and Euclidean Distance Measurement (EDM). This similarity analysis classified them into five cluster groups (CGS). These CGS, denoted by three most dominant species in term of importance value were respectively named as Hevea brasiliensis-Parastemon urophyllum-Antidesma ghaesembilla Association (CGI); Chionanthus pachyphyllus-Parastemon urophyllum-Adinandra dumosa Association (CGII); Pithecellobium ellipticum-Calophyllum inophyllum-Arenga undulatifolia Association (CGIII); Calophyllum inophyllum-Croton oblongus-Cratoxylum arborescens Association (CG IV) and Oncosperma tigillarium-Sarcotheca glauca-Calophyllum inophyllum Association (CG V). The species diversity of these CGS were relatively poor. CGII and CGIII were each represented by 19 species, whereas CGIV, CGI and CGV comprised of 18, 10 and 6 species. In term of Basal Area Contribution (BAC), CGIII recorded the highest BAC, followed by CGII, CGIV, CGI and CGV. Density of trees between CGS was recorded highest in CGII, followed by CGIV, CGIII, CGI and CGV. Based on the species composition, CGI is an abandoned rubber plantation; CGII is a coastal vegetation with the presence of Oncosperma tigillarium; CGIII is a disturbed primary forest with the presence of Macranga hypoleuca, Macaranga gigantea and Mallotus paniculatus; CGIV is a disturbed primary forest with the presence of Vernonia arborea, Adinandra dumosa, Vitex pubescens and Macranga triloba; CGV is a disturbed primary forest with the presence of Macaranga gigantea. The value of species diversity differed between CGS. CGII have the highest R, H and E-values, 2.12, 2.393 and 0.813, followed by CGIII, CGIV, CGI and CGV. CGV possessed the lowest R, H and E-values among the five CGS that is 0.96, 0.814 and 0.454.

After the 1998 forest fire in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, biomass recovery of naturally regenerated vegetation was estimated in order to evaluate the initial secondary succession patterns of the burned land. We established research plots in naturally regenerated vegetation that included pioneer tree species, and the dominant pioneer species were Homalanthus populneus, Macaranga gigantea and M. hypoleuca, Mallotus paniculatus, Melastoma malabathricum, Piper aduncum, or Trema cannabina and T. orietalis. Annual tree censuses over 4 years (from 2000 to 2003) showed that on plots where the initially dominant tree species were M. malabathricum and T. cannabina and T. orietalis, they tended to disappear, and were replaced with M. gigantea and M. hypoleuca. In contrast, on plots where the initially dominant species were M. gigantea and M. hypoleuca, M. paniculatus, or P. aduncum, they continued to dominate 5 years after the fire. We classified tree species that were initially dominant but disappeared within 5 years after the fire as extremely short-lived tree species. The aboveground biomass of trees (AGB) averaged 12.3 Mg ha –1 (ranging from 9.2 to 17.0 Mg ha –1 ) in 2000 and 15.9 Mg ha –1