The diversity of species and utilization of plants at the baan tah tongdeang community forest, nabot ,wangchao district, tak province

Abstract

This research is aimed to study both the species diversity and utilization of plants at the Baan Tah Tongdeang community forest, Nabot ,Wangchao district,Tak province. The survey of plant species and the available quantity has been carried out using the quadrat method. The leaders and intellectuals in the community were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. The result showed that the plant with the highest Density (D) and Relative Density (RD) were Tectona grandis L.f. (0.734375/m2, 7.742998353) Xylia xylocarpa Taub. var. kerrii Nielsen (0.6875/m2, 7.248764415) Grewia eriocarpa (0.65625/m2, 6.919275124) respectively. Whilst plant with the highest Frequency (F) and Relative Frequency (RF) were Xylia xylocarpa Taub. var. kerrii Nielsen , Grewia eriocarpa and Holoptelea integrifolia Planch. (87.5, 4.96), Tectona grandis L.f. and Schleichera oleosa (Lour.) Oken (75, 4.26), Pterocarpus macrocarpus Kurz and Bombax anceps Pierre (62.5, 3.55) respectively. The Shannon and Wiener’s diversity index (H’) of trees was 3.38 while evenness index was 0.85. The utilization of the plants in the community included 94 species as wood (used as plank, furniture, firewood, charcoal, string, chemical extraction etc., 62 species as medicinal herbs, 47 species as wild vegetables, fruits and foods. All of them are utilized in the community. The results of this research would be beneficial for administrative and management, as a guideline to preparation a community biological database and learning resources for conservation and sustainable uses of natural resources and environments in Baan Tah Tongdeang community forest.