Ex-situ conservation effort for Dipterocarpus spp through the seedling collection and nursery management

Abstract

Dipterocarpus or keruing belongs to member Dipterocarpaceae, known as commercial timber producer and oil for pharmacological purposes. Of 70 keruing species in the world, 38 species were found in Indonesia and listed in the IUCN Red List. Due to illegal logging, land conversion, low natural reproduction, and specific habitat requirements, the keruing population tend to decrease every year. Conservation effort was urgent for this species, one of which is an increasing number of species through conservation strategies using the conservation nursery concept. Nursery management in this research was conducted through keruing material field collection followed by sowing and acclimatization for seed and wildings, vegetative propagation using the Komatsu-FORDA Fog Cooling System cutting system, and nursing (watering, weeding, fertilizing, and soil change). The result of our research showed that using KOFFCO nursery application, 1226 individuals of fifteen dipterocarpus species seedlings originated from five provinces in Indonesia was conserved. All species are categorized as threatened based the IUCN red-list category and criteria. Hence, more than 60% of these threatened species were conserved and well-managed through the KoFCo nursery. Seedlings collection and KOFFCO nursery, therefore, play a vital role and support in ex-situ conservation effort and management of dipterocarps genetic resources.