Jonny Moss Research - For Printing

“Species diversity and distribution of Mosses in Mt.
Dulang-dulang Range, Bukidnon,

Philippines”
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Introduction
Mt. Kitanglad Range Natural Park (MKRNP) is the fourth highest mountain in the
Philippines. It has a total land area of 47,270 hectares and is located in the north-central part of
the province of Bukidnon, Mindanao. The park is one of the remaining rainforest in the country
with remarkable flora and fauna biodiversity (Canoy and Suminguit, 2001). Mt. Dulang-dulang
is the highest peak among the high mountains of Mt. Kitanglad range that has an elevation of
2,938 meters above sea level. At present, there were only two major research expeditions of
mosses that were conducted within the Mt. Kitanglad Range Natural Park (see Azuelo et al.,
2010; Tan and Shevock, 2014).
Mosses are the most species-rich of the three known phyla of bryophytes and they occupy
a broad range of habitats (Stotler and Began, 2007). The diversity and distribution of mosses
differs significantly according to the variability in climate, edaphic factor, and physiographic
changes of the vegetation (Costa and Lima, 2005; Shaw et al., 2005; Geffert et al., 2013;
Pirasenko and Bakalin, 2017). For instance, a montane forest has the largest number of exclusive
species and the highest species richness, the sub-montane forest has intermediate species
richness, while the lowland forest has fewer species (Costa and Lima, 2005).
On the other hand, Mosses are considered important components of the ecosystems due
to their significant role in nutrient cycling, in carbon sequestration, and in nitrogen cycling
between the land and the air (Lindo and Gonzales, 2010). Mosses has been used for
biomonitoring to examine air quality and evaluate heavy metal contamination in the atmosphere
that is harmful to the respiratory and cardiovascular system (Kayee et al., 2015; Donovan et al.,
2016; Hu et al., 2018; Shetekauri et al., 2018). Thus, inventory of mosses is of great importance
in order to identify particular species that can be used for biomonitoring and efficiently detects
atmospheric heavy metal particulates.
At present, there are 763 species in 239 genera and 56 families of moss taxa are known to
occur in the Philippines. These include the eight newly recorded taxa to the Philippines:
Acroporium rigens, Braunfelsia plicata, Brotherella fauriei, Bryoerythrophyllum recurvirostrum,
Gammiella pterogonoides, Oxyrrhynchium hians, Pterogonidium pulchellum, and Vesicularia
ferriei (Linis and Tan, 2013). However, the current number of recorded mosses occurring in
Mindanao island implies that there are still more moss species awaits to be discovered in the
field, particularly in the protected area, Hence, this study will be conducted which aims to assess
the species diversity and distribution of mosses in Mt. Dulang-dulang range along altitudinal
gradients.
Methodology
Study sites
The sampling sites will be selected according to the vegetation types along altitudinal
gradient. One site will be established in the lower montane, one in mid-montane forest, and in
the upper montane forest of Mt. Dulang-dulang range, which is part of Mt. Kitanglad Range
Natural Park in the province of Bukidnon (Figure 1).

Figure1. Map showing the proposed study site in the province of Bukidnon.
Collection and Identification of Specimens
Specimen will be collected at 10meters of each side of the trail from the lower montane,
mid-montane, and in the upper montane forest. Moss will be collected by hand or using a knife
for species closely attached to their substrate (Vanderpoorten et al., 2010). All specimen will be
photographed in their natural habitat before removal of voucher specimen. In addition, individual
species within a collection will be packed-up separately in a paper packet and will be labeled
with complete field information, such as the coordinates, elevation, and their associated habitat.
Voucher specimens will be classified, described, and identified using available taxonomic
keys of Moss. Diagnostic character will be examined using a stereomicroscope and will be
photographed using a digital camera.

Statistical Analysis
Data analysis will be conducted in Paleontological Statistics (PAST) software ver.2.17c
(Hammer et al., 2001). This will include the determination of diversity indices, seriation analysis
to visualize the species distribution, and Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) to
determine relationship between moss and abiotic factors.

References Cited
Azuelo, A.G., Sariana, L.G., Pabualan, M.P. 2010. Diversity and Ecological Status of
Bryophytes in Mt. Kitanglad, Bukidnon, Philippines. Asian Journal of Biodiversity, 1(1):
49-71.
Canoy, MEL. S. and Suminguit, V.J. 2001. Case study: The Indigenous Peoples of Mt. Kitanglad
Range Natural Park. Social Watch-Philippines Report, pp62-74.
Costa and Lima, 2005. Da Costa D.P., Lima, F.M. 2005. Moss diversity in the tropical
rainforests of Rio de Janiero, Southeastern Brazil. Revista Brasil. Bot., 28(4):671-685.
Donovan, G.H., Jovan, S.E., Gatziolis, Burstyn, Lichael, Y.L., Amacher, M.C., Monleon, V.J.
2016. Using an epiphytic moss to identify previously unknown sources of atmospheric
cadmium pollution. Science of the Total Environment, 559:84-93.
Geffert. J.l., Frahm, JP., Barthlott, W., Mutke, J. 2013. Global moss diversity: spatial and
taxonomic patterns of species richness. Journal of Bryology, 35(1):1-11.
Hammer, Ø., Harper, D.A.T., Ryan, P.D. 2001. PAST: Paleontological Statistics software
package for education and data analysis. Paleontologica Electronica, 4(1):9pp.
Hu, R., Yan, Y., Zhou, X., Wang, Y., Fang, Y. 2018. Monitoring Heavy Metal Contents with
Sphagnum Junghuhnianum Moss Bags in Relation to Traffic. International Journal of
Environmental Research and Public Health. 15: 374.
Kayee, P., Songphim, W., Parkpein, A. 2015. Using Thai Native Moss as Bio-Adsorbent for
Contaminated Heavy Metal in Air. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 197:1037
– 1042.
Lindo, Z. and Gonzalez, A. 2010. The Bryosphere: An Integral and Influential Component of the
Earth’s Biosphere. Ecosystems. 13:612- 627.
Pisarenko, O.Y., Bakalin, V.A. 2017. Moss diversity distribution patterns and agglomerates of
local floras in the Russian Far East. Botanica Pacifica, 6(2): 21–33.
Shaw, J.A., Cox, C.J., Goffinet, B. 2005. Global patterns of moss diversity: taxonomic and
molecular inferences. Taxon, 54 (2): 337–352.
Shetekauri, S., Chaligaval, O., Shetekauril, T., Kvlividzel, A., Kalabegishvili, T., Kirkesali, E.,
Frontasyeva, M.V., Chepurchenko, O.E., Tselmovich, V.A. 2018. Biomonitoring Air
Pollution Using Moss in Georgia. Pol. J. Environ. Stud., 27(5):2259-2266.
Stotler, B.J., and Began, S.E. 2007. Morphology of Mosses (Phylum Bryophyta).
Tan, B.C. and Shevock, J.R. 2014. Noteworthy mosses and a new variety collected from the
2014 joint expedition of CAS and CMUH new to Mindanao Island of the Philippines.
Bryophyte Diversity and Evolution, 36 (1): 022–030.
Vanderpoorten, A., Papp, B., Gradstein, R. 2010. Sampling of Bryophytes. In Eymann, J.,
Degreef, J., Häuser, Ch., Monje, J.C., Samyn, Y., VandenSpiegel, D (Eds.), Manual on
Field Recording Techniques and Protocols for All Taxa Biodiversity Inventories and
Monitoring, 8(2):331-345.

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“Species diversity and distribution of Mosses in Mt.

Dulang-dulang Range, Bukidnon,

2010; Tan and Shevock, 2014).

atmospheric heavy metal particulates.

Acroporium rigens, Braunfelsia plicata, Brotherella fauriei, Bryoerythrophyllum recurvirostrum,

Gammiella pterogonoides, Oxyrrhynchium hians, Pterogonidium pulchellum, and Vesicularia

Natural Park in the province of Bukidnon (Figure 1).

Collection and Identification of Specimens

photographed using a digital camera.

Data analysis will be conducted in Paleontological Statistics (PAST) software ver.2.17c

to visualize the species distribution, and Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) to

determine relationship between moss and abiotic factors.

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