Abstract:
Palm species have existed for a long time in the New Guinea forests that are known to include exceptionally varied habitat characteristic. Sararanga sinuosa is a palm-like dioecious tree that is classified as a shrub and distributed exclusively along the northern part of the Indonesian New Guinea. To contribute to the long-term preservation of floral diversity on the island of Papua, the objective of this study was to determine the specific habitats where S. sinuosa is found in and the ideal environmental attributes for the growth of this species. Four sample plots were established to determine the distribution of this species and to understand its ecological and environmental attributes governing its occurrence, including mean temperature, humidity, soil nutrient content, association with other plant species, and preferred landscapes. The result showed that this species, in general, tended to grow at lower altitudes (< 140 m asl), in areas with a mean temperature and humidity of 30.11 °C and 74.55%, respectively. It was found to be most abundant in plot I (24 plants), where the plants showed at mean diameter and height of 22.58 cm and 13.55 m, respectively, and were found at altitudes around 40.33 m asl, on slopes ranging between 10° and 30°. However, there was no significant difference in their abundance between the four study plots.
