Biodiversity of Pantabangan-Carranglan Watershed Forest Reserve (PCWFR)

Project title: Biodiversity of Pantabangan-Carranglan Watershed Forest Reserve

Project leader(s): Raab Bustamante and  John Charles Altomonte

Organisations involved: Philippine Taxonomic Initiative Inc.

Project summary: Pantabangan-Carranglan Watershed Forest Reserve (PCWFR) is located in the tri-boundary of the provinces of Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya and Aurora. This protected area (PA) is enshrined in Republic Act (R.A.) 7586 (as amended by R.A. 11038) by virtue of Proclamation No. 561 series of 1969. PCWFR serves as the primary source of water for irrigations and hydro- electric power plants in the plains of Central Luzon. This PA which has a total land area of approximately 94 000 ha is a critical sanctuary of various wild-forms of micro and macro-organisms whilst serving as an important biogeographic link between the Sierra Madre and Cordillera mountain ranges. This project seeks to identify accessible, intact sites from which to survey the local flora under the auspices of the relevant authorities, to carry out such surveys, and to use the surveys as platforms to train local botanists in field research techniques.

Brief preliminary studies have identified over a dozen new species across seven genera in the region, including species researchers fromPhilippine Taxonomic Initiative, Inc. published Ardisia kalimbahin (2021), Amorphophallus minimus (2021), Begonia naema (2022), Syzygium crystaliferum (2024) Bulbophyllum Pelseri (2024) and Bulbophyllum barcelonae (2024)

Date started and progress date: This project is currently ongoing.