Republic of the Philippines

Central Mindanao University

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
University Town, Musuan Maramag, Bukidnon

LABORATORY REPORT 3
Biology 240 (Advanced Ecology)
1st Semester, S.Y. 2020-2021

Title:
Identification of Biotic and Abiotic Components of a Forest
(Buda National High School, Barangay Buda, Marilog District, Davao City)

Name:
DAVE IVAN KARL MOTECILLO
HAZEL AMOR L. ODOD
JONAH MAE D. TAGANAS

September 30, 2020

 Abstract

Ecosystem has a definite structure and components, and that each component part of the
ecosystem has a definite role to play in the functioning ecosystem. These days terms like forest
ecosystem, grassland ecosystems, pond ecosystem are some of the ecosystems found on earth.
This study focused on the identification of the abiotic and biotic components of forest ecosystem
of 10 cm x 10 cm in the area of Buda National High School Buda, Marilog, Davao del Sur. The
abiotic components found on the area through the data of habitat’s name, date and time,
temperature, altitude, coordinates, exposure of the area to sunlight and soil type. The rainfall data
was not found during the conduct of the activity since it wasn’t raining. Base on the data
gathered the abiotic components the forest was found healthy and ideal for habitation .The biotic
forms understudy were the plant life forms, animal life forms and other living forms such us
fungi, lichens and mosses. Plant life forms were identified having their components namely
foliage form, seasonal condition, stratification and coverage area density for the plant life forms
in the forest. On the other hand, animal life forms were also identified having their components
of species/ name of animal life forms, microhabitat and abundance. Life forms of fungi, lichens
and mosses were also identified with their components namely name of the life forms, habitat
and abundance. Base on the data gathered, all the expected data for biotic components were
listed and tabulated and it was inferred that the forest is rich in healthy life forms that each life
forms seems to have highly benefited the habitat they live in which supported the kind of
richness of abiotic components found in the area. The interconnection of abiotic and biotic
components was found and their data highly supports the overall abundance of the forest.
 INTRODUCTION

An ecosystem is a community of organisms involved in a dynamic network of biological,

chemical and physical interactions between themselves and with the nonliving components.
Study of such connections and interactions help us understand the link between each component.
Further, such interactions are crucial for sustaining the system and allowing it to respond to
changing conditions. Ecosystem is also defined as a functional and structural unit of ecology.
This implies that each ecosystem has a definite structure and components, and that each
component part of the ecosystem has a definite role to play in the functioning ecosystem.

An ecosystem is composed of two main components: biotic and abiotic factors. Biotic
factors are the living parts of the ecosystem, such as plants, animals, insects, fungi and bacteria.
Abiotic factors are the non-living parts of the ecosystem, which influence the size and
composition of the living parts: these are components like minerals, light, heat, rocks and water.

Forests consist not only of living (biotic) components like trees, animals, plants and other
living things but also of nonliving (abiotic) components such as soil, water, air, and landforms.
Abiotic factors are part of the ecosystem and can impact the associated living things, but they are
not living. Abiotic factors make up much of the variation seen between different ecosystems. By
determining the availability of essential resources such as sunlight, water, oxygen, and minerals,
abiotic factors influence which organisms can survive in a given place. On the other hand, Biotic
factors’ most obvious features of any forest ecosystem are its trees. They dominate the
ecosystem: both in terms of visibility and in terms of biomass. Biotic components are all the
living things in an ecosystem. They are the animals, the plants and the microorganisms. Biotic
components also include the waste from living things and dead organisms. Even the harshest
corners of our planet have biotic components. Earth is teaming with biotic beings.

The main purpose of this laboratory activity is to identify the biotic and abiotic
components of the forest ecosystem. Specifically, it aims to; first, Identify the plant life, animal
life forms with their components and other life forms such as lichens and fungi found in the
forest ecosystem of the sample site and second is to describe the abiotic components of the forest
as to exposure of the area to sunlight, temperature, soil type, altitude and etc.

This study hypothesizes that Buda, Marilog, Davao Del Sur contains both biotic and
abiotic components in the chosen sample size’s mini forest in Buda National High School. It was
predicted that each of the living components can be identified based on the specifications listed
above and are according to the observation on an area of 10m x10 cm. The authors also
hypothesize that all the listed abiotic components on the activity sheet is present in the area, with
the prediction that abiotic components will be observed, measured or searched online as some
weather data is readily available online.
 METHODOLOGY

An area we wish to work on was carefully selected and it must be a forest. A 10 m x 10 m

plot was established. An observation of plant life and animal life present on the area was made.
All organisms observed was recorded and tabulated using the format given. Table 1 was on the
plant life form with its foliage form, seasonal condition, stratification and coverage. Table 2 was
on animal life forms with its microhabitat and abundance. Other organisms observed such as
lichens and fungi was also recorded.
The relative exposure of the area to sunlight was described including the amount of
decaying matter in the area. Other parameters such as name of the habitat, date and time of
observation, temperature, altitude, coordinates soil type was also recorded. Date and time of
observation was given by phone’s time and calendar. Temperature, altitude, coordinates were
gathered through GPS and online weather forecast. While, soil type and sun exposure data were
gathered through direct observation of the area. Rainfall data was supposed to be retrieved in
PAG-ASA weather forecast but the weather was fair, the clouds are overcast and no rain was
expected to fall during the date and time of the data gathering.
In identifying the plant life form and its’ components, the following was considered and
listed: Plant Life forms with its foliage form, seasonal condition, stratification and coverage.
Plant Life form: Specify whether a tree, shrub, herb and a vine, Foliage/leaf form: Broad,
Narrow, Needle like, Scale-like, Seasonal condition: Defoliating (leaves are falling/shedding),
Budding, Flowering, and Fruiting. Stratification (the more or less distinct layer found in most
habitats) ground layer. herbaceous layer, shrub or understory layer, canopy layer. Coverage (the
total area covered by the foliage/leaves of a species) whether: dense – if more than 75 % of the
habitat area, medium dense– 50-75 %, sparse – less than 50 %.
In identifying the animal life form, the following was considered and listed its animal life
forms, its microhabitat, and abundance. Abundance is based on the number of the organism’s
present and interpreted on hypothetical range; few if 1-10 individuals; many if more than 10
individuals.
In identifying Lichen and Fungi, it is based on the observation and fit to the definition of
the two. Lichen is not a single organism the way most other living things are, but rather it is a
combination of two organisms which live together intimately. Most of the lichen is composed of
fungal filaments, but living among the filaments are algal cells, usually from a green alga or a
cyanobacterium on the other hand, Fungi are a group of living organisms which are classified in
their own kingdom. This means they are not animals, plants, or bacteria. Unlike bacteria, which
have simple prokaryotic cells, fungi have complex eukaryotic cells like animals and plants.
In describing the abiotic components of the forest, the following data are gathered: name
of the Habitat, date and time, temperature, altitude, coordinates, exposure of the area to sunlight,
amount of rainfall, and soil type.
 RESULTS

This laboratory activity was conducted last September 23, 2020 at exactly 3:00 in the
afternoon at the backyard portion of Buda National High School, Baranggay Buda, Marilog
District, Davao City. It is situated at approximately 7.5543, 125.3566 coordinates and with an
elevation of approximately 439.1 meters or 1,440.6 feet above sea level, with an atmospheric
temperature of 26 degrees Centigrade. The said area is mini forest and it is partially shaded with
respect to its exposure to the sunlight with abundant decaying organic matter such as leaves and
rotting logs. Its soil type is said to be Camansa Sandy clay loam soil. Rainfall data was supposed
to be retrieved in PAG-ASA weather forecast but the weather is the clouds are overcast and no
rain was expected to fall during the date and time of the data gathering.

Based on the observation during activity, the following data was gathered:

Table 1. List of Plant Life forms with its foliage form, seasonal condition, stratification and
coverage.
Name of Life Foliage Seasonal Stratification Coverage
Species form form condition
Gemelina Tree Broad Defoliating Canopy Layer Medium
dense
Pine Tree Tree Needle Like Defoliating Canopy Layer Medium
dense
Magium Tree Broad Defoliating Canopy Layer Sparse
Mango Tree Narrow Fruiting Understory Sparse
Banana Shrub Narrow Fruiting/Flowering Understory Sparse
Fortune Plant Shrub Narrow Flowering Herbaceous Sparse
Gabi/Taro Herb Broad Flowering Herbaceous Sparse
Muti-muti Vine Broad Flowering Herbaceous Sparse
Syngonium Vine Narrow Flowering Ground layer Sparse
Carabao Grass Herb Narrow Flowering Ground layer Medium
dense
Cogon Herb Narrow Flowering Ground layer Medium
Dense
Mahogany tree Narrow defoliating Canopy layer Medium
Dense

Table 2. List of animal life forms with its microhabitat and abundance.

Animal life forms Microhabitat Abundance

Mosquito Banana leaves Many
Earthworm Ground/soil Many
Black flies Grasses/ dead leaves Many
Mouse Grasses/dead leaves Few
Birds Trees Many
Frogs Ground/ soil/ decaying log Few
Table 3. List of other organisms present with its habitat and abundance

Organisms present Habitat Abundance

Fungi Rotting logs/ decaying leaves Many
Lichens Bark of the trees Many
Moss Rock/ bark of the trees Many

Based on the result of the laboratory activity it was found out the most of the plant life
form present in the said area were trees like the Gemelina, Pine trees, Magium, Mango Trees and
Mahogany Trees were most of it are in defoliating condition and mostly were in canopy layer.
Shrubs like Banana, Fortune plant were also present in a flowering condition and understory and
herbaceous in terms of its stratification. It was also noted the presence of vines like the muti muti
and syngonium that were both epiphytes and while on the ground layer carabao grass and Cogon
were also observed as it was presented in Table 1.
Animal forms were also observed during the activity as it was presented in table 2.
Insects such as mosquitos and black flies was observed that were inhabiting the leaves of banana
and dead leaves or grasses respectively. Earthworm on the ground or soil were also present.
Some vertebrates such as mouse and frogs were noted. Some vertebrates such as mouse and
frogs were noted and were inhabited in dead leaves of grasses and rotting logs. In the upper layer
or in the trees, birds were also inhabited in it. Other organism such as lichens, fungi and mosses
were noticed attach in the bark of the trees, rotting logs and even on the rocks.
 DISCUSSION

The abiotic components of the forest gathered have following data: name of the Habitat,
date and time, temperature, altitude, coordinates, exposure of the area to sunlight and soil type.
There was no amount of rainfall indicated for it wasn’t a rainy day. Laboratory activity was
conducted last September 23, 2020 at exactly 3:00 in the afternoon at the backyard portion of
Buda National High School, Baranggay Buda, Marilog District, Davao City. It is situated at
approximately 7.5543, 125.3566 coordinates and with an elevation of approximately 439.1
meters or 1,440.6 feet above sea level, with an atmospheric temperature of 26 degrees
Centigrade. The said area is mini forest and it is partially shaded with respect to its exposure to
the sunlight with abundant decaying organic matter such as leaves and rotting logs. Its soil type
is said to be Camansa Sandy clay loam soil. Rainfall data was supposed to be retrieved in PAG-
ASA weather forecast but the weather was fair; the clouds were overcast and no rain was
expected to fall during the date and time of the data gathering. Almost all the expected data for
abiotic components were found except for the rainfall data. Most of the data were gathered via
online data provided by national weather forecast and GPS. Though, soil type identification and
sun exposure data were collected through direct observation. Here, we could infer that gathering
data of abiotic components can be done through online browsing, GPS utilization and direct
observation. We could also infer according to the data given that the abiotic components were
already present and expected to be present and enrich in a forest ecology though some data may
be missing on a certain time it won’t mean it wasn’t present at all times. Furthermore, the rainfall
data is a very important abiotic data of a forest and its’ absence during the data gathering doesn’t
mean inexistent of that component in fact if you look at the annual data of Davao Del Sur it
experiences numerous rainy days and even had excessive rainy days from the previous months.
The abiotic data given proves that the forest is habitable and productive for living organism . The
altitude is very high that flood won’t destroy the area, the atmospheric temperature is temperate
enough to grow trees, the sunlight exposure was partly shaded which could make it less prone to
excessive sun’s heat. It has abundant decaying matter which is very beneficial for trees and or
plants to have natural fertilizer. The soil type present on the site was Camansa Sandy clay loam
soil which is a very healthy soil and the plants and or trees can grow well with it.
The first table shows the presence of Life forms namely Tree, Shrub, Herb and Vine here
we can imply that all the expected life forms found in the forest were present in the sample site
and the site is mostly dominated by trees.
In terms of the foliage narrow foliage form dominates though the existence of need like
and broad was also found, which means that the dominant foliage form have narrow leaf plantain
has lance-shaped leaves up to 12 centimeters (5 inches) long and 2.5 centimeters (1 inch) wide,
covered with hairs. The leaves are edged with small, lance-shaped edges and their flowers are
small and inconspicuous. Scale like foliage were not found which indicates that there were no
gymnosperm species in the site since such foliage is mostly found in them.
 Most of the seasonal condition of the species were flowering which could mean that the
month of September is a flowering season for most of the plants there. For fruit trees it was also
seen that the month is a fruiting season for them. On the other hand, trees like magium, pine tree,
and mahogany was in the defoliating season for the month.
For stratification Canopy layer is the most dominant followed by the ground layer. Out of
the seven layers of plants only four was found on the site since only those four layers was asked
on the data sheet. However, based on the data collected, we could imply that the site was mostly
consisted of the original mature trees and home to unique flora and fauna not found in other
layers of forests for Canopy layer was described in that manner.
Base on the list of Species five have medium and seven have sparse density as per the
coverage of the foliage was observed. Hence, the coverage of the foliage of the seven species
were less than 50 % and five of the species have 50-70 % foliage coverage wherein we can say
that with the ratio of 5:7 we can say and given that the percentage area of the more numerous
species is less compared to the other one we could say that the foliage are just in proper balance
that the sun’s rays were permitted fairly to each species.
There were twelve species listed on the table 1 namely; Gemelina, Pine Tree, Magium,
Mango, Banana, Fortune Plant, Gabi/Taro, Muti-muti, Syngonium, Carabao Grass, Cogon and
Mahogany. The species mentioned are plant life forms and each of their components where
tabulated and discussed. Their Plant Life forms with its foliage form, seasonal condition,
stratification and coverage completely filled on the table as expected and the data found about
each area was additionally found meaningful also in identifying on of the biotic components of
the forest which are the plants.
For table 2, The animal life forms found was Mosquito, Earthworm, Black flies, Mouse,
Birds, and Frogs. In ground or soil there were many earthworms and few frogs. In grasses or
dead leaves there were many black flies and mouse. In banana leaves many mosquitoes were
found and trees were also found having many birds in it. The ground/soil, grasses/dead leaf,
decaying log and trees became the microhabitats of the animal life form in the mini forest. Most
of these species are highly abundant on their own microhabitats, in fact only mouse and frogs
were found few in terms of abundance for the rest were many. We could denote that the animal
life forms were present on the area as identified and components of the life forms were featured
on the second table. The data were complete and the expectations for the identification animal
life forms of the forest were also met.
Other organism such as lichens, fungi and mosses were noticed attach in the bark of the
trees, rotting logs and even on the rocks they were abundantly many on their habitat. These
organisms appear to be an indicator that the activity was not or has minim al content of an air
pollution.
Other organism such as lichens, fungi and mosses were noticed attach in the bark of the
trees, rotting logs and even on the rocks. These organisms appear to be an indicator that the
activity hasn’t or has minimal content of air pollution.
 CONCLUSION

Based on the results and findings of the study, forest has biotic and abiotic components
and these components can be identified by the feature each one have. Biotic organisms can be
identified having their innate feature and or components. There were biotic life forms that was
found in the forest they are plant, animals, fungi, lichen and mosses life forms. The plant life
forms can be identified with its components having the data of their plant Life forms/ name of
the plant species with its foliage form, seasonal condition, stratification and coverage. For animal
life forms they were identified with their components having the data of their animal life
forms/name of the animal species, microhabitat and abundance. Also, life forms of, fungi, lichen
and mosses were identified with their components of life forms/ name of the life forms, habitat
and abundance. Abiotic components were also found by gathering the data of habitat’s name,
date and time, temperature, altitude, coordinates exposure of the area to sunlight, soil type and
rainfall. These data were found to be important and meaningful in studying the forest
ecosystems. However, a forest ecosystem or forests are more than a collection of living and
nonliving things found in the same place. Their many components are connected to each other.
Everything in the forest is interconnected even the diversity of biotic components are link with
each other as one organism may benefit from the other or both of them benefited from each
other. Forest are made up of different layers and are complex ecosystem that it can support a
range of plants and animals. Abiotic components of the forest have great influence to the biotic
components that it may determine the type and kind of ecosystem that may develop. This major
factors that determine the growth and type of ecosystem include temperature, rainfall, soil t ype
and the location. Thus, these factors, their interactions with each other and with the local biotic
community may result in a variety of ecosystems
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