Diversity of Aquatic and Marsh plants in Western Sarawak

Umie Naylisa, Mohamad Asmadi (2023) Diversity of Aquatic and Marsh plants in Western Sarawak. Masters thesis, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS).

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Abstract

Sarawak is a Malaysian state on the island of Borneo. Malaysia has an estimated 15,000 vascular plant species, with approximately 8,300 in Peninsular Malaysia and over 12,000 in Sabah and Sarawak, including aquatic and marsh plants that are critical to the biological balance of the wetlands there. These wetlands, which include mangrove forests and riverine systems, support a diverse range of plant species, and adapt to seasonal changes in rainfall. Aquatic plants are important components of waterbody systems, but Sarawak has had far fewer studies on them than Peninsular Malaysia. More research on the distribution and diversity of aquatic plants is essential to improve the management of waterbody systems and to add educational value to these plants. The study aims to document the aquatic and marsh plant species in western Sarawak, assessing their diversity through a comprehensive review of the plants' morphological and palynological characteristics. It reveals the data on diversity, distribution, ecology, morphology, micromorphology (stomata and trichomes), and palynology data from the western Sarawak region, with a focus on Samarahan, Kuching, and Serian divisions. Every collected species was mapped and recorded. Only fresh samples were used for micromorphological and palynological studies. A total of 23 families, 41 genera, and 50 taxa have been identified in western Sarawak. The Araceae family contains the most taxa which were a total of 10 taxa. Samarahan (32 taxa) has the most species among the two divisions, according to the location survey. The aquatic and marsh plants were divided into seven groups: emergent, floating-leaved, submerged, emergent free-floating, submerged free-floating, rheophyte, and marsh plant. The pH of water aquatic species identified in western Sarawak ranged from 3.87 to 9.44, with temperatures ranging from 26.0 to 33.0 °C. For micromorphological studies, a total of 27 species from various habitat types (aquatic-related plants) were collected. The species' micromorphology (stomata) was chosen iv at random, but each habit type must be represented by at least one species. Among the species studied, anisocytic, diacytic, hemiparacytic, paracytic, pericytic, stephanocytic, and tetracytic stomata were identified. Palynology evaluated the size, shape, length and breadth, unit, ratio, aperture, and exine sculpturing of pollen from 14 species from seven genera and families. The checklist, distribution, micromorphology, and palynology of aquatic and marsh plants in western Sarawak were all covered in this study. This study has provided an identification key for the region's aquatic and marsh plant families, which will aid future research and conservation efforts, fostering a more understanding of local plant diversity and endorsing focused efforts to protect and uphold these vital ecosystems.

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