Analysis of Endemic Flora Diversity of North Sulawesi Indonesia as a Potential for Sustainable Ecotourism

Aims: This study aims to analyze the diversity of endemic flora of North Sulawesi Indonesia as a potential for sustainable ecotourism.

Place and Duration of Study: This research was conducted in the Batuputih Nature Tourism Park (BNTP), Bitung, North Sulawesi (Sulawesi Utara), Indonesia from April until June 2022.

Methodology: The data collection method is carried out using vegetation analysis where this method is a combination method between the path method and the banded line. The number of plot paths used in this study was 47 plots. The distance between the plot of the paths is 20 meters. Determination of the observation path plot is carried out by purposive sampling. Data obtained in the field were analyzed using the Shannon-Wienner species diversity index.

Results: The study's results found 61 types of plants at the sapling level, 29 at the pole level and 47 at the tree level. The plants that dominate Batuputih Nature Tourism Park (BNTP) at the level of mature trees belong to the family Malvaceae, while the plants that dominate at the level of piles and piles belong to the families Rubiaceae and Anacardiaceae. The value of plant species diversity at each level is greater than 3. The diversity index value at the sapling level is 3.75, the pole level is 3.15, and the tree level with a value of 3.11.

Conclusion: The diversity of flora species at the level of trees, pole and sapling in the Batuputih Nature Tourism Park area is included in the category of high abundance. This means that the diversity of flora species in the community is increasingly stable in the BNTP area. In this area, 2 (two) types of flora endemic to North Sulawesi are found as potential for sustainable ecotourism, namely the species of Homalium celebicum and Pterospermum celebicum. Both types of endemic plants have the potential to become icons or flagships of ecotourism in North Sulawesi.