Is Popularity Good for Plant Conservation? Impacts of “Plantito and Plantita CultureCulture” in Valencia City, Bukidnon, Philippines

Commercial trading of plants is one of the most unregulated money-making industries in the world, especially in Asia. In the Philippines, many plant species, especially the endemics are already threatened of extinction. One of the threats faced by these species is the commercial trade of ornamental...

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Main Authors: Felice A. Beligolo, Dave P. Buenavista
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Prensip Publishing 2023-09-01
Series:Acta Natura et Scientia
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Online Access:https://prensipjournals.com/ojs/index.php/actanatsci/article/view/239
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author Felice A. Beligolo
Dave P. Buenavista
author_facet Felice A. Beligolo
Dave P. Buenavista
author_sort Felice A. Beligolo
collection DOAJ
description Commercial trading of plants is one of the most unregulated money-making industries in the world, especially in Asia. In the Philippines, many plant species, especially the endemics are already threatened of extinction. One of the threats faced by these species is the commercial trade of ornamental plants. Though prohibited under the wildlife resources conservation and protection laws, the trade persists due to their popularity in social media and local plant collectors. As such, this research aimed to quantitatively assess the illegal trade of ornamental plants in Valencia City, Bukidnon, Philippines. Specifically, it aimed to i) determine the socio-demographic profile of traders, ii) determine the species richness of the ornamental plants illegally traded, iii) determine the quantity of ornamental plant species illegally traded, iv) identify factors that drive the exploitation of the ornamental plants, and v) determine the distribution of the ornamental plants in different areas of Valencia City. The research adopted a covert research approach to monitor the plant trade activities in various street markets of Valencia City, Bukidnon. Observations and interviews have been discretely recorded using mobile phones and audio recorder to collect the data. The survey included both the wild species and cultivated ornamental plants. A total of 140 morphotypes (species, cultivars, hybrids, and varieties) belonging to 60 genera and 33 botanical families were recorded. A total of 1, 473 individual plants were recorded in five barangays of Valencia City. Aroids or arums of the Family Araceae were the most traded and collected ornamental plants with 10 genera and 48 morphotypes. This is followed by Acanthaceae (3 genera; 13 morphotypes), Asparagaceae (3 genera; 12 morphotypes), Commelinaceae (3 genera; 12 morphotypes), Euphorbiaceae (3 genera; 6 morphotypes), Orchidaceae (3 genera; 5 morphotypes) and Polypodiaceae (2 genera; 5 morphotypes).
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spelling doaj-art-0bc3b74e8eb94be1ad6b4642b025bfcd2025-08-20T03:07:31ZengPrensip PublishingActa Natura et Scientia2718-06382023-09-014210.29329/actanatsci.2023.354.3239Is Popularity Good for Plant Conservation? Impacts of “Plantito and Plantita CultureCulture” in Valencia City, Bukidnon, PhilippinesFelice A. Beligolo0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1528-3229Dave P. Buenavista1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0198-2179Central Mindanao University, College of Arts and Sciences, Institute of Biological Sciences, Department of Biology, Musuan, Bukidnon 8710, The PhilippinesCentral Mindanao University, College of Arts and Sciences, Institute of Biological Sciences, Department of Biology, Musuan, Bukidnon 8710, The Philippines Commercial trading of plants is one of the most unregulated money-making industries in the world, especially in Asia. In the Philippines, many plant species, especially the endemics are already threatened of extinction. One of the threats faced by these species is the commercial trade of ornamental plants. Though prohibited under the wildlife resources conservation and protection laws, the trade persists due to their popularity in social media and local plant collectors. As such, this research aimed to quantitatively assess the illegal trade of ornamental plants in Valencia City, Bukidnon, Philippines. Specifically, it aimed to i) determine the socio-demographic profile of traders, ii) determine the species richness of the ornamental plants illegally traded, iii) determine the quantity of ornamental plant species illegally traded, iv) identify factors that drive the exploitation of the ornamental plants, and v) determine the distribution of the ornamental plants in different areas of Valencia City. The research adopted a covert research approach to monitor the plant trade activities in various street markets of Valencia City, Bukidnon. Observations and interviews have been discretely recorded using mobile phones and audio recorder to collect the data. The survey included both the wild species and cultivated ornamental plants. A total of 140 morphotypes (species, cultivars, hybrids, and varieties) belonging to 60 genera and 33 botanical families were recorded. A total of 1, 473 individual plants were recorded in five barangays of Valencia City. Aroids or arums of the Family Araceae were the most traded and collected ornamental plants with 10 genera and 48 morphotypes. This is followed by Acanthaceae (3 genera; 13 morphotypes), Asparagaceae (3 genera; 12 morphotypes), Commelinaceae (3 genera; 12 morphotypes), Euphorbiaceae (3 genera; 6 morphotypes), Orchidaceae (3 genera; 5 morphotypes) and Polypodiaceae (2 genera; 5 morphotypes). https://prensipjournals.com/ojs/index.php/actanatsci/article/view/239Illegal plant tradeOrnamental plantsConservationMindanaoPhilippines
spellingShingle Felice A. Beligolo
Dave P. Buenavista
Is Popularity Good for Plant Conservation? Impacts of “Plantito and Plantita CultureCulture” in Valencia City, Bukidnon, Philippines
Acta Natura et Scientia
Illegal plant trade
Ornamental plants
Conservation
Mindanao
Philippines
title Is Popularity Good for Plant Conservation? Impacts of “Plantito and Plantita CultureCulture” in Valencia City, Bukidnon, Philippines
title_full Is Popularity Good for Plant Conservation? Impacts of “Plantito and Plantita CultureCulture” in Valencia City, Bukidnon, Philippines
title_fullStr Is Popularity Good for Plant Conservation? Impacts of “Plantito and Plantita CultureCulture” in Valencia City, Bukidnon, Philippines
title_full_unstemmed Is Popularity Good for Plant Conservation? Impacts of “Plantito and Plantita CultureCulture” in Valencia City, Bukidnon, Philippines
title_short Is Popularity Good for Plant Conservation? Impacts of “Plantito and Plantita CultureCulture” in Valencia City, Bukidnon, Philippines
title_sort is popularity good for plant conservation impacts of plantito and plantita cultureculture in valencia city bukidnon philippines
topic Illegal plant trade
Ornamental plants
Conservation
Mindanao
Philippines
url https://prensipjournals.com/ojs/index.php/actanatsci/article/view/239
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