Biodiversity Assessment of Avifauna in the Pine Forests of Camp John Hay Forest Reservation, Baguio City, Philippines

Abstract The main objective of the study was to assess the present status of avifaunal diversity in the pine (Pinus kesiya) forest of Camp John Hay (CJH) Forest Reservation, Baguio City. The information obtained in this study will be useful for better environmental management of the area and can also be tapped for ecotourism purposes. An avifaunal diversity assessment in pine-cleared sites was also done to compare their values with pine forest areas. Transect walk method was undertaken in three (3) pine forest sites and two pine-cleared sites to assess the diversity of avifauna in each site. A total of 32 species of birds belonging to 20 families were documented in the three (3) pine forest sites. For the pine-cleared sites, a total of only six (6) bird species were documented. Bird diversity values (H') in pine forest sites ranged from 1.81 to 2.28. These values which fall within the range of 1.5-3.0 indicate that the bird community in the pine forest sites is diverse. On the other hand, bird diversity values (H') in pine-cleared sites ranged from 0.0874 to 0.4822. These values which are below 1.5 indicate that the bird community in pine-cleared sites is not diverse. Results obtained in this study showed that the pine forest area in the Camp John Hay Forest Reservation houses a significant amount of bird biodiversity that can be tapped for ecotourism and must be considered in the environmental management of the reservation