Diversity and distribution of fig (Ficus spp) in University of Sumatera Utara (USU) green space

Abstract

Abstract The genus of Ficus is a significant component in the tropical rainforest ecosystem, consisting of many species and distributed across altitudes. Genus Ficus also has an important role in ecological services such as food sources for animals, habitat restoration, and sources of medicine. As the green space in Medan, The University of Sumatera Utara (USU) campus supports those ecological services by maintaining species diversity. This research aims were to identify and determine the distribution Ficus genus in the USU campus green space. For this purpose, field inventory methods were adopted along 120 hectares of the campus area. Morphological identification through observation and measurement of tree organs was used to identify fig species. Species distribution was calculated based on the relative abundant formula. The result showed that there was 124 individual fig belonging to 8 species found in USU campus. The most abundant species was F. benjamina (55.64%), with the Relative Density (RD) value was 0.94. The lowest value is F. hispida (0.8%), and the RD value was 0.01. The diversity index of ficus was 0.124 and classified into low.