Study Excursion at Pangandaran Natural Reservatory

By: Irkhas Aliyah*

*lpdp class A, e-mail:irkhas_a@yahoo.com

The Biology Study Program of Yogyakarta State University conducted a

study excursion to Pangandaran Natural Reservatory, Pangandaran Regency,
and West Java in December 2013. The activity was participated by 24
students of biology class B 7th semester including me who had completed all
compulsory subjects such as Ecology, Plant Anatomy, Environmental
Science, Aquatic Biology, Plant Systematic, and the others. The activity was
accompanied by three lecturers.
Pangandaran Natural Reservatory is located on a peninsula and
bordered the East Coast and the West Coast of Pangandaran. We started to
get into the National Park in the morning. The task of our excursion was
limited on studying on the identification of plant in a certain region. It was
limited on making plots to determine the number of the diversity of each
species.
In the second step, we made notes about the characteristic of each
plant. We took pictures and counted every species that we found. After we
finished taking notes we moved to another plot that was two times larger
than the first. It continued until we could not find a new species in our plot. It
finished at 11 a.m.
The second activity was exploration to the Natural Park. At that time,
we were accompanied by a custodian of the park. Because of the rough
terrain, the supervisor only accompanied us up to the Natural Park. At the
location, there was the National Park in which there was a wide variety of
flora and fauna which lived and was free, independent and protected.

Actually, looking for the fauna was not the main task of this field study, but
this could be the learning materials. Fauna that lived in the National Park
Conservation was so varied. Along the way we saw wild animals, for example
a wild bull, long-tailed monkeys (Macaca sp.), langurs (Trcyphithecus sp.),
porcupine, elk (Rusa timorensis), deer, and bats (Pteroptus sp.). We saw
some bird species including cangehgar bird, tlungtumpuk, cipeuw, and
jogjog. There were various reptiles as well, such as lizards, geckos, and
several species of snakes. Baringtonia trees formation or butun, nyamplung
(Calophyllum inophyllum), hibiscus (Hibiscus tiliaceus), pandan (Pandanus
sp.), and ketapan (Terminalia cattapa) were overgrown ranging from coastal
forest located on the eastern and western regions. The dominant flora living
at the secondary forest was laban (Vitex pubescens), kisegel (Dilenia excela),
kondang (Ficus variegata), and marong (Cratoxylon formosum).
Societies and visitors were not allowed to take out and cut down a
single tree trunk. The rare flora also lived in the park was raflesia padma or
Amorphophallus sp. We walked down the National Park to find it, but we just
found the wilted one.
Our exploration was completed in the afternoon near the time of
evening prayer. All of the data that had been recorded and stored were used
as sources to identify of plant material when we came back to Yogyakarta.