Species Richness of Plants in Bidong Island

Forests not only function as habitat but also provides food sources to various terrestrial communities so that this ecosystem can sustain its function. With trees, forest ecosystems can support various flora, microbes, insects, birds, reptiles and mammals. Unfortunately, since in 1975, the trees of forested islands are suffering from land-clearing due to human inhabitation and this similar incidence is witnessed at Bidong Island. To update a checklist of plants on this island, a series of field surveys which includes new and former locations were held in 2009, 2015 and 2019. Bidong Island harbours a total of 201 plant species, representing 66 family and 142 genera. It includes shrub, medicinal plants, timber and plants that are heritage to Malaysia as food. To secure ecological functions of Bidong Island, particularly in forest conservation management, it is recommended that monitoring and legal protection of the remaining forested areas are needed.