Identification of Pine Species Based on Their Morphology in the Parsingguran Protected Forest, North Sumatra, Indonesia

Afifuddin Dalimunthe, Rivaldo Naibaho, Kansih Hartini, Budi Utomo, Rizky Wahyudi, Anita Zaitunah and Yunasfi

Background and Objective: Pine trees belong to the Pinaceae family and have a wide distribution starting from Earth’s Northern to Southern hemispheres and include nearly 120 species. Tropical pine, is known by the name Tusam, is the only type of pine that is distributed in Southeast Asia, such as Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia. This research was conducted to identify the morphology of pine (Pinus merkusii) found in the Parsingguran Village Protected Forest, Pollung District, Humbang Hasundutan County. Materials and Methods: This research was conducted in one area. The protected forest, managed by a forest farmer group, covers an area of 172 ha and consists of 110 ha pine stands and 60 ha of degraded land. This research used the plotted line method with a construction plot measuring 20×20 m, which is a combination of the lane and double plot methods. The intensity of the sampling used in this research was 5%. The determination of sample plots is carried out randomly, intentionally (purposive sampling). Results: In this study, 401 Aceh strain pine trees and 233 pines were found to be Tapanuli strain. Based on morphological analysis, the Aceh strain of pine has a rougher bark structure, deep grooves, longer leaves and shorter fruit than the Tapanuli pine strain. Pine strain Tapanuli has a taller, slimmer and straighter trunk shape than the Aceh pine strain. The condition of Pine health in the Parsingguran Protected Forest is in class 2 and 3, which is included in unhealthy canopy characteristics. Conclusion: Aceh strain pine has a higher tolerance to the environment compared to the Tapanuli strain pine. This may be due to its larger, rougher and shorter morphological form and a longer leaf shape. This morphological adaptability has been proven to be able to develop rapidly in a wider range of climate differences.

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