Abstract:
Abstract. Nugroho Y, Supandi, Suyanto, Matatula J, Wirabuana PYAP. 2021. Influence of understorey diversity on wildlife at the coal
mining reclamation area in South Kalimantan, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 22: 3736-3742. The existence of understorey at the coal mining
reclamation area provides an important contribution to improve the environmental quality, especially the wildlife presence. Therefore, this
study aims to determine the influence of understorey diversity on the wildlife at the coal mining reclamation area managed by the PT
Borneo Indobara, South Kalimantan. This study used an ecological survey conducted in three reclamation areas classified based on the
dominant species supporting the process, namely Paraserianthes falcataria (L-1), Anthocephalus cadamba (L-2), and a mixture of both
species (L-3). The data were collected in two observation periods, namely August 2019 and August 2020. The results showed that at the first
observation, ten families of understorey were observed from the survey and the highest diversity was recorded in L-2 (H'=1.71), followed by
L-1 (H'=1.54), and L-3 (H'=1.27). Meanwhile, the wildlife in the first periods was only 6 species consisting of 3 birds, 2 reptiles, and 1
mammal. The number of species from every site was relatively equal at the first observation. In the second observation, the diversity of
understorey considerably increased with approximately 22 families from the inventory. The highest understorey diversity in this observation
was recorded in L-1 (H'=3.30), L-2 (H'=3.05), and L-3 (H'=3.04). Also, the higher understorey diversity was followed by the higher wildlife
with 29 species, which consists of 26 birds, 2 reptiles, and 1 mammal. The highest appearance of bird species was in the L-1 with
approximately 19 species, while the number of birds in L-2 and L-3 was relatively similar with approximately 15 species. Based on these
results, the understorey diversity significantly contributes to improving the wildlife diversity at the coal mining reclamation area, primarily
from the bird species.
