Ecology of Nepenthes on Mount Talang, West Sumatra, Indonesia

Gunung (Mount) Talang is an active volcano in West Sumatra that has a number of Nepenthes species, including the endemic N. talangensis , but their ecology has been little been studied. This study found five species of Nepenthes growing in the protected forest area of Gunung Talang, namely N. bongso , N. inermis , N. pectinata , N. spathulata and N. talangensis . The population of N. talangensis is very small (23 individuals) and it grows sympatrically with N. bongso and N. inermis forming natural hybrids. Lithocarpus conocarpus , Camellia lanceolata , Syzygium acuminatissimum , Adinandra dumosa and Dehaasia sp. are the five most dominant tree species found in the Nepenthes habitat, while L. conocarpus and Podocarpus neriifolius had strong positive associations with N. talangensis . Growth rates of the five Nepenthes species were not significantly different, neither were foliar nitrogen (mean = 1.14%) or phosphorus concentrations (mean = 0.11%). We suggest that N. talangensis should be considered as Critically Endangered and outline some possible conservation actions.