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A checklist of vascular plants and uses of some species for livelihood-making in Setiu Wetlands, Terengganu, Malaysia

Abstract The Setiu Wetlands, a unique area with nine interconnected habitats, comprises a considerable fraction of the total Peninsular Malaysia’s wetland flora. Although botanical collecting in the area has been active in the past 10 years, only a few studies dealing with the wetland flora have been published. Thus, a detailed checklist of this area is urgently needed to ensure the continuity of its inter-relating flora and fauna, as well as the livelihood of the local people. In this work we conducted a survey of the vascular plant flora of Setiu Wetlands and investigated the most important plants used by the local communities. Our checklist accounts for 406 taxa from 277 genera and 106 families, including 24 (6%) species of ferns and lycophytes, three gymnosperms, 257 (64%) dicotyledons and 122 (30%) monocotyledons. This comprehensive plant checklist will be a primary reference for the management of the newly gazetted Setiu Wetlands State Park covering more than 400 hectares of lands and water bodies.


Introduction
Wetlands are not only among the most productive and complex ecosystems (Costanza et al. 1997), but are also known to benefit humans with significant economic and ecological values (Barbier et al. 2011). The importance of wetlands has increased tremendously following the 2004 catastrophic tsunami which affected many places severely in the Asian region. The Setiu Wetlands (SW) constitutes the largest wetland complex in the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia which is located in an arbitrary but exclusive zone referring to the larger Setiu district in Terengganu. The coastal lagoon is the largest part of the SW, stretching approximately 14 km, parallel to the coastline, from Lembah Bidong in the south up to Beting Lintang to the north, while the wetland basin covers about 23,000 ha of lands and 880 ha of water bodies (Nakisah and Fauziah 2003). In 2018, in lieu of protecting vital catchment areas and their natural heritage, the state government of Terengganu gazetted two new state parks, one of which was in the Setiu district. Driven by its importance for the local economy and the dire need to wisely manage SW for the sustainability, efforts to legally protect SW were initiated more than 20 years ago. However, it was not until recently that the state authority of Terengganu passed the Terengganu State Park Enactment 2017, under which, 432 ha of SW were gazetted as State Park in Phase 1 covering mainly the SW brackish lagoon and estuary (Fig. 1). In the near future, the gazettement for three more phases of this State Park will cover possibly one of the largest coastal freshwater lakes in Peninsular Malaysia, locally known as Tasik Berombak. Tasik Berombak is hydrologically important by supplying the primary source of freshwater into the brackish lagoon of SW (Sathiamurthy 2015) which is a hub for economic and livelihood activities of the SW local community. In addition, phases 3 and 4 of the gazettement intend to cover mostly mangrove islands in SW, but many issues and challenges, primarily related to land title, need to be addressed. SW supports major wetlands ecosystem of marine, coastal vegetation, brackish and freshwater swamps with nine interconnected habitats of sea, beach, mudflats, lagoons, estuaries, rivers, islands, coastal and mangrove vegetation (Mohd Lokman and Sulong 2001;Nakisah and Fauziah 2003;Jamilah et al. 2014). The nine vegetation types (Fig. 2) including the beach-ridge vegetation or BRIS soil vegetation are lowland forest, mangrove swamp forest, peat swamp forest, freshwater swamp forest, riparian vegetation, beach vegetation, heath vegetation (coastal dunes forest), and disturbed vegetation. Each of the habitats is characterised by a unique yet intricate physical environment, supporting its biological entities. Intimate and complex interaction between wetlands, people and the environment could clearly be observed in Setiu district where most of the natural resources harvested from SW are vital for supporting local livelihoods (Faridah et al. 2015). Similar to other wetlands, SW integrity critically depends on the physical and biological environments. Vegetation or flora are the vital biological entity of the SW with many efforts conducted to document this entity (for example, Jamilah et al. 2014;Siti Fatimah et al. 2015;Razali et al. 2017;Rohani et al. 2017). Furthermore, the SW flora is edaphically adapted, for example, the BRIS soil vegetation which is largely confined to the sandy environment of Terengganu narrow coastal stripe and such unique vegetation is not found on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia (Jamilah et al. 2014).
Setiu lagoon supports several islets within the lagoon with healthy mangrove vegetation. However, the mangrove ecosystem here is also characterised by a relatively sandier habitat as compared to the typical mangroves on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia such as the Matang mangroves. Setiu mangroves are not only supporting the three classes of common mangrove vegetation, namely exclusive, non-exclusive and associate (Japar 1994), but also additional vegetation associated with sand ridges. This vegetation, including vascular plants, offers significant ecosystem services, such as providing food and shelter to animals residing in the area, with many being economically important. Furthermore, Setiu lagoon, which is the longest brackish wetlands in Terengganu, includes several patches of sandy-mudflats which support a healthy community of bivalves [including Scapharca cornea (local name: kepah bulu) and Meretrix meretrix (kepah minyak)] (Wan Bayani and Zaleha 2015) that are harvested by the Setiu locals for sale (Faridah et al. 2016). Two species of seagrasses (Halodule pinifolia and Halophila minor) are recorded to thrive well here (Syarifah et al. 2008). This seagrass-mangrove continuum is reported to be an important nursery ground for the juveniles of fishes such as grouper, and pink ear emperor fish, Lethrinus lentjan (Le et al. 2018). The mangroves of Setiu, and its lagoon, are also an important habitat for highly demanded mangrove crabs, Scylla spp. (Ikhwanuddin et al. 2010), and is the source of income for many local fishermen in the area. The geography and the vegetation cover of the area support it as a hub for aquaculture activities, covering brackish water cage culture, pond culture, pen culture especially on groupers, and also oyster farming (Suratman et al. 2014).
In terms of soil origin, the Setiu coastal plain originated from marine-based deposit, arranged in a series of ridges and depressions parallel to the shoreline (Ali and Mohamed 2007;Sathiamurthy 2015) known as BRIS (Beach Ridges Interspersed with Swales). BRIS is oligotrophic or infertile and unsuitable for agriculture (Lim 2002) partly due to extreme water retention capacity and comprises 90% sand (Mohd Ekhwan et al. 2009). However, BRIS soil supports a distinct natural vegetation formation which is different from a typical evergreen rainforest (Jamilah et al. 2013). The ridge part supports heath-like ecosystem plants, while the depression site is usually a pocket of seasonal wetland with adapted vegetation (Jamilah et al. 2011). The nine habitats in SW are increasingly being exposed to various anthropogenic and natural pressures. This could threaten the integrity and ability of those natural ecosystems to fulfil their ecological roles for the benefit of the local community and the coastal environment. As vegetation is the most important entity of the wetlands that supports other important life forms, it is essential to highlight the diversity of flora in SW. The aims of this paper are to provide the first comprehensive checklist of vascular plants of SW, and to understand the use of wild plants for livelihood continuity and sustainability in SW. The latter also further aims to understand how the local community's utilisation affects the plants' sustainability, so that sustainable resource management and conservation policy for SW can be achieved.

Materials and methods
The checklist is based on the plant collections carried out by JMS, EP, SMMN and DN with the help of field assistant, MRS. More than 30 different localities were visited after 2010 in the nine different ecosystems of SW. Specimens were deposited at the Herbarium of Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMTP). In addition, the checklist is also based on a search of the literature (e.g., Mohd Lokman and Sulong 2001;Jamilah et al. 2014;Siti Fatimah et al. 2015;Razali et al. 2017;Rohani et al. 2017;Pesiu 2018) as well as herbaria that store collections of specimens collected from SW, such as the Herbarium of Forest Research Institute of Malaysia, Kepong (KEP) and the Herbarium of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi (UKMB). The checklist includes family, species and local names, and life forms. It also provides the conservation status according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened species (IUCN 2020), Malaysia Plant Red List, Peninsular Malaysia Dipterocarpaceae (Chua et al. 2010), Malaysia Biodiversity Information System (MyBIS) and Convention on International Trade on Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
A total of 188 houses from six villages, i.e. Beting Lintang, Gong Batu, Pengkalan Gelap, Fikri, Mangkok and Penarek, were opportunistically selected for a rapid livelihood survey to determine their dependence on SW wild flora resources. In addition to that, a stratified sampling of 10 households belonging to identified resource users was later conducted in Beris Tok Ku, to provide a better representation of wild flora resource utilisation in the area.

Families, genera and species diversity
We recorded 406 taxa (400 species, three varieties and three hybrids) from 277 genera and 106 families of vascular plants in the nine habitats of SW, including 24 species of ferns and lycophytes, three species of gymnosperms (Cycas edentata, Gnetum cuspidatum and G. gnemon), with 257 being dicotyledons, and 122 monocotyledons (Table 1). This represents 19% of 2168 species recorded growing in wetlands of Peninsular Malaysia (Said and Zakaria 1992) and also illustrates the fact that SW flora is relatively species rich. The most speciose family recorded from SW is Orchidaceae (56 species/28 genera), followed by Rubiaceae (24 species/20 genera) and Fabaceae (22 species/17 genera) (Fig.  3), while there are 43 families represented only by a single species e.g., Amaryllidaceae, Commelinaceae, Cycadaceae, Dioscoreaceae, Flagellariaceae and Pittosporaceae (see Appendix 1 for other families). Among the genera that contribute most to the total number of species are Dendrobium (11 species), Bulbophyllum and Syzygium with 10 species, while Bruguiera, Cyperus and Sonneratia have five species each. In terms of the life forms (Table 2), trees have the highest percentage (39.7%) followed by terrestrial herbs and epiphytes with 16.5% and 13.3% of the taxa, respectively. Apart from the trees, the herbaceous species which can be terrestrial, epiphytic or climbing, are represented by 27.8% of the species, which implies that trees and herbaceous flora are the most important components of the SW areas.
The Orchidaceae (Fig. 4) are well represented in SW, representing 23% of 245 orchid species recently reported in Terengganu (Besi et al. 2019). Thus, to date, there are 56 species of orchids found in SW from which 14 species were recorded by Siti Fatimah et al. (2015) and 42 represent new records in SW, mostly being recent collections by Dome Nikong. The highest number of orchid species in SW, as expected, are in the widespread genera Bulbophyllum and Dendrobium, similar to the results of Besi et al. (2019) in Tasik Kenyir logging sites. Both genera are found to be most abundant epiphytic orchids growing in disturbed and logged forests in which the weather and microclimate are favourable for growth and reproductive processes. However, orchid density is due in part to the severity of the disturbance in which highly disturbed logging sites harbour lower density than somewhat disturbed sites (Besi et al. 2019). Among the species recorded in SW, there are some that are exceptional. The orchid diversity in SW is enriched with the sighting of the uncommon Papilionanthe hookeriana that is confined to the freshwater swamp area of Tasik Berombak in SW. It usually coexists with shrubs and tall grasses for support (Pridgeon et al. 2014). On the other hand, the discovery of Vanilla griffithii in its uncharacteristic habitat of the BRIS forest signified its capability to thrive in xeric environment and supported its local genus distribution pattern suggested by Mohd Raffi et al. (2014) which was best described as constantly sparse, widespread and in many habitats.
As for the mangroves, there are about 33 exclusive mangrove species including three hybrids i.e. Sonneratia × hainanensis, Bruguiera × rhynchopetala,   Rhizophora × annamalayana and four individuals of Bruguiera hainesii located at Pulau Layat (Razali et al. 2017). However, the mangroves in SW and on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, in general, are not so diverse and widely distributed as compared to the west coast because the former are exposed to the lagoons and rivers (Latiff and Faridah-Hanum 2014), and are also threatened by strong waves during monsoon months as well as anthropogenic activities e.g., many mangroves in SW had been uprooted to make way for aquaculture, shrimp ponds and constructions of infrastructures. The relatively species rich profile of SW reflects on the interconnected forest types in SW which consists of different plant communities ( However, the natural ecosystem on BRIS soil ridge and swamps is becoming scarce and smaller in coverage due to various threats faced by the coastal ecosystem of SW. It has become more scattered and fragmented, resulting in difficulty in finding an area that could be a good representative of BRIS soil flora. Fragmentation and degradation also expose this natural ecosystem to the invasion of exotic invasive alien species, such as Acacia mangium, A. auriculiformis and their hybrids (Jamilah et al. 2014). It is predicted that without legal protection and authority commitment to conserve BRIS soil natural vegetation, it will soon be replaced by these alien species, particularly Acacia spp. Although the gazettement of BRIS soil habitat is still underway, land conversion in BRIS is rampant and to prevent further land uses, ecotourism activity is recommended. Therefore, the hope is that in the near future, BRIS soil habitat would be included in the next phases of State Park gazettement which will likely have a significant effect in ensuring the conservation of this unique habitat.
As for the wetland or swamp, a rainfed swamp with a water table is highest during the monsoon months. The swamp is dominated by Melaleuca cajuputi trees with larger diameter of M. cajuputi trees relative to trees growing on the drier ridge of BRIS soil, as it grows better in waterlogged conditions as compared to dry sites (Suzuki 1999). This Melaleuca swamp harbours carnivorous species of pitcher plants (Nepenthes spp.), sundews (Drosera burmannii in particular) and Utricularia bifida which are adapted to freshwater swamp. The hydrological contribution of patches of Melaleuca swamp as a seasonal wetland is worth exploring and the wetlands may provide a critical ecosystem service of mitigating floods, particularly in monsoon months in Terengganu (Jamilah et al. 2015). In addition, SW also harbours a large freshwater lake, locally known as Tasik Berombak. The water is contributed by rain and a few small river tributaries (Sathiamurthy 2015) and comprises BRIS soil with heath-like vegetation on its ridge, but is less rich than natural BRIS ecosystem. The lake is invaded by thick bush of Hanguana malayana and other aquatic and semi aquatic non vascular plants. The high diversity of wild orchids and other potentially useful plant species on coastal habitat of SW is indeed a natural capital for SW State Park and furthermore, the habitat supports an option value, which could be tapped in the future as outlined in Total Economic Value (TEV) (Costanza et al. 1997). The biodiversity resources in SW can be managed sustainably to support the local community green economy as an alternative to unsustainable economic activities such as sand mining. The SW State Park will also be crucial to protect the critically endangered Painted Terrapin (Batagur borneoensis (Schlegel & Muller, 1844)) and to serve as a refuge for some 29 mammals, 161 birds and 36 reptiles and amphibians (WWF-Malaysia). Furthermore, it is also classified as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by Birdlife International.

Conservation status
Eight species have been classified as threatened species including one Critically Endangered (CR), Bruguiera hainesii, two Endangered (EN), Anisoptera marginata and Pterocarpus indicus, and five Vulnerable (VU) (Avicennia rumphiana, Halophila beccarii, Intsia bijuga, Ternstroemia wallichiana and Vatica pauciflora). The Critically Endangered, B. hainesii is only found in several localities in Southeast Asia including SW, and the lower estimates of mature individuals probably due to the low rates of propagation and germination (Polidoro et al. 2010). However, recent molecular analyses revealed that B. hainesii did not merit recognition of species as it has no unique haplotype/allele of its own but instead shared nuclear allele with B. cylindrica and B. gymnorhiza, and thus indicating the hybrid origin of B. hainesii (Ono et al. 2016). Five species partially met the classification thresholds under the threatened species category and therefore were listed as Near Threatened i.e. Cycas edentata, Myristica lowiana, Olax scandens, Phoenix paludosa, Sonneratia ovata, while 155 species are regarded either as Least Concern (LC) or Data Deficient (DD). However, about half of the vascular plants (59%) occurring in SW have not been assessed and categorised under the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
For the Malaysia Plant Red List, two species have been classified as threatened species, namely Anisoptera marginata (EN) and Anodendron candolleanum (VU). There were nine species listed as Near Threatened i.e. Cycas edentata, Cerbera odollam, Cerbera manghas, Vatica pauciflora, Drosera burmannii, Xylocarpus moluccensis, Horsfieldia irya, Myristica lowiana, Olax scandens while 32 species were listed as Least Concern (LC). The other 369 species have not been assessed and categorised under the Malaysia Plant Red List but are available in MyBIS. On the other hand, there were 55 species (13%) listed under CITES of which 49 species were from Orchidaceae, three from Nepenthaceae, two from Ebenaceae and one from Cycadaceae. Almost all the orchids recorded (89%) in SW are listed in CITES. About 30,000 plant species have been listed and protected by CITES against over-exploitation through international trade of which more than half of the species assessed are orchids and cacti.

Wild flora based livelihoods in SW
We found that in the SW, the local households' utilisation mainly focused on three species, namely Nypa fruticans (nypa), Lepironia articulata (Blue-grey sedge) and Pandanus tectorius (Sea Pandan, Sea screwpine). Figure 6 shows the number of flora user households based on the species utilised in each village. Nypa fruticans records the highest number of users with 34 households from five out of seven villages. Lepironia articulata is a close second, with recorded utilisation in 28 households in five villages as well. Meanwhile P. tectorius is the least utilised of the three species with only nine user households in total from four villages. The wide use of N. fruticans coincides with the highest variety of products that can be made using its various plant parts (see Fig. 7). The nypa palm is the most versatile wild plant among the three as different parts of the plant are used to make different kinds of products. For example, the young leaves are used to make tobacco wrappers, its dried midrib is weaved into baskets, while mature fronds with leaves are used to make roof-thatch. The midribs of the nypa, which are unsuitable for weaving lekar baskets, are used to make brooms. Due to this, nypa is the most preferred plant species used in SW. Its utilisation is well documented in Malaysia (see Latiff 2009; Tsuji et al. 2011). It is not only an important wild resource for the Malays but also for indigenous tribes such as the Mah Meri who use nypa leaves to produce decorative items for spirit huts, altars, homes and dancers (Baba et al. 2013). As for Lepironia articulata, although it can be used to make similar types of products as those made using Pandanus tectorius, i.e. mats and bags, its livelihood-based utilisation in Malaysia appears less recorded compared to the latter. Instead, there appears to be more documentation on its utilisation in grey water treatment (see Sim et al. 2008;Wurochekke et al. 2014). However, its utilisation is significant for the users in SW, as it supplemented up to 45% of their monthly household income and represents a strong cultural link to the local tradition for the users who are mostly exclusive (not using other flora resource) users of this resource. The 11 users from SW produced mats, six users made sacks, while 10 users made accessories' items such as hats and bags. Our findings suggest that current utilisation is at a sustainable level thanks to the user's knowledge about the ecology of these plants. Its use therefore poses no threat to the integrity of the state park. According to MacDonald (2009), L. articulata is listed among eight major species that are commonly used for weaving activities by the Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) (Brink and Escobin 2003) due to their high suitability as a raw material for weaving activities, in particular their toughness, plasticity, sustainable strength and impermeability after being dried (Truyen et al. 2014).
The utilisation of L. articulata has been documented in other countries like Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and China where this plant is used to make handicraft or household materials such as bags, mats, baskets, and hats (Domyos and Te-Chato 2013; Truyen et al. 2014). Whereas P. tectorius is only used to make one type of product, i.e. mats by nine users in SW, although other types of handicrafts used to be made in the past. Indeed, while pandan mats are produced in various parts of Malaysia (Ismail and Nawawi 2011; Baba et al. 2013) the quality of pandan mats produced by Terengganu weavers is of excellent quality (Ismail and Nawawi 2013). Therefore, it is highly probable that the weavers in SW could also produce a variety of products (Fig.8), just as the weavers of Mah Meri tribe who are well known for producing varied, exquisite handicrafts such as purses, pouches, mats and baskets in Pulau Carey, Selangor (Baba et al. 2013). However, there needs to be a steady market demand that guarantees a good income stream, which is provided to the Mah Meri weavers by the Gerai OA, an NGO that helps market their products through fairs and online marketing.

Conclusions
Our survey indicates that the nine connected habitats in SW are relatively rich in vascular plants, harbouring nearly 20% of Peninsular Malaysia wetland flora. The current checklist is far from complete as additional species will likely be found with wider sampling coverage and additional systematic inventories. The utilisation of plant resources for the livelihood of coastal communities in SW is still significant for the three main species used in the area (Nypa fruticans, Lepironia articulata and Pandanus tectorius). Local communities play an important role in the sustainability of SW, so it is essential to understand their dependence on the intricate network of wetland ecosystems and their plant species to ensure that they are not overlooked in the management plans of the Setiu Wetlands State Park.