Mount Isarog

Mount Isarog

View of Mount Isarog from San Jose, Camarines Sur
Highest point
Elevation 2,000 m (6,600 ft) [1][2]
Prominence 1,951 m (6,401 ft) [1]
Listing Ultra
Coordinates 13°39′33″N 123°22′24″E / 13.65917°N 123.37333°E / 13.65917; 123.37333Coordinates: 13°39′33″N 123°22′24″E / 13.65917°N 123.37333°E / 13.65917; 123.37333 [1][3]
Geography
Mount Isarog

Location in Philippines

Location Bicol Region, Philippines
Geology
Mountain type Stratovolcano
Last eruption Unknown[3]
Climbing
Easiest route Concosep, Tigaon, Camarines Sur Route

Mount Isarog is a potentially active stratovolcano located in the province of Camarines Sur, Philippines, on the island of Luzon. It has an elevation of 2,000 metres above mean sea level.[1]

The peak of the mountain marks the point where the borders of five municipalities and one city meet (listed in clockwise direction, starting north): Goa, Tigaon, Ocampo, Pili, Naga City, and Calabanga.

Mount Isarog was where local troops of the Philippine Army and Constabulary units and Bicolano guerrillas hid during the Japanese Period. In the 1970s, with the leadership of Romulo Jallores and his brother, they established the New People's Army in the Bicol region at the foot of this mountain.[4]

History

Legal History

It was made a public land through the Proclamation No. 157 on March 28, 2015. Towns around it is classified as timberland forest with an area of 13,433 hectares.

On August 17, 1935, General Frank Murphy established the Mt. Isarog Forest Reserve which reduced the size of the area to 10,112. But it was revoked by President Manuel L. Quezon when he signed Proclamation No. 293 titled "Establishment of Mt. Isarog as a National Park."

On June 1, 1992, with the passage of Republic Act 7586 known as the National Integrated Protected Areas System or NIPAS, Mt. Isarog was National Integrated Protected Area Programme. On June 20, 2002, by virtue of Proclamation No. 214, Mt. Isarog became a protected area under the natural park.

Biodiversity

Mt. Isarog has a rich diversity. It displays four major types of natural habitat or vegetation; from the warm grassland and lowland forest to the wet and cool climate of montane forest.

Types Altitude (meters asl.)
Lowland Forest 500-900
Grassland 700-1,200
Montane Forest 1,000-1,400
Mossy Forest 1,500-to the summit

The lowland forest is noted for its tall canopy. The uppermost layer towers between 30–40 meters and sometimes even reach 60 meters. Many of these trees belong to the dipterocarp family. The second canopy layer (between 23–30 meters) has the sustain bamboos (Bambusa), arborescent palms (Calamus), climbing bammboo (Schizostacyum), climbing pandans (Freycinetia) and vascular epiphytes such as orchids and ferns.

The grassland (parang) is dominated by cogon (imperata cylindrica) and talahib (saccharum ovatum) grasses.The topography and the soil condition of the area limited the growth of trees giving rise to the grassland.

The montane forest has two-oken because layered canopy trees ranging from 12–25 meters with noticeable canopy gaps due to the absence of large trees.

The mossy forest is has a canopy with a small height of 2 to 6 meters only. The canopy is broken because of the high winds and steep terrain. It is inhabited by bamboo, pandan, orchids, ferns pitcher plants and other epiphytes. Trees in this level is covered with moss.

Endemic

Isarog Shrew rat (rhyncomys isarogensis) was first discovered in 1988 in Mount Isarog. Although it has no direct economic value, its presence in Mount Isarog is a barometer of wealth and management of its natural resources. It is now listed as endangered in the Red Data Book of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.[5]

Mt. Isarog is included as a proctected area backed with the presence of endemic rodents (archboldomys luzonensis, chrotomys gonzalesi and rhyncomys isarogensis) and other endemic mammal and 15 bird species endemic to Luzon.

Isarog Cloud Frog was first described by scientists in 1997 in Mt. Isarog. They have identified one and possibly three new frog species, 8 species of snakes and 19 species of lizards.

Mt. Isarog also has the rare Mt. Isarog Forest Skink (sphenomorphus knollmanae) that occurs nowhere else in the world.[5]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Philippines Mountains" - Ultra Prominence Page. Peaklist.org. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
  2. ↑ "Mount Isarog, Philippines" Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
  3. 1 2 "Isarog". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution.
  4. ↑ Gerona, Danillo (June–July 1993) [1993]. "Isarog Through the Years". The Bikol Executive 1. pp. 21–22.
  5. 1 2 "Rhynchomys isarogensis (Isarog Rhynchomys, Isarog Shrew-rat, Isarog Shrew Rat, Mt Isarog Shrew-rat)". www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved 2015-09-30.

External links

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