Floristic Composition and Visitor Carrying Capacity of the Nalayag Ecotourism Site, Batangas, Philippines: A Baseline for Sustainable Management of a Tropical Limestone Forest

Ecotourism presents both opportunities and challenges for the sustainable management of tropical limestone forests, making updated assessments of biodiversity and visitor carrying capacity essential for informed conservation planning. This study assessed the floristic composition and carrying capacity for the sustainability of forest-based ecotourism sites in Lobo, Batangas, specifically the Nalayag Ecotourism Site. A total of 25 quadrats were surveyed to record plant species and diameter at breast height, with diversity indices (Shannon and Simpson’s Evenness), importance values based on dominance, frequency, and density, and species indigeneity, endemicity, and conservation status used to assess the ecological value of the site. A total of 378 individuals from 87 morpho-species, 72 genera, and 34 families were recorded in the study site. The study area can be considered highly important having 56 natives, nine Philippine endemics, and seven locally- and four internationally threatened species. In terms of carrying capacity, the real carrying capacity was calculated as 1324 visitors for the Nalayag Trail, 14 visitors for Nalayag Rocks, and 167 visitors for the Monolith. While visitation remains within acceptable limits in most areas, visitor numbers at Nalayag Rocks exceed its real carrying capacity during peak months, indicating a high risk of habitat degradation. These results add to the empirical evidence on the floral diversity of tropical limestone forests in the Philippines as well as quantitative baseline for its sustainable ecotourism management. With these findings, an ecotourism management plan enforcing visitor caps at Nalayag Rocks, regulating access schedules, and applying ecotourism zoning and biodiversity monitoring to protect conservation-priority species while sustaining productivity must be in place.

Cite this article as: Abenir, E. B., Perez, A. P., Bañados, H.J.G., Briones, R. U., Panganiban, M. G., Coracero, E. E., Magnaye, L. M., & Magnaye, C. J. O. (2026). Floristic composition and visitor carrying capacity of the Nalayag Ecotourism Site, Batangas, Philippines: A baseline for sustainable management of a tropical limestone forest. Forestist, 76, 0049, doi: 10.5152/forestist.2026.25049