Vegetation types on Mount Akiki, Northern Luzon, Philippines

Mount Akiki (16° 37’ N, 120° 53’ E, c. 2760 m alt.) is one of the highest mountain peaks in the Cordillera mountain range, Luzon Island, Philippines. It is situated in the municipality of Benguet, north-east of Baguio City (a world famous tourist city in the region) and is north-west of Mt Pulog, Luzon Island’s highest mountain peak and the second in the entire Philippines next to Mt Apo in Mindanao (Schoenig et al., 1975; Buot & Okitsu, 1997a; Buot, 1999). Locally the mountain is known as ‘Pulag’, internationally as ‘Pulog’. Knowledge about the vegetation types on Mt Akiki (similar to that of many of the Philippine mountains), is quite wanting despite its importance in biodiversity studies, zonation and sustainable forest conservation plans, wise utilisation of forest resources, and bioprospecting possibilities (PAWB-DENR, 1998).