50 ECOLOGICAL CONDITIONS AND DISTRIBUTION OF GEMOR TREE SPECIES IN CENTRAL AND EAST KALIMANTAN Wahyu C. Adinugroho 1 , 2 , Kade Sidiyasa 1 , Tati Rostiwati 3 and Dida Syamsuwida 4 ABSTRACT e aim of this study was to determine the ecological conditions and distribution of gemor bark producing tree species at Tuanan village in Kapuas District, Central Kalimantan Province and Long Daliq village in Kutai Barat, East Kalimantan Province. In order to collect adequate vegetation data, several observation plots were laid out by using purposive sampling. Primary and secondary data were collected from the plot areas by observing directly the habitat and its ecological condition of vegetation. It was revealed that the gemor tree species tended to grow well on the habitats which have a thin layer of peat (< 2 m), pH 3 – 4 and in a humid climatic condition. Two gemor bark producing tree species were identidfied in the study areas, namely Nothaphoebe coriacea (Kosterm.) Kosterm. and N. umbelliflora Blume. e similarity level of vegetation composition at both sites (Kapuas and Kutai Barat Districts) was low. e tree species richness in the plot areas of Tuanan in Kapuas District, Central Kalimantan (82 species, 57 genera and 28 families) was higher than that found in Long Daliq, Kutai Barat District, East Kalimantan (38 species, 26 genera and 19 families). Keywords: habitat, Nothaphoebe coriacea, Nothaphoebe umbelliflora, trees species composition, vegetation I. INTRODUCTION Gemor is a vernacular or trade name of gemor-bark-producing tree species (or gemor tree), which belongs to genus Nothaphoebe of the family Lauraceae. e species has been commonly identified as belonging to the genus Alseodaphne in the same family (Effendi et al., 1997; Effendi, 2001; Zulnely and Martono, 2003). Locally they are called as gemor, menuk (Kutai, Dayak Tunjung) or tempuloh (Dayak Bahau), which cover Nothaphoebe coriacea and N. umbelliflora. According to Sosef et al. (1998), Nothaphoebe coriacea occurs in Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia (Sumatra and Kalimantan); while Nothaphoebe umbelliflora occurs in Indo-China, ailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia (Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan) and Papua New Guinea. In Indonesia, 1 Samboja Research Institute for Natural Resource Conservation Technology Jl. Soekarno-Hatta, Km 38, Samboja, Balikpapan, East Kalimantan 2 Coresponding Author: Email: wahyu1001@yahoo.com 3 Center for Forest Productivity Improvement Research and Development. Jl. Gunung Batu No. 5 Bogor, Indonesia. 4 Bogor Seed Technology Research Institute Jl. Pakuan, Ciheuleut, Bogor