The sacred plants and their support for conservation, Poncokusumo district, Malang Regency, East Java Indonesia

Indonesia had the indigenous cultures, including the traditional belief of local people to the sacred plants. It prevented the big trees for being cut since the people believed that the plant was a dwelling place for ancestral spirits. The conservation of the large plants in several areas provided a lot of benefits to human well-being, however, the information due to the role of plants in the environmental service for air quality was not available. This study included a taxonomical study of sacred plants, their locations and arrangements, and microclimates. A survey and interview were conducted to obtain sacred plant locations and each plant’s local names. Further, the sacred plant locations were confirmed by a Geographical Positioning System (GPS). The identification of sacred plants was conducted based on the Flora of Java book. A multi-parameter analyzer was utilized to measure CO₂ concentration, temperature, and relative air humidity (plant microclimates). The results showed the genus of sacred plants were Ficus and Casuarina which were grown at the altitude ranges of 746-2, 151 meter above sea level (masl). Under sacred plant canopy, the ranges of CO₂ concentrations, temperatures, and relative humidity were 306-362 parts per million (ppm), 21.5-31.5^oC, and 39.3-75.0%, respectively. However, outside the sacred plant canopy, the ranges of CO₂concentrations, temperatures, and relative humidity were 295-362 ppm, 24.6-32.4^oC, and 46.8-75.1%, respectively. Both, the conditions under and outside canopy was similar to normal indoor conditions. Moreover, the existence of birds which indicated their potential habitation were also reported.