It was found that 9 species of terrestrial fern plants belong to 3 families, namely Polypodiaceae (Pityrogramma calomelanos, Adiantum raddianum, Pteris ensiformis, Pteris biaurita, Christella dentata, Nephrolepis exaltata, and Dryopteris dilatata), Gleincheniaceae (Dicranopteris linearis), and Lycopodiaceae (Lycopodiella cernua) (Table 1).

The species with the highest number of individuals is Nephrolepis exaltata with 76, followed by Christella dentata with 43, and Dicranopteris linearis with 38. While the least number are the species Pityrogramma calomelanos and Pteris biaurita which number 6 (Table 1). The difference in number is due to the adaptability of each species to the surrounding environment. Plant types that have high adaptation are more common than plant types with low adaptation, terutama pada pertumbuhan paku (Hutasuhut & Husnarika, 2019).

The type of Nephrolepis exaltata is also the species with the highest IVI value, which is 92.88%, followed by Christella dentata 47.59%, and Dicranopteris linearis 45.87%. Likewise, Pityrogramma calomelanos received the lowest IVI, which was 9.52% (Figure 2). Low IVI indicates the lowest dominance of the species. Although the species is not a species that is difficult to find, it can occur. The species is generally not considered rare, its limited occurrence in the study area may be associated with abiotic conditions that are less optimal for its ecological requirements. This interpretation is supported by the measured environmental parameters—such as temperature, humidity, light intensity, and soil conditions—which indicate that certain sampling stations may not fully meet the microhabitat preferences needed for the species’ establishment and growth. (Faizza et al., 2024).

In contrast to Pityrogramma calomelanos, the IVI of Pteris biaurita is not the lowest, which is 14.68%. This means that the species with the lowest number of individuals do not always get the lowest IVI. This is due to the value of the frequency or encounter of Pteris biaurita on higher plots. IVI is a calculation used to determine the species that dominate a community. This calculation is based on 3 important values, namely Relative Density (DR), Relative Frequency (FR), and Relative Dominance (DR) (Setiawan, 2022). The higher the important value, the higher the IVI (Faida, Sunarto, Sutikno, & Fandeli, 2018).

The diversity value in Kemuning Tea Gardens got a result of 1.85 which means medium. It is calculated by Shannon-Weaver calculations, which have the following product categories: H' < 1 means low vegetation diversity, 1 < H' < 3 means medium, and H'> 3 means high. This diversity value is used to determine the percentage of vegetation diversity in an ecosystem ((Yuliana, 2020). The more plant species that are found, the higher the diversity index as well.

The diversity of terrestrial fern plants in Kemuning Tea Gardens is not high. This is because the area is a homogeneous area with quite intense community activities. The relatively low diversity of terrestrial ferns in Kemuning Tea Gardens appears to be associated with the homogeneous habitat conditions and the high level of anthropogenic activity. Furthermore, regular plantation management practices aimed at maintaining tea productivity may contribute to shaping the composition and diversity of the fern understory. In addition, the tea garden itself requires maintenance to keep production optimal. Some of the treatments carried out are pruning tea stalks to avoid epiphytic weeds attached to the stems, fertilizer application, watering, and spraying pesticides to eliminate pests and diseases. These routine management practices may act as a disturbance regime that filters fern species based on their tolerance to light fluctuation, nutrient change, and physical or chemical disturbance. This process can help explain the moderate diversity index and the strong dominance observed in the Kemuning Tea Garden fern community. Where fern plants are often considered as weeds in the tea garden, so they will definitely be destroyed (Irawan et al., 2024).

Based on the species of terrestrial fern plants found, no species were found in the entire plot (6 plots). The most encounters were only in 5 plots (20.83%), namely Nephrolepis exaltata and Pteris ensiformis. Meanwhile, the least encounters were Pityrogramma calomelanos and Lycopodiella cernua which were found in only 1 plot (4.17%) (Table 2). Although Lycopodiella cernua also has the lowest incidence of plots, such as Pityrogramma calomelanos, the number of individuals is higher than that of P. calomelanos, so the IVI is higher, which is 10.61%.  Likewise with Pteris ensiformis which, although found in almost all plots, but because the number of individuals found is less than that of Nephrolepis exaltata, it does not obtain the highest IVI.

The species of terrestrial fern plants that are often found is Nephrolepis exaltata. This species is most commonly found in Plot 5 which is shaded by tea plants. Where this plant is found between the sidelines of the tea plant and the edge of the tea plant growing area. Although the air humidity in Plot 5 (station 3) is lower than the other plots, this plant is known for its stable growth ability and high adaptation. This plant has a good tolerance to high and low light intensity, so it can grow in open and shaded places (Anderson, 2024).

While the type of terrestrial fern plant that is difficult to find is Pityrogramma calomelanos. This type of plant likes shaded areas. Where in this study, plots with the shade of large trees were only found in plot 1, which is the location where the Pityrogramma calomelanos type was found. Although this species is not difficult to find, this can happen due to the presence of other species that dominate the area or abiotic factors that are not suitable for the growth and development needs of the species (Syafrudin, Haryani, & Wiedarti, 2016).

The research location has a temperature ranging from 25-31oC, namely Station 1 (26.6 oC); Station 2 (25.6 oC); and Station 3 (31 oC) (Table 3). The results of these measurements show that the higher the plain, the higher the temperature. Where Station 3 has the highest altitude (> 1,000 m asl) has the highest temperature (31oC). However, this is not in accordance with the theory that the higher the plain, the lower the temperature (Hutasuhut & Husnarika, 2019). This is because the sampling process is carried out when the weather is sunny and hot, precisely at 09.00 – 12.00 WIB. In addition, it also coincides with the transition period from the dry season to the rainy season, so it still leaves high temperatures, but the air humidity is already low, namely Station 1 (41%), Station 2 (39%), and Station 3 (35%) (Fitrianti, 2016)(Putri, 2018).

The diversity differences at the observation station are not very noticeable. Plant species of ground ferns at Station 1 (Plots 1 and 2) were found as many as 6 species, Station 2 (Plots 3 and 4) as many as 5 species, and Station 3 (Plots 5 and 6) as many as 6 species. This is due to the difference in altitude used is only 100 m above sea level, and is still classified as the optimal altitude for the growth and development of terrestrial ferns. According to research conducted by Hutasuhut and Febriani, the higher the plain, the lower the air temperature. So that there are not many types of plants that are able to adapt to the environment (Hutasuhut & Husnarika, 2019).

The difference in terrestrial fern diversity between Kemuning Tea Garden and the Nirmala Citalahab Tea Plantation is closely associated with variations in key environmental factors (elevation, humidity, canopy cover, and soil moisture) that regulate species species dominance and evenness, ultimately influencing the Shannon–Wiener diversity index. Where in the tea plantation were found 32 species in 18 families, of which 7 were epiphytic ferns and 25 species of terrestrial ferns. The diversity difference is caused by differences in abiotic factors (Roziaty et al., 2016). The temperature and humidity of the air in the Nirmala Tea Garden Area ranged from 26 oC and 67–77 %, while in Kemuning Tea Plantation it is 25 – 31oC and 35 – 41%. This means that the Nirmala Tea Garden is more humid than the Kemuning Tea Plantation. In addition, in this study, no measurements were made of other abiotic factors, such as soil pH, soil temperature, soil moisture, light intensity, and wind speed, which can affect the occurrence of ground fern plants (Figure 3).

In this study, habitat refers to the environmental conditions where each fern species was found growing, including substrate type, moisture level, light exposure, and microhabitat characteristics within the tea plantation landscape (Sianturi et al., 2021). These parameters were recorded to describe the ecological preferences and distribution patterns of each species across different elevation gradients (Hasanah et al., 2021)(Ranil et al., 2017). Morphological observations, particularly sorus characteristics, are presented separately to avoid misinterpretation between ecological habitat data and taxonomic diagnostic features (Caxambú et al., 2015). This separation ensures clearer ecological analysis and improves the accuracy of species identification and vegetation assessment.