Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t8hqh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-27T22:57:25.711Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Effects of tree species heterogeneity on leaf fall in primary and logged dipterocarp forest in the Ulu Segama Forest Reserve, Sabah, Malaysia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

T. B. A. Burghouts
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology and Ecotoxicology, Vrije Universiteit, De Boelelaan 1087, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
E. J. F. Campbell
Affiliation:
PO Box 282, 91108 Lahad Datu, Sabah, E., Malaysia
P. J. Kolderman
Affiliation:
Zoutkeetsgracht 64, 1013 LC Amsterdam

Abstract

Effects of tree species heterogeneity on leaf fall were studied in a primary (4 ha) and in a selectively logged forest plot (2.5 ha) in the Ulu Segama Forest Reserve, Sabah, Malaysia, from April 1988 to December 1989. Leaf fall was collected at 30 sampling points in each plot, and identified to species.

Dipterocarpaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Lauraceae, Fagaceae and Meliaceae are important tree families in both plots with regard to their contribution to total basal area, tree density and annual leaf fall. The total number of tree species was higher in the primary forest plot (267) than in the logged forest plot (218), although the number of climber species was higher in the logged forest (44) than in the primary forest plot (33). The overlap in species composition between the two forest plots was relatively small (49%) compared with that in family composition (88%).

In the primary forest plot, the Dipterocarpaceae contributed 29% of the total basal area and 34% of the annual leaf fall. In the logged forest plot these contributions were much lower, 11% and 15%. The contribution to annual leaf fall made by climbers and pioneer trees was higher in the logged forest plot (34%) than in the primary forest plot (8%).

In the primary forest plot, leaf fall was dominated My large emergent and main canopy trees, mainly dipterocarps, and occurred as regular large peaks. In the logged forest leaf fall was dominated by climbers and many, relatively small trees of pioneer species, such as Macaranga hypoleuca, and was more evenly distributed in time.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1994

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

LITERATURE CITED

Addicott, F. T. 1978. Abscission strategies in the behavior of tropical trees. Pp. 381443 in Tomlinson, P. B. & Zimmermann, W. H. (eds). Tropical trees as living systems. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 675.Google Scholar
Ashton, P. S. 1982. Dipterocarpaceae. Flora Malesiana Ser. I, Volume 9 (2). Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague.Google Scholar
Brown, N. D. 1990. Dipterocarp regeneration in tropical rain forest gaps of different sizes. PhD thesis, University of Oxford.Google Scholar
Brown, N. D. & Whitmore, T. C. 1992. Do dipterocarp seedlings really partition tropical rain forest gaps? Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, series B 335:369378.Google Scholar
Bruijnzeel, L. A. 1990. Hydrology of moist tropical forests and effects of conversion: a state of knowledge review. UNESCO, Paris, and Free University, Amsterdam. 224 pp.Google Scholar
Budowski, G. 1970. The distinction between old secondary and climax species in tropical Central American lowland forests. Tropical Ecology 11:4448.Google Scholar
Burgess, P. F. 1966. Timbers of Sabah. Sabah Forest Record No. 6. Forest Department, Sabah.Google Scholar
Burghouts, T. B. A. & Bruijnzeel, L. A. In prep. Contributions of throughfall, litterfall and litter decomposition to nutrient cycling in dipterocarp forest in the Segama Forest Reserve, Sabah, Malaysia.Google Scholar
Burghouts, T. B. C., Vries, T. de, Korthals, G. & Ernsting, G. 1992. Litterfall, leaf litter decomposition and litter invertebrates in primary and selectively logged dipterocarp forest in Sabah, Malaysia. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, series B 335:407416.Google Scholar
Campbell, E. J. F. 1990. The ecological relationship between lianas and trees in a lowland dipterocarp forest in Sabah, E. Malaysia. MSc thesis, University of Stirling. 91 pp.Google Scholar
Campbell, E. J. F. & Newbery, D. McC. 1993. Ecological relationships between lianas and trees in lowland rain forest in Sabah, East Malaysia. Journal of Tropical Ecology 9:469490.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chabot, B. F. & Hicks, D. F. 1982. The ecology oflife span. Annual Review Ecology and Systematics 13:229259.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cockburn, P. F. 1976. Trees of Sabah. Volume 1. Sabah Forest Record No. 10. Forest Department, Sabah.Google Scholar
Cockburn, P. F. 1980. Trees of Sabah. Volume 2. Sabah Forest Record No. 11. Forest Department, Sabah.Google Scholar
Coley, P. D. 1983. Herbivory and defensive characteristics of tree species in a lowland tropical forest. Ecological Monographs 52:209233.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fox, J. E. D. 1970. Preferred check-list of Sabah trees. Sabah Forest Record No. 7. Forest Department, Sabah.Google Scholar
Fox, J. E. D. 1972. The natural vegetation of Sabah and natural regeneration of the dipttrocarp forests. PhD thesis, University of Wales.Google Scholar
Frankie, G. W., Baker, H. G. & Opler, P. A. 1974. Comparative phenological studies of trees in tropical wet and dry forests of the lowlands of Costa Rica. Journal of Ecology 62:881919.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Golley, F. B. 1983. Nutrient cycling and nutrient conservation. Pp. 101114 in Golley, F. B. (ed.). Tropical rain forest ecosystems – structure and function. Ecosystems of the World 14A. Elseviers Science Publishers, Amsterdam.Google Scholar
Hall, J. B. & Swaine, M. D. 1981. Distribution and ecology of vascular plants in a tropical rain forest. Forest vegetation in Ghana. (Geobotany, 1) Junk, The Hague. 383 pp.Google Scholar
Heatwole, H. 1961. Analysis of the forest floor habitat with a structural classification of the litter of L. layer. Ecological Monographs 31:267283.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hegarty, E. E. 1989. The climbers – lianas and vines. Pp. 339353 in Lieth, H. & Werger, M. J. A. (eds). Tropical rainforest ecosystems – biogeographical and ecological studies. Ecosystems of the World 14B. Elseviers Science Publishers, Amsterdam.Google Scholar
Holttum, R. E. 1940. Periodic leaf-change and flowering of trees in Singapore II. Gardens' Bulletin of Straits Settlements 11:119175.Google Scholar
Hornung, M. 1985. Acidification or soils by trees and forests. Soil Use and Management 1:2428.Google Scholar
Hurst, P. 1990. Rainforest politics: ecological destruction in South-East Asia. Zed Books, London. 303 pp.Google Scholar
Kartawinata, K., Jessup, T. C. & Vayda, A. P. 1989. Exploitation in South-East Asia. Pp. 591610 in Lieth, H. & Werger, M. J. A. (eds). Tropical rainforest ecosystems – biogeographical and ecological studies. Ecosystems of the World 14B. Elseviers Science Publishers, Amsterdam.Google Scholar
Kira, T. & Ogawa, H. 1971. Assessment of primary productivity in tropical and equatorial forests. Pp. 309321 in Proceedings of the Brussels Symposium (1961): Productivity of Forest Ecosystems. UNESCO, Paris.Google Scholar
Koriba, K. 1958. On the periodicity of tree-growth in the tropics, with reference to the mode of branching, the leaf-fall, and formation of the resting bud. Gardens' Bulletin of Singapore 17:1181.Google Scholar
Kunkel-Westphal, I. & Kunkel, P. 1979. Litterfall in a Guatemalan primary forest, with details of leaf-shedding by some common tree species. Journal of Ecology 76:665686.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lieberman, D. 1982. Seasonality and phenology in a dry tropical forest in Ghana. Journal of Ecology 70:791806.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Longman, K. A. & Jenik, J. 1974. Tropical forest and its environment. Longman, London.Google Scholar
Lowman, M. D. 1984. Litterfall and leaf decay in three Australian rainforest formations. Journal of Ecology 76:451465.Google Scholar
Marsh, C. W. & Greer, A. G. 1992. Forest land-use in Sabah, Malaysia: an introducion to the Danum Valley. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, series B 335:331340.Google Scholar
Medway, Lord. 1972. Phenology of a tropical rain forest in Malaya. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society of London 4:117146.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meijer, W. & Wood, G. H. S. 1964. Diptencarps of Sabah (North Borneo). Sabah Forest Records No. 5. Forest Department, Sabah.Google Scholar
Molofsky, J. & Augspurger, C. K. 1992. The effect of leaf litter on early seedling establishment in a tropical forest. Ecology 73:6877.Google Scholar
Newbery, D. McC., Campbell, E. J. F., Lee, Y. F., Ridsdale, C. E. & Still, M. J. 1992. Primary lowland dipterocarp forest at Danum Valley, Sabah, Malaysia: structure, relative abundance and family composition. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, series B 335:314356.Google Scholar
Ng, F. S. P. 1978. Tree flora of Malaya. Volume 3. Longman, Malaysia.Google Scholar
Ng, F. S. P. 1984. Plant phenology in the humid tropics. F.R.I. Research Pamphlet No. 96. Forest Research Institute, Malaysia. 70pp.Google Scholar
Nicholson, D. I. 1979. The effects of logging and treatment on the mixed dipterocarp forest of southeast Asia. FAO, Rome.Google Scholar
Ogawa, H., Yoda, K., Ogino, K. & Kira, T. 1965. Comparative ecological studies of three main types of forest vegetation in Thailand, 2: Plant biomass. Nature Life S.E. Asia 4:4980.Google Scholar
Pielou, E. C. 1977. Mathematical ecology. J. Wiley & Sons, New York.Google Scholar
Remmert, H. 1991. The mosaic-cycle concept of ecosystems. Pp. 121 in Remmert, H. (ed.). The mosaic-cycle concept of ecosystems. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg, New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
SILAM FOREST PRODUCTS. 1978. Unpublished logging annal. Silam, Sabah.Google Scholar
Sundberg, U. 1983. Logging in broadleaved tropical forests. FAO: RAS/78/010 Working Paper no. 27. FAO, Rome.Google Scholar
Swift, M. J. & Anderson, J. M. 1989. Decomposition. Pp. 547569 in Lieth, H. & Werger, M. J. A. (eds). Tropical rain forest ecosystems – biogeographical and ecological studies. Ecosystems of the World 14B. Elseviers Science Publishers, Amsterdam.Google Scholar
Sydes, C. & Grime, J. P. 1981. Effects of tree litter on herbaceous vegetation in deciduous woodland. II. An experimental investigation. Journal of Ecology 69:249262.Google Scholar
Tilman, D. 1988. Plant strategies and the dynamics of plant communities. Princeton University Press, Princeton.Google Scholar
Van Der Plas, M. & Bruijnzeel, L. A. 1993. Impact of mechanized selective logging of rain forest on topsoil infiltrability in the Upper Segama Area, Sabah, Malaysia. IAHS Symposium on Hydrology of Humid Tropical & Warm Humid Regions, Yokohama, 07 1993.Google Scholar
Waterman, P. G. & McKey, D. 1989. Herbivory and secondary compounds in rain-forest plants. Pp. 513536 in Lieth, H. & Werger, M. J. A. (eds). Tropical rain forest ecosystems – biogeographical and ecological studies. Ecosystems of the World 14B. Elseviers Science Publishers, Amsterdam.Google Scholar
Whitmore, T. C. (ed.). 1972 (revised 1983). Tree flora of Malaya. Volume 1. Longman, Malaysia.Google Scholar
Whitmore, T. C. (ed.). 1973. Tree flora of Malaya. Volume 2. Longman, Malaysia.Google Scholar
Whitmore, T. C. 1984. Tropical rain forests of the Far East, 2nd edition. Clarendon Press, Oxford. 352 pp.Google Scholar
Whitmore, T. C. 1990. Introduction to tropical rain forests. Clarendon Press, Oxford.Google Scholar
Wilkinson, L. 1990. SYSTAT: The system for statistics. Evanston, IL: SYSTAT, Inc.Google Scholar