Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rdxmf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-30T23:16:30.509Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Stemonoporus (Dipterocarpaceae)-dominated montane forests in the Adam's Peak Wilderness, Sri Lanka

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

A. M. Greller ,
I. A. U. N. Gunatilleke ,
A. H. M. Jayasuriya ,
C. V. S. Gunatilleke ,
S. Balasubramaniam  and
M. D. Dassanayake
A. M. Greller
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, Queens College, CUNY, Flushing, New York 11367, USA
I. A. U. N. Gunatilleke
Affiliation:
Department of Botany, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
A. H. M. Jayasuriya
Affiliation:
National Herbarium, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
C. V. S. Gunatilleke
Affiliation:
Department of Botany, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
S. Balasubramaniam
Affiliation:
Department of Botany, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
M. D. Dassanayake
Affiliation:
Department of Botany, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Stemonoporus Thw. (Dipterocarpaceae), a genus endemic to Sri Lanka, contains as many as 26 species, all but one confined to the perhumid forests of the island. Several species reach 1800 m, the highest altitude recorded for any dipterocarp species in Sri Lanka. We report the first quantitative data on Stemonoporus-domirated stands in the montane zone (1500–1700 m). Stemonoporus cordifolius and 5. rigidus show clear single-species dominance of their respective stands. Stemonoporus gardneri is a co-dominant with Palaquium rubiginosum in its two stands. All Stemonoporus species appear to have a unique geographical and ecological range and no two Stemonoporus species co-exist in our stands.

Keywords

Dipterocarpaceaeforest ecologySri LankaStemonoporustropical montane forest
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 3 , Issue 3 , August 1987 , pp. 243 - 253
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1987

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

Antevs, E. 1928. The last glaciation. American Geographical Society Research Series No. 17. 292 pp.Google Scholar
Ashton, P. S. 1980. Dipterocarpaceae. Pp. 364–423 in Dassanayake, M. D. & Fosberg, F. R. (eds). A revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon, Vol. 1. A. A. Balkema, Rotterdam.Google Scholar
Ashton, P. S. & Gunatilleke, C. V. S. (in prep.). New light on the plant geography of Ceylon.Google Scholar
Cooray, P. G. 1984. Geology, With Special Reference To The Precambrian. Pp. 1–34 in Fernando, C. H. (ed.). Ecology and biogeography in Sri Lanka. Dr W. Junk Publ., The Hague.Google Scholar
Gaussen, H., Legris, P., Viart, M. & Labroue, L. 1964. International map of the vegetation. Ceylon (1:1,000,000). French Institute of Pondicherry, India.Google Scholar
Greller, A. M. & Balasubramaniam, S. 1980. A preliminary floristic-climatic classification of the forests of Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka Forester 14:163–170.Google Scholar
Greller, A. M., Balasubramaniam, S., Gunatilleke, C. V. S. & Gunatilleke, I. A. U. N. 1980. A botanical excursion across the Peak Wilderness. Loris 15:p1–3.Google Scholar
Kostermans, A. J. G. H. 1981. Stemonoporus Thw. (Dipterocarpaceae): a monograph. Parts I and II. Bulletin du Museum d'histoire naturelle, Paris 4e Ser 3, Section B, Adansonia (3, 4):321–358, 373–400.Google Scholar
Meher-Homji, V. M. 1979. Distribution of the Dipterocarpaceae: some phytogeographic considera-tions on India. Phytocoenologia 6:85–93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moorman, F. R. & Panabokke, C. R. 1961. Soils of Ceylon. Tropical Agriculture (Ceylon) 117:4–65.Google Scholar
Sri Lanka Department Of Meteorology. 1971. Report for 1971. 81 pp. + 5 maps. Colombo.Google Scholar
Walter, H. 1979. Vegetation of the Earth and ecological systems of the geo-biosphere. 2nd edition. Springer-Verlag, New York. 274 pp.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whitmore, T. C. 1975. Tropical rain forests of the Far East. Oxford University Press, Oxford. 282 pp.Google Scholar