Altitudinal analyses of limestone vegetation at gunung api, Gunung Mulu National Park, Miri, Sarawak
The study on floristic composition, total above ground biomass and species dominance of trees with d. b. h. >_5 cm and ground flora was conducted at 100 in intervals from 130 in to 1130 m a. s. l. at Gunung Api, Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak. A total of 419 species belonging to 243 genera...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2004
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/12605/1/Julaihi.pdf |
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| Summary: | The study on floristic composition, total above ground biomass and species dominance of
trees with d. b. h. >_5 cm and ground flora was conducted at 100 in intervals from 130 in to 1130 m
a. s. l. at Gunung Api, Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak. A total of 419 species belonging to 243
genera and 93 families were recorded. Of these total, 1103 trees with d. b. h. ?5 cm were enumerated
in an accumulative area of 1.04 ha, belonging to 195 species from 108 genera and 45 families. The
ground flora has higher diversity in which 4953 individuals were enumerated in an accumulative area
of 0.28 ha consisting of 340 species from 211 genera and 84 families. The mean density of trees with
d. b. h. >_5 cm is 940 trees ha' with a total above ground biomass of 264 ton ha-', basal area (BA) of
31.37 m2 ha-' and leaf area index (LAI) of 3.93 ha ha-1. Within all studied plots, Euphorbiaceae has
the most number of trees recorded followed by Dipterocarpaceae and Myrtaceae. Hopea andersonii is
the most dominant tree species with importance value (IV) of 20.49, relative density (Rd) of 5.17,
relative frequency (Rf) of 4.28 and relative basal coverage (RD) of 11.05. This is followed by
Brownlowia glabrata (IV = 14.07) and Cleistanthus myrianthus (IV = 13.89). Plots at 130 in are the
most diverse with 43 species, 37 genera and 25 families whereas plots at 330 in were recorded with
the most number of trees. 79.06% of the trees enumerated are having d. b. h. of below 20 cm. The total
above ground biomass of trees with d. b. h. >_5 cm decreases as altitude increases. For ground flora,
Rubiaceae is the most common diverse family, followed by Euphorbiaceae and Orchidaceae. The
most dominant species of ground flora are seedlings of Cleistanthus myrianthus with summed
dominance ratio (SRD) of 3.01, followed by Hopea cernua (2.98) and the herb Elastostema
variolaminosum (2.63). The total above ground biomass of ground flora is 22.32 ton ha"'. Forty one
(41) species (9.79%) of the total flora enumerated are endemic to limestone forest in Sarawak. Eight
species enumerated in Gunung Api are very rare species as they are recorded only once in a single
location. One hundred and thirteen (113) new records in limestone forest in Sarawak were identified.
The characteristics of soils and their influence on biomass and floristic composition at every
altitudinal level were also discussed. Results of the study show that limestone forest of Gunung Api is indeed very rich in species and many species are confined to limestone habitats. The result also
showed that pH, nitrogen, calcium and magnesium are highly correlated with altitude |
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