TY - JOUR
T1 - Tree community structure, dynamics, and diversity partitioning in a Bornean tropical forested landscape
AU - Nakagawa, Michiko
AU - Momose, Kuniyasu
AU - Kishimoto-Yamada, Keiko
AU - Kamoi, Tamaki
AU - Tanaka, Hiroshi O.
AU - Kaga, Michi
AU - Yamashita, Satoshi
AU - Itioka, Takao
AU - Nagamasu, Hidetoshi
AU - Sakai, Shoko
AU - Nakashizuka, Tohru
N1 - Funding information:
We thank the Forest Department Sarawak and Sarawak Forestry Corporation for permission and management to conduct researches in and around Lambir Hills National Park, long-house inhabitants for their kind understanding and corporation of using their lands, and many researchers and local people for their field assistance. This study was financially supported by the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature Project (P2-2 and D-04) and Grants-in-Aid from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Science, and Culture (no. 19255006, 20687002, and 23255002).
Publisher copyright:
© 2012, Springer Science Business Media Dordrecht
PY - 2013/1
Y1 - 2013/1
N2 - Human-modified forested landscapes are prevalent in the tropics, and the role of complex mosaics of diverse vegetation types in biodiversity conservation remains poorly understood. Demographic traits and the spatial pattern of biodiversity are essential information when considering proper forest management and land use strategies. We compared the tree community structure (stem density, basal area, tree diversity, abundance of rare, endemic, and upper-layer trees, and species composition) and the forest dynamics (mortality, recruitment rate, and increments of basal area, and above- and below-ground biomass) of 39–46 plots among five dominant forest types: young and old fallows, rubber plantations, and fragmented and old-growth forests in Sarawak, Malaysia. We also explored how tree diversity was distributed across different spatial scales using additive partitioning of diversity. Swidden cultivation and rubber plantations showed decreased stem density, basal area, tree diversity, abundance of rare, endemic, and upper-layer trees, and increments of above- and below-ground biomass, which affected tree mortality, dominant trees, and species composition. Little distinction in species composition was observed among young and old fallows and rubber plantations, indicating a relatively quick recovery of the tree community in the early stages. The highest diversity was found among forest types, indicating that the whole forested landscape comprises a suitable scale for tree biodiversity conservation in the region. Our results suggest that although fragmented and old-growth forests have an irreplaceable role and a high priority in conserving biodiversity and sustaining the function of the forest ecosystem, secondary forests may also have a reinforcing role in maintaining tree diversity in the region, especially under the current circumstances in which a large portion of the landscape is human-modified and faces an increasing threat from the expansion of oil palm plantations.
AB - Human-modified forested landscapes are prevalent in the tropics, and the role of complex mosaics of diverse vegetation types in biodiversity conservation remains poorly understood. Demographic traits and the spatial pattern of biodiversity are essential information when considering proper forest management and land use strategies. We compared the tree community structure (stem density, basal area, tree diversity, abundance of rare, endemic, and upper-layer trees, and species composition) and the forest dynamics (mortality, recruitment rate, and increments of basal area, and above- and below-ground biomass) of 39–46 plots among five dominant forest types: young and old fallows, rubber plantations, and fragmented and old-growth forests in Sarawak, Malaysia. We also explored how tree diversity was distributed across different spatial scales using additive partitioning of diversity. Swidden cultivation and rubber plantations showed decreased stem density, basal area, tree diversity, abundance of rare, endemic, and upper-layer trees, and increments of above- and below-ground biomass, which affected tree mortality, dominant trees, and species composition. Little distinction in species composition was observed among young and old fallows and rubber plantations, indicating a relatively quick recovery of the tree community in the early stages. The highest diversity was found among forest types, indicating that the whole forested landscape comprises a suitable scale for tree biodiversity conservation in the region. Our results suggest that although fragmented and old-growth forests have an irreplaceable role and a high priority in conserving biodiversity and sustaining the function of the forest ecosystem, secondary forests may also have a reinforcing role in maintaining tree diversity in the region, especially under the current circumstances in which a large portion of the landscape is human-modified and faces an increasing threat from the expansion of oil palm plantations.
KW - Anthropogenic disturbance
KW - Beta diversity
KW - Biodiversity conservation
KW - Forest dynamics
KW - Swidden cultivation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84871519296&partnerID=MN8TOARS
U2 - 10.1007/s10531-012-0405-0
DO - 10.1007/s10531-012-0405-0
M3 - Journal article
SN - 0960-3115
VL - 22
SP - 127
EP - 140
JO - Biodiversity and Conservation
JF - Biodiversity and Conservation
IS - 1
ER -
