Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Aboveground and belowground biomass in logged-over tropical rain forests under different soil conditions in Borneo

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Journal of Forest Research

Abstract

Although an estimation of forest biomass is essential for the development of a carbon storage baseline in the “Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation in Developing Countries” scheme, few have been conducted in logged-over rain forests of Southeast Asia. We measured the aboveground and belowground biomass in logged-over mixed dipterocarp forests growing on an infertile soil with bleached white sand (Sabal) and on a clay and nutrient-rich soil (Balai Ringin) in Sarawak, Malaysia. We established four 0.5-ha plots on each site and calculated the biomass. Basal area and stand density of large trees (diameter at breast height, DBH ≥ 10 cm) were relatively similar in Sabal (27.0 m2, 720 tree ha−1) and Balai Ringin (28.9 m2, 586 tree ha−1). However, the corresponding measurements for small trees (1 ≤ DBH < 10 cm) were twice as large in Sabal than in Balai Ringin. Aboveground biomass (AGB) in the forests was less than half of the value recorded for undisturbed forests in Borneo, even 20 years after logging. Although total AGB was 20 % smaller in Sabal (205 Mg ha−1) than in Balai Ringin (242 Mg ha−1), the total belowground biomass (TBGB) was 20 % greater in Sabal (59.6 Mg ha−1) than in Balai Ringin (44.6 Mg ha−1). The larger TBGB in Sabal was due to the larger amounts of small roots (diameter <5 mm) in Sabal (26.8 Mg ha−1) compared to Balai Ringin (5.8 Mg ha−1). This accumulation of small roots at Sabal may have contributed to rapid nutrient absorption from infertile soil.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Anderson JM, Proctor J, Vallack H (1983) Ecological studies in four contrasting lowland rain forests in Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak III. Decomposition processes and nutrient losses from leaf litter. J Ecol 71:503–527

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Angelsen A (2009) Realising REDD+ national strategy and policy options. CIFOR, Bogor, p 362

    Google Scholar 

  • Ashton PS (1964) Ecological studies in the mixed dipterocarp forests of Brunei state. Clarendon Press, Oxford, p 75

    Google Scholar 

  • Ashton PS, Hall P (1992) Comparisons of structure among mixed dipterocarp forests of north-western Borneo. J Ecol 80:459–481

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berry NJ, Phillips OL, Lewis SL, Hill JK, Edwards DP, Tawatao NB, Ahmad N, Magintan D, Khen CV, Maryati M, Ong RC, Hamer KC (2010) The high value of logged tropical forests: lessons from northern Borneo. Biodivers Conserv 19:985–997

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bongers F, Engelen D, Klinge H (1985) Phytomass structure of natural plant communities on spodosols in southern Venezuela: the Bana woodland. Vegetatio 63:13–34

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brunig EF (1969) On the seasonality of droughts in the lowlands of Sarawak (Borneo). Erdkunde 23:127–133

    Google Scholar 

  • Brunig EF (1974) Ecological studies in the kerangas forests of Sarawak and Brunei. Borneo Literature Bureau, Kuching, p 237

    Google Scholar 

  • Brunig EF (1983) Vegetation structure and growth. In: Golley FB (ed) Tropical rainforest ecosystems, structure and function Ecosystems of the world 14 A. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 49–75

    Google Scholar 

  • Brunig EF (1996) Conservation and management of tropical rainforests: an integrated approach to sustainability. CAB International, Wallingford

    Google Scholar 

  • Brunig EF, Klinge H (1976) Comparison of the phytomass structure of equatorial rain-forest Central Amazonas, Brazil and in Sarawak, Borneo. Garden’s Bull Singap 24:81–101

    Google Scholar 

  • Cannon CH, Peart DR, Leighton M, Kartawinata K (1994) The structure of lowland rainforest after selective logging in west Kalimantan, Indonesia. For Ecol Manage 67:49–68

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark DB, Olivas PC, Oberbauer SF, Clark DA, Ryan MG (2008) First direct landscape-scale measurement of tropical rain forest leaf area index, a key driver of global primary productivity. Ecol Lett 11:163–172

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Davies SJ, Becker P (1996) Floristic composition and stand structure of mixed dipterocarp and heath forests in Brunei Darussalam. J Trop For Sci 8:542–569

    Google Scholar 

  • Fredericksen TS, Licona JC (2000) Invasion of non-commercial tree species after selection logging in a Bolivian tropical forest. J Sustain For 11:113–123

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gibbs HK, Brown S, Niles JO, Foley JA (2007) Monitoring and estimating tropical forest carbon stocks: making REDD a reality. Environ Res Lett 2:045023

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kartawinata K, Jessup TC, Vayda AP (1989) Exploitation in southeast Asia. In: Leith E, Werger MJA (eds) Ecosystems of the world, 14B. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 591–610

    Google Scholar 

  • Katagiri S, Yamakura T, Lee SH (1991) Properties of soils in kerangas forest on sandstone at Bako National Park, Sarawak, East Malaysia. Southeast Asian Study 29:35–48

    Google Scholar 

  • Kendawang JJ, Tanaka S, Ishihara J, Shibata K, Sabang J, Ninomiya I, Ishizuka S, Sakurai K (2004) Effects of shifting cultivation on soil ecosystems in Sarawak, Malaysia I Slash and burning at Balai Ringin and Sabal experimental sites and effect on soil organic matter. Soil Sci Plant Nutri 50:677–687

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kendawang JJ, Ninomiya I, Kenzo T, Ozawa T, Hattori D, Tanaka S, Sakurai K (2007) Effects of burning strength in shifting cultivation on the early stage of secondary succession in Sarawak, Malaysia. Tropics 16:309–321

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kenzo T, Furutani R, Hattori D, Kendawang JJ, Tanaka S, Sakurai K, Ninomiya I (2009a) Allometric equations for accurate estimation of above-ground biomass in logged-over tropical rainforests in Sarawak, Malaysia. J For Res 14:365–372

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kenzo T, Ichie T, Hattori D, Itioka T, Handa C, Ohkubo T, Kendawang JJ, Nakamura M, Sakaguchi M, Takahashi N, Okamoto M, Tanaka-Oda A, Sakurai K, Ninomiya I (2009b) Development of allometric relationships for accurate estimation of above- and below-ground biomass in tropical secondary forests in Sarawak, Malaysia. J Trop Ecol 25:371–386

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kenzo T, Ichie T, Hattori D, Kendawang JJ, Sakurai K, Ninomiya I (2010) Changes in above- and belowground biomass in early successional tropical secondary forests after shifting cultivation in Sarawak, Malaysia. For Ecol Manag 260:875–882

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kingsbury N, Kellman M (1997) Root mat depths and surface soil chemistry in southeastern Venezuela. J Trop Ecol 13:475–479

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klinge H, Herrera R (1978) Biomass studies in Amazon caatinga forest in southern Venezuela 1. Standing crop of composite root mass in selected stands. Trop Ecol 19:93–110

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuusipalo J, Jafarsidik Y, Ǻdjers G, Tuomela K (1996) Population dynamics of tree seedlings in a mixed dipterocarp rainforest before and after logging and crown liberation. For Ecol Manag 81:85–94

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lasco RD, MacDicken KG, Pulhin FB, Guillermo IQ, Sales RF, Cruz RVO (2006) Carbon stocks assessment of a selectively logged dipterocarp forest and wood processing mill in the Philippines. J Trop For Sci 18:166–172

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee HS, Davies SJ, LaFrankie JV, Tan S, Yamakura T, Ithoh A, Ohkubo T, Ashton PS (2002) Floristic and structural diversity of mixed dipterocarp forest in Lambir Hills National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia. J Trop For Sci 14:379–400

    Google Scholar 

  • MacKinnon K, Hatta G, Halim H, Mangalik A (1996) The ecology of Kalimantan. Periplus Editions, Singapore 850 p

    Google Scholar 

  • Manokaran N, LaFrankie JV (1990) Stand structure of Pasoh Forest Reserve, a lowland rain forest in Peninsula Malaysia. J Trop For Sci 3:14–24

    Google Scholar 

  • Miyamoto K, Rahajoe JS, Kohyama T (2007) Forest structure and primary productivity in a Bornean heath forest. Biotrop 39:35–42

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morel AC, Saatchi SS, Malhi Y, Berry NJ, Banin L, Burslem D, Nilus R, Ong RC (2011) Estimating aboveground biomass in forest and oil palm plantation in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo using ALOS PALSAR data. For Ecol Manag 262:1786–1798

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murach D, Ruhiyat D, Iskandar E, Schulte A (1998) Fine root inventories in diptercarp forests and plantations in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. In: Schulte A, Ruhiyat D (eds) Soils of tropical forest ecosystems: characteristics, ecology and management. Springer, Berlin, pp 186–191

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Nakagawa M, Momose K, Kishimoto-Yamada K, Kamoi T, Tanaka HO, Kaga M, Yamashita S, Itioka T, Nagamasu H, Sakai S, Nakashizuka T (2013) Tree community structure, dynamics, and diversity partitioning in a Bornean tropical forested landscape. Biodivers Conserv 22:127–140

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Newbery DM (1991) Floristic variation within kerangas heath forest: reevaluation of data from Sarawak and Brunei. Vegetatio 96:43–86

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ngo KM, Turner BL, Muller-Landau HC, Davies SJ, Larjavaara M, Hassan NFN, Lum S (2013) Carbon stocks in primary and secondary tropical forests in Singapore. For Ecol Manag 296:81–89

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Niiyama K, Kajimoto T, Matsuura Y, Yamashita T, Matsuo N, Yashiro Y, Ripin A, Kassim AR, Noor N (2010) Estimation of root biomass based on excavation of individual root systems in a primary dipterocarp forest in Pasoh Forest Reserve, Peninsular Malaysia. J Trop Ecol 26:271–284

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Noguchi H, Suwa R, de Souza CAS, Silva RP, Santos J, Higuchi N, Kajimoto T, Ishizuka M (2014) Examination of vertical distribution of fine root biomass in a tropical moist forest of the Central Amazon, Brazil. JARQ 48:231–235

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paoli GD, Curran LM, Slik JWF (2008) Soil nutrients affect spatial patterns of aboveground biomass and emergent tree density in southwestern Borneo. Oecologia 155:287–299

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pinard MA, Cropper WP (2000) Simulated effects of logging on carbon storage in dipterocarp forest. J Appl Ecol 37:267–283

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pinard MA, Putz FE (1996) Retaining forest biomass by reducing logging damage. Biotrop 28:278–295

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Powers JS, Peréz-Aviles D (2013) Edaphic factors are a more important control on surface fine roots than stand age in secondary tropical dry forests. Biotrop 45:1–9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Priatna D, Kartawinata K, Abdulhadi R (2006) Recovery of a lowland dipterocarp forest twenty two years after selective logging at Sekundur, Gunung Leuser National Park, North Sumatra, Indonesia. Reinwardtia 12:237–251

    Google Scholar 

  • Proctor J, Anderson JM, Chai P, Vallack H (1983) Ecological studies in four contrasting lowland rain forests in Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak I. Forest environment, structure and floristics. J Ecol 71:237–260

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Putz FE, Zuidema PA, Synnott T, Peña-Claros M, Pinard MA, Sheil D, Vanclay JK, Sist P, Gourlet-Fleury S, Griscom B, Palmer J, Zagt R (2012) Sustaining conservation values in selectively logged tropical forests: the attained and the attainable. Conserv Lett 5:296–303

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryan MG, Yoder BJ (1997) Hydraulic limits to tree height and tree growth. Bioscience 47:235–242

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saner P, Loh YY, Ong RC, Hector A (2012) Carbon stocks and fluxes in tropical lowland Dipterocarp rainforests in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. PloS One 7:e29642

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sanford RL, Cuevas E (1996) Root growth and rhizosphere interactions in tropical forests. In: Chazdon RL, Smith AP, Mulkey SS (eds) Tropical forest plant ecophysiology. Thomson, New York, pp 269–300

    Google Scholar 

  • Sist P, Fimbel R, Sheil D, Nasi R, Chevallier M-H (2003) Towards sustainable management of mixed dipterocarp forests of Southeast Asia: moving beyond minimum diameter cutting limits. Environ Conserv 30:364–374

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Slik JWF, Aiba S-I, Brearley FQ, Cannon CH, Forshed O, Kitayama K, Nagamasu H, Nilus R, Payne J, Paoli G, Poulsen AD, Raes N, Sheil D, Sidiyasa K, Suzuki E, van Valkenburg JLCH (2010) Environmental correlates of tree biomass, basal area, wood specific gravity and stem density gradients in Borneo’s tropical forests. Glob Ecol Biogeogr 19:50–60

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stark NM, Jordan CF (1978) Nutrient retention by the root mat of an Amazonian rain forest. Ecology 59:434–437

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tangki H, Chappell NA (2008) Biomass variation across selectively logged forest within a 225-km2 region of Borneo and its prediction by Landsat TM. For Ecol Manag 256:1960–1970

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas SC (1996) Asymptotic height as a predictor of growth and allometric characteristics in Malaysian rain forest trees. Am J Bot 83:556–566

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vogt KA, Vogt DJ, Palmiotto PA, Boon P, O’Hara J, Asbjornsen H (1995) Review of root dynamics in forest ecosystems grouped by climate, climatic forest type and species. Plant Soil 187:159–219

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whitmore TC (1984) Tropical rain forest of the far east, 2nd edn. Oxford University Press, Oxford 352 p

    Google Scholar 

  • Yamada T, Hosaka T, Okuda T, Kassim AR (2013) Effects of 50 years of selective logging on demography of trees in a Malaysian lowland forest. For Ecol Manag 310:531–538

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yamakura T, Sahunalu P (1990) Soil carbon/nitrogen ratio as a site quality index for some South-east Asian forests. J Trop Ecol 6:371–378

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yamakura T, Hagihara A, Sukardjo S, Ogawa H (1986) Aboveground biomass of tropical rain forest stands in Indonesian Borneo. Vegetatio 68:71–82

    Google Scholar 

  • Ziegler AD, Phelps J, JiaQi Y, Webb EL, Lawrence D, Fox JM, Bruun TB, Leisz SJ, Ryan CM, Dressler W, Mertz O, Pascual U, Padoch C (2012) Carbon outcomes of major land-cover transitions in SE Asia: great uncertainties and REDD+ policy implications. Glob Change Biol 18:3087–3099

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors thank to the Sarawak Forestry Cooperation, the Sarawak Forest Department, and to Dr. K. O. Irino and Mr. A. Jee for their kind support of this study. This research was partly supported by Grant-in-Aid for scientific research (No. 13575038) from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan and by the Global Environment Research Account for National Institutes, Ministry of the Environment, Japan.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plant Ecology, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8687, Japan

    Tanaka Kenzo

  2. Faculty of Agriculture, Ehime University, Matsuyama, Ehime, 790-8566, Japan

    Ryo Furutani & Ikuo Ninomiya

  3. Faculty of Human Life Science, Shikoku University, Tokushima, Tokushima, 771-1192, Japan

    Daisuke Hattori

  4. Graduate School of Kuroshio Science, Koch University, Nankoku, Kochi, 783-8502, Japan

    Sota Tanaka

  5. Faculty of Agriculture, Kochi University, Nankoku, Kochi, 783-8502, Japan

    Katsutoshi Sakurai

  6. Sarawak Planted Forest, Wisma Sumber Alam, Jalan Stadium, Petra Jaya, 93660, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia

    Joseph Jawa Kendawang

Authors
  1. Tanaka Kenzo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ryo Furutani
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Daisuke Hattori
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Sota Tanaka
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Katsutoshi Sakurai
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Ikuo Ninomiya
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Joseph Jawa Kendawang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tanaka Kenzo.

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Kenzo, T., Furutani, R., Hattori, D. et al. Aboveground and belowground biomass in logged-over tropical rain forests under different soil conditions in Borneo. J For Res 20, 197–205 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10310-014-0465-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10310-014-0465-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation