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Effects of selective logging on tree species diversity and composition of Bornean tropical rain forests at different spatial scales

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Abstract

Reduced-impact logging (RIL) is known to be beneficial in biodiversity conservation, but its effects on tree diversity remain unknown. Pattern of tree diversity following disturbance usually varies with spatial scale of sampling (i.e., plot size). We examined the impacts of RIL on species richness and community composition of tree species at different spatial scales, and the scale (plot size) dependency of the two metrics; species richness versus community similarity. One 2-ha and three to four 0.2-ha plots were established in each of primary, RIL, and conventionally logged (CL) forest in Sabah, Malaysia. Species richness (the number of species per unit number of stems) was higher in the RIL than in the CL forest at both scales. The relationship between species richness and logging intensity varied with plot size. Species richness was greater in the RIL than in the primary forest at the 2-ha scale, while it was similar between the two forests at 0.2-ha scale. Similarly, species richness in the CL forest demonstrated a greater value at the 2-ha scale than at the 0.2-ha scale. Greater species richness in the two logged forests at the 2-ha scale is attributable to a greater probability of encountering the species-rich, small patches that are distributed heterogeneously. Community composition of the RIL forest more resembled that of the primary forest than that of the CL forest, regardless of plot size. Accordingly, species richness is a scale-dependent metric, while community similarity is a more robust metric to indicate the response of tree assemblage to anthropogenic disturbance.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Global Environment Research Fund F-071 and D-1006 of the Ministry of the Environment, Japan, to KK. We thank D. K. M. Esther for assisting research plot establishment, M. Poster and D. Joel for tree species identification, R. Ajon and many other persons for assisting field survey, R. Aoyagi, A. Langner and A. Tanaka for remote sensing analysis, P. Lagan for generous support for every aspect. We acknowledge the kind assistance from Sabah Forestry Department and Forest Research Centre, Sabah.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Oiwake-cho, Kitashirakawa, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8502, Japan

    Nobuo Imai & Kanehiro Kitayama

  2. Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8577, Japan

    Tatsuyuki Seino

  3. Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Kagoshima University, Korimoto, Kagoshima, 890-0065, Japan

    Shin-ichiro Aiba

  4. Faculty of Regional Environmental Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Sakuragaoka, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, 156-8502, Japan

    Masaaki Takyu

  5. Sabah Forestry Department, Forest Research Centre, P.O. Box 1407, 90715, Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia

    Jupiri Titin

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  1. Nobuo Imai
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Correspondence to Nobuo Imai.

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Imai, N., Seino, T., Aiba, Si. et al. Effects of selective logging on tree species diversity and composition of Bornean tropical rain forests at different spatial scales. Plant Ecol 213, 1413–1424 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-012-0100-y

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