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Effects of topography on tropical lower montane forests under different geological conditions on Mount Kinabalu, Borneo

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Abstract

Species composition and forest structure change with topography.However, mechanisms for topographical vegetation changes are still not wellunderstood, because a topographical gradient is a complex environmentalgradientinclusive of many factors. The foot of Mt. Kinabalu is covered with three typesof geological substrates, i.e. Quaternary and Tertiary sedimentary rocks andultrabasic (serpentine) rock. Quaternary and Tertiary sedimentaryrocks are different in site age, but controlled in primary minerals. Tertiarysedimentary and ultrabasic rocks are contrasting in primary minerals, but arecomparable in age. This setting provides an opportunity to examine thevegetation differentiation along topographical gradients that are contrastinginmajor-nutrient supply due to the difference in site age and parent rock.We established a total of nine study plots by choosing three topographicalunits(ridge, middle- and lower-slope) on each substrate inthe tropical lower montane forest. Pool size and supply of soil N and Pdecreased upslope on each substrate, and the magnitude of the reduction fromslope to ridge decreased in the order of Quaternary sedimentary > Tertiarysedimentary > ultrabasic rock. Between-substrate difference in soilnutrient condition was greater on the lower-slopes than the ridges.Maximum tree size decreased and stem density increased upslope on eachsubstrate. Detrended correspondence analysis demonstrated that speciescomposition also changed along topographical gradients on all substrates.However, the magnitude of topographical changes in forest structure and speciescomposition varied with substrate and decreased from Quaternary sedimentary>Tertiary sedimentary > ultrabasic rock. The greatest between-substratedifference in vegetation occurred on the lower-slopes. Accordingly, ourresults suggest that the magnitude of vegetation changes due to topographybecomes smaller with decreasing pool size and supply of nutrients.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Japanese Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Tsukuba Norin Kenkyu Danchi, 305-8687, Japan

    Masaaki Takyu & Kanehiro Kitayama

  2. Faculty of Science, Kagoshima University, Korimoto, 890-0065, Japan

    Shin-Ichiro Aiba

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  1. Masaaki Takyu
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  2. Shin-Ichiro Aiba
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  3. Kanehiro Kitayama
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Takyu, M., Aiba, SI. & Kitayama, K. Effects of topography on tropical lower montane forests under different geological conditions on Mount Kinabalu, Borneo. Plant Ecology 159, 35–49 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015512400074

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