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Tree community structure, dynamics, and diversity partitioning in a Bornean tropical forested landscape

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Abstract

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.

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Acknowledgments

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).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Chikusa, Nagoya, 464-8601, Japan

    Michiko Nakagawa

  2. Department of Forest Resources, Ehime University, Matsuyama, 790-8566, Japan

    Kuniyasu Momose & Tamaki Kamoi

  3. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, 153-8902, Japan

    Keiko Kishimoto-Yamada

  4. Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, Sendai, 980-8578, Japan

    Hiroshi O. Tanaka & Tohru Nakashizuka

  5. Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, 606-8501, Japan

    Michi Kaga

  6. Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Tsukuba, 305-8687, Japan

    Satoshi Yamashita

  7. Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, 606-8501, Japan

    Takao Itioka

  8. The Kyoto University Museum, Kyoto, 606-8501, Japan

    Hidetoshi Nagamasu

  9. Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, Kyoto, 603-8047, Japan

    Shoko Sakai

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  1. Michiko Nakagawa
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  2. Kuniyasu Momose
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  11. Tohru Nakashizuka
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Correspondence to Michiko Nakagawa.

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Nakagawa, M., Momose, K., Kishimoto-Yamada, K. et al. Tree community structure, dynamics, and diversity partitioning in a Bornean tropical forested landscape. Biodivers Conserv 22, 127–140 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-012-0405-0

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