Abstract
Species diversity and density of all climbers were inventoried in five 1-hectare plots (at 45m to 350 m elevations) in a coastal hill forest of Pulau Pangkor in Perak. In addition, we analyzed pattern of community diversity using species richness and evenness. Total of 4901 climbers belonging to 45 species were recorded. Mean climber density was 870 stems per ha. Annonaceae, Connaraceae and Menispermaceae were the most species-rich plant families of climbers followed by Rubiaceae and Leguminosae. Twiners formed the bulk (64%) of climber types followed by hook climbers and tendril, while root climbers were rare. Results from Canonical Corresponding Analysis (CCA) indicate that altitude was the most important factor that influenced the abundance and distribution of climbers.
Highlights
In the past decades, most studies carried out on vascular plants, despite the fact that the non-tree vegetation is responsible for a high percentage of the total diversity in the tropical forests (Gentry and Dodson 1987, Schnitzer and Carson 2001).Climbers are an abundant and diverse life-form in most tropical forests and their presence is often a key physiognomic feature differentiating tropical from temperate forests (Reddy and Parhasarathy 2003, Schnitzer and Bongers 2002, Nabe-Nielsen 2001, Perez-Salicrup et al 2001)
This study was performed in Sungai Pinang Permanent Forest Reserve in Pulau Pangkor (Figure 1), an island located on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia between 04° 13.0’ N latitude and 100° 33.0 ́E longitude
The study area contained a total of 4903 climbers in 45 species belong to 37 genera within 20 families, unidentified climbers accounted for only 0.06% of all stems sampled and mean density was 870 stems per ha
Summary
Most studies carried out on vascular plants, despite the fact that the non-tree vegetation is responsible for a high percentage of the total diversity in the tropical forests (Gentry and Dodson 1987, Schnitzer and Carson 2001).Climbers are an abundant and diverse life-form in most tropical forests and their presence is often a key physiognomic feature differentiating tropical from temperate forests (Reddy and Parhasarathy 2003, Schnitzer and Bongers 2002, Nabe-Nielsen 2001, Perez-Salicrup et al 2001). Climbers contribute substantially to the floristic, structural and functional diversity of tropical forests (Benavides et al 2005), where they can compete with other vegetation. They compete with trees for both above and below-ground resources, considerably decreasing the growth rates, retarding regeneration of tree seedlings and saplings, and increasing the number of trees damaged and killed in treefalls (Stevens 1987, Schnitzer et al 2005, Pérez-Salicrup 2001, Grauel Putz 2004, Kainer et al 2006). Climbers may play a role at the ecosystem level by contributing to the carbon budget of tropical forests, representing as much as 10% of fresh aboveground biomass (Putz 1984)
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