Impacts of Forest Management on Community Assemblage and Carbon Stock of Lianas in a Tropical Lowland Forest, Malaysia

Abstract

The study determined the impacts of different forest management regimes on liana community assemblages and carbon stocks in the Bukit Panchor Forest Reserve, Malaysia. Based on time span, two forests treated by the Malayan Uniform System (MUS), but with different time of recovery (19 years old: MUS-19 and 42 years old: MUS-42) were selected for this study. The MUS is a silvicultural treatment involving a single harvest of trees of stipulated diameter (≥ 45 cm), followed by other silvicultural operations such as climber cutting. An untreated forest was added as a control. Lianas with diameter ≥ 2 cm were enumerated in ten 40 × 40 m2 plots within each regime. Liana above-ground carbon stocks were determined using an allometric equation. Observed species richness and Shannon diversity of lianas were significantly lower in the MUS-19 treated forest than in the untreated forest (p<0.05), but the values of these attributes were similar in the MUS-42 treated and untreated forests. Rarefied liana species richness was significantly lower in the two treated forests than in the untreated forest (p<0.05). Liana stem basal area and carbon stock decreased significantly in the MUS-19 treated forest (p<0.05) relative to the untreated forest, whereas the values in the MUS-42 treated forest were similar to those in the untreated forest. In view of the adverse impacts of complete liana cutting on liana diversity, structure and carbon stocks in the treated forests, it is recommended that selective liana cutting be used in controlling lianas.