Fern diversity in primary and secondary forests of Danum Valley and Ulu Segama Forest Complex, Lahad Datu, Sabah
Due to the depletion of primary forests, secondary forests are becoming important to sustain biodiversity. Ferns are good indicators for forest quality as many species have specific ecological preferences. The aim of this study is to compare the diversity and composition of fern species between l...
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| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English English |
| Published: |
e-VIBS, Faculty of Science and Natural Resources
2016
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/19849/1/Fern%20diversity%20in%20primary.pdf https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/19849/7/Fern%20Diversity%20in%20Primary%20and%20Secondary.pdf https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/19849/ http://transectscience.org/pdfs/vol3/no1_2/31-2_77_84.pdf |
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| Institution: | Universiti Malaysia Sabah |
| Language: | English English |
| Summary: | Due to the depletion of primary forests, secondary forests are becoming
important to sustain biodiversity. Ferns are good indicators for forest quality
as many species have specific ecological preferences. The aim of this study
is to compare the diversity and composition of fern species between lowland
primary and secondary forests. Secondary forests caused by logging
activities are classified into secondary forest of high biomass and low
biomass. Eight plots of 20 m × 20 m (400 m2
) were established in each
forest type totaling to 24 plots. Twenty-six species of ferns belonging to 11
families were identified. Out of this, one species is new to Danum Valley
which is Leptochilus cf. decurrens. Shannon-Wiener Index showed that
secondary forest of high biomass (H’=2.49) have high species richness than
primary forest (H’=2.03) and secondary forest of low biomass (H’= 2.07).
Similarity Index was used to compare the diversity of three forest types and
cluster analysis was used to show the grouping of the different forest types
by using PAST (Paleontological Statistics) version 2.17. Secondary forest
of high and low biomass showed high similarities. Higher species richness
of ferns in the secondary forest of high biomass is due to the presence of
many light demanding fern species. Thus, canopy opening may have
influence the species diversity of ferns in secondary forests. |
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