Vegetation structure and composition of pioneer species in reforestation area at Gunung Apeng forest reserve

• Main Author: Cha, Hui Kee
• Format: Final Year Project Report
• Language: English
• Published: Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, UNIMAS 2013
• Subjects: SB Plant culture; SD Forestry
• Online Access: http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/7626/2/Cha%20Hui%20Kee%20ft.pdf; http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/7626/
• Institution: Universiti Malaysia Sarawak

This study was cconducted to collect information on the vegetation structure and composition of pioneer species in reforestation area at Gunung Apeng Forest Reserve that was artificially planted with Dipterocarp species Dryobalanops beccarii. There were two study sites constructed, namely R05 located in a reforestation area established in year 2005, and R07 in a reforestation area established in year 2007. The data collected and analyzed were height, diameter breast height (dbh), species name, plant group, and number of occurrence of each species. Comparison in terms of species diversity and evenness between the study plots were determined using Shannon-Wiener Diversity Index and Species Evenness Index. In both R05 and R07 study sites, the plant group with the highest number of species is tree, followed by climber, fern, and shrub. The density of undergrowth species is higher than the density of tree species in R05 and R07. In study site R05, Rubiaceae family has the highest number of plant species, while Rubiaceae family and Moraceae family are the two families that have the highest number of plant species in R07. Pioneer tree species in R05 was dominated by Macaranga gigantea, while most pioneer tree species encountered in R07 were Commersonia spp. Diversity and evenness indexes showed that study site R05 has higher and more even plant diversity distribution than R07. The vegetation structure and composition of pioneer species in reforestation area is important in determining the current regeneration condition of the forest, and it is also an important reference for future forest management activity.