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ABSTRACT:

The effect of selective timber logging on the diversity of woody climbers at Pasoh

Book Section

Gardette E

1996

Journal

115-126

The diversity of woody climbers at Pasoh Forest Reserve is very high with 35 families being represented in the lowlands and up to 40 families being present in the hills. The total number of species (excluding small climbers rattans and herbaceous vines) found in the area was 220. Woody climber species-richness was not significantly different between the logged and the unlogged forests sites but there was a strong difference in the frequency distribution of various size classes in the logged and unlogged rainforest. Large climbers are absent in the logged sites but in these sites there is an abundance of small sized stems with a high proportion of ramified stems. The greatest diversity is found in plots with a large number of stems (at their base) irrespective of the disturbance history. The species composition of logged and unlogged plots is quite different. Families dispersed by birds or mammals are under-represented in logged rain forest sites. It is recommended that if it is necessary to remove climbers to prevent them pulling down other trees during log extraction then the cutting of climbers should be restricted to a few individual commercially important trees before and after felling. Otherwise these practices could affect the ecosystem for a considerable period by promoting fast-growing liana species at the expense of others usually represented by a few individuals per hectare.

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