Composition of rattan communities (arecaceae, subfamily calamoideae) in forest reserves of Penang
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Date
2014-09
Authors
W Rozali, Wan Nur Fasihah Zarifah
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Abstract
There is a limited data collection on distribution patterns, species abundance, and species composition of rattan elsewhere in the country. An efficient survey will provide biological material to improve knowledge of botany and ecology. Rattan assessment was conducted in four forest reserves namely Penang National Park (2,563 ha), Penang Hill (32 ha), Bukit Panchor (445 ha), and Cherok Tokun (37 ha) from September 2011 to September 2012. The aim of this research is to study the diversity and composition of rattan (Arecaceae: subfamily Calamoideae) in selected forest reserves of Penang. The objectives of this study were to investigate the abundance and diversity of rattan species, and to analyze rattan diversity and distribution in relation to elevations (study case in Penang Hill). Besides, this study analyzed the correlation of microclimates and soil properties on rattan distribution. Additionally, the regeneration status of rattan in all investigated forests also had been evaluated. A total of 30 randomly stratified enumeration plots (30 m × 30 m) were established at different selected locations to identify rattans to the species level. A total of 5,482 rattan individuals were recorded in this study, representing 21 rattan species belonging to five genera. Penang Hill recorded the highest abundance of rattan species with 1,721 individuals, followed by Cherok Tokun (1,301 individuals), Bukit Panchor (1,277 individuals), and Penang National Park (1,183 individuals). The rattan diversity of Bukit Panchor was the highest as indicated by the high value of Shannon, H’=1.907 (11 species), followed by Penang Hill (H’= 1.730, 10 species), Cherok Tokun (H’= 1.645, 9 species), and Penang National Park (H’= 1.372, 6 species). It was found that different genera dominated different study sites. For example, Calamus was dominant in Bukit Panchor (852 individuals). Cherok Tokun recorded the highest number of rattan individuals from Daemonorops genus with total number of 822 individuals. Plectocomia species were only present in Penang Island, while Korthalsia and Myrialepis were highest in dominance at Cherok Tokun. In terms of rattan distribution based on elevations, the field surveys were divided into three elevations namely low (<300 m), middle (300–600 m), and high (>600 m). High diversity of rattan species was observed in middle elevation (Shannon, H’=1.744), followed by high elevation (H’=1.582) and low elevation (H’=0.959). The study also discovered that the influence of altitudes was weak on rattan community according to the table of Spearman’s rho correlation test. The CCA species/environment biplot showed that Daemonorops brachystachys and Calamus dieppenhorstii can tolerate high organic matter and high relative humidity. Calamus javensis, Calamus calospathus, Plectocomia griffithii, and Calamus penicillatus depended on high soil pH and high light intensities. The findings of this study also revealed that the regeneration rate of rattan species in Penang Island was better compared to those species in Penang Mainland as the seedlings in Penang National Park and Penang Hill were significantly high. In terms of elevation, this study found that high elevation had better regeneration status (i.e., higher abundance of seedlings, young plant, and partly mature and mature rattan) compared to middle and low elevations. Present analysis revealed that each of the studied locations was different in rattan diversity, abundance, and regeneration status as well as different environmental variables has different influence on rattan species.
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Rattan Communities , Penang