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Spatial distribution patterns of two predominant emergent trees in a tropical rainforest in Sarawak, Malaysia

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Abstract

Spatial distribution patterns of two emergent tropical rainforest tree species (Dryobalanops aromatica & D. lanceolata) were examined in where they were dominant (17–20% of total basal area of canopy trees) in Sarawak, East Malaysia. Newly established seedlings (< 2 years old) were restricted to areas < 40 m from mother trees for both species, suggesting a limited seed dispersal. Seedling (< 1 cm in dbh) density was highest around conspecific adults (≥ 30 cm in dbh). Negative spatial patterns were observed between larger juveniles (1–5 cm in dbh) and conspecific adults for both species; the most dense populations of sapling (1–5 cm in dbh) and poles (5–30 cm in dbh) were found at a distance of 15–20 m from the nearest conspecific adult. Seedlings of both species were distributed randomly with respect to light conditions evaluated by a forest floor diffuse site factor and a canopy closure index. Saplings of both species, and poles of D. lanceolata, were distributed under more open conditions than expected from spatially random distributions, and from average light conditions of all species of the same size classes. Possible mechanisms for the observed distribution patterns and intermediate canopy dominance of Dryobalanops were discussed from the viewpoints of gap-dynamics and distance-dependent mortality.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University Forest, College of Agriculture, Ehime University, Matsuyama, 790, Japan

    Akira Itoh

  2. Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Osaka City University, Osaka, 558, Japan

    Takuo Yamakura

  3. Laboratory of Forest Resources, College of Agriculture, Ehime University, Matsuyama, 790, Japan

    Kazuhiko Ogino

  4. Forest Department of Sarawak, 93660, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia

    Hua Seng Lee

  5. Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University, Cambridge, 02138, USA

    Peter S. Ashton

Authors
  1. Akira Itoh
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  2. Takuo Yamakura
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  3. Kazuhiko Ogino
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  4. Hua Seng Lee
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  5. Peter S. Ashton
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Itoh, A., Yamakura, T., Ogino, K. et al. Spatial distribution patterns of two predominant emergent trees in a tropical rainforest in Sarawak, Malaysia. Plant Ecology 132, 121–136 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009779424279

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