Pasoh : Ecology of a Lowland Rain Forest in Southeast Asia

The Pasoh Forest Reserve (pasoh FR) has been a leading center for international field research in the Asian tropical forest since the 1970s, when a joint research project was carried out by Japanese, British and Malaysian research teams with the cooperation of the University of Malaya (UM) and the Forest Research Institute (FRI, now the Forest Research Institute Malaysia, FRIM) under the International Biological Program (IBP). The main objective of the project was to provide basic information on the primary productivity ofthe tropical rain forest, which was thought to be the most productive of the world's ecosystems. After the IBP project, a collaborative program between the University of Malaya and the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, UK, for post-graduate training was carried out at Pasoh. Reproductive biology of so me dipterocarp trees featured in many of the findings arrived at through the program, contributing greatly to progress in the population genetics of rain forest trees. Since those research pro grams, apart of the Pasoh forest and its field research station have been managed by FRIM. In 1984, FRIM started a long-term ecological research program in Pasoh FR with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) and Harvard University, establishing a 50-ha plot and enumerating and mapping all trees 1 cm or more in diameter at breast height. A recensus has been conducted every 5 years. Front Matter....Pages ii-xviii Front Matter....Pages xix-xix Pasoh Research, Past and Present....Pages 1-13 Logging History and Its Impact on Forest Structure and Species Composition in the Pasoh Forest Reserve — Implications for the Sustainable Management of Natural Resources and Landscapes....Pages 15-34 The Trees of Pasoh Forest: Stand Structure and Floristic Composition of the 50-ha Forest Research Plot....Pages 35-50 Rainfall Characteristics of Tropical Rainforest at Pasoh Forest Reserve, Negeri Sembilan, Peninsular Malaysia....Pages 51-58 Soil Nutrient Flux in Relation to Trenching Effects under Two Dipterocarp Forest Sites....Pages 59-72 Characteristics of Energy Exchange and Surface Conductance of a Tropical Rain Forest in Peninsular Malaysia....Pages 73-88 Soil and Belowground Characteristics of Pasoh Forest Reserve....Pages 89-109 Front Matter....Pages xix-xix Leaf Phenology of Trees in the Pasoh Forest Reserve....Pages 111-121 Eco-Morphological Grouping of Non-Dipterocarp Tree Species in a Tropical Rain Forest Based on Seed and Fruit Attributes....Pages 123-135 Microhabitat Preference of Two Sympatric Scaphium Species in a 50 ha Plot in Pasoh....Pages 137-147 Diversity of Putative Ectomycorrhizal Fungi in Pasoh Forest Reserve....Pages 149-159 Community Structure of Wood-Decaying Basidiomycetes in Pasoh....Pages 161-170 Front Matter....Pages N3-N3 Comparative Biology of Tropical Trees: a Perspective from Pasoh....Pages 171-194 Palms of Pasoh....Pages 195-213 Flowering Predictions Based on 20 Years of Phenological Observations of Neobalanocarpus heimii (King) Ashton....Pages 215-223 Leaf Physiological Adjustments to Changing Lights: Partitioning the Heterogeneous Resources across Tree Species....Pages 225-239 Gas Exchange and Turgor Maintenance of Tropical Tree Species in Pasoh Forest Reserve....Pages 241-250 Sunfleck Contribution to Leaf Carbon Gain in Gap and Understory Tree Seedlings of Shorea macrophylla ....Pages 251-260 Molecular Phylogeny of Dipterocarpaceae....Pages 261-272 Regeneration Strategy and Spatial Distribution Pattern of Neobalanocarpus heimii in the Lowland Dipterocarp Forest of Pasoh, Peninsular Malaysia....Pages 273-284 Front Matter....Pages N3-N3 Mating System and Gene Flow of Dipterocarps Revealed by Genetic Markers....Pages 285-292 Front Matter....Pages N5-N5 Aspects of the Diversity of Geometridae (Lepidoptera) in Pasoh Forest Reserve....Pages 293-313 Seasonal Variation and Community Structure of Tropical Bees in a Lowland Tropical Forest of Peninsular Malaysia: the Impact of General Flowering....Pages 315-323 Vertical Stratification of Ambrosia Beetle Assemblage in a Lowland Rain Forest at Pasoh, Peninsular Malaysia....Pages 325-336 The Communal Lifestyle of Web-Building Spiders in Tropical Forests....Pages 337-346 The Ant Species Richness and Diversity of a Primary Lowland Rain Forest, the Pasoh Forest Reserve, West-Malaysia....Pages 347-373 The Bird Community at Pasoh: Composition and Population Dynamics....Pages 375-393 Herpetofauna Diversity Survey in Pasoh Forest Reserve, Negeri Sembilan, Peninsular Malaysia....Pages 395-402 Small Mammals Diversity in Pasoh Forest Reserve, Negeri Sembilan, Peninsular Malaysia....Pages 403-411 Front Matter....Pages N7-N7 Insect Herbivores on Tropical Dipterocarp Seedlings....Pages 413-420 Spatial Distribution of Flower Visiting Beetles in Pasoh Forest Reserve and Its Study Technique....Pages 421-436 Ant Fauna of the Lower Vegetation Stratum in Pasoh Forest Reserve with Special Reference to the Diversity of Plants with Extrafloral Nectaries and Associated Ants....Pages 437-458 Ant-Plant Diversity in Peninsular Malaysia, with Special Reference to the Pasoh Forest Reserve....Pages 459-494 Leaf Herbivory and Defenses of Dipterocarp Seedlings in the Pasoh Forest Reserve....Pages 495-505 Native, Wild Pigs ( Sus scrofa ) at Pasoh and Their Impacts on the Plant Community....Pages 507-520 Front Matter....Pages N9-N9 Is the Termite Community Disturbed by Logging?....Pages 521-531 Small Mammal Community: Habitat Preference and Effects after Selective Logging....Pages 533-546 Woodpeckers (Picidae) at Pasoh: Foraging Ecology, Flocking and the Impacts of Logging on Abundance and Diversity....Pages 547-557 Regeneration of a Clear-Cut Plot in a Lowland Dipterocarp Forest in Pasoh Forest Reserve, Peninsular Malaysia....Pages 559-568 Prospects and Priorities for Research Towards Forest Policy Reform and the Sustainable Management of Biodiverse Tropical Forests....Pages 569-584 Back Matter....Pages 585-628 The Pasoh Forest Reserve in Malaysia is one of the most species-rich ecological systems on our planet. Since the 1970s it has been the site of intensive research on lowland tropical rain forest across a diverse range of disciplines including ecology, forestry, meteorology, and hydrology. Research has focused on biodiversity and sustainable management of tropical rain forests as well as the role of tropical rain forests in maintaining global climate and carbon sinks. This book compiles diverse studies of the ecology and natural history of the Pasoh Forest Reserve and focuses on six areas: Physical settings and environment; Vegetation structure, diversity, and dynamics; Plant population and functional biology; Animal ecology and biodiversity; Plant-animal interactions; and Anthropogenic impacts and forest management. This book is of interest to tropical forest researchers worldwide in ecology, conservation biology, taxonomy, and forestry