FC10403

Forest Ecology – Introduction to Tropical

forests

Slides available on SMART3

Course outline, SLT & assessment
Please form a group of 4 for group assignment
(WhatsApp)
Next week – Plant Physiology on Tuesday and
Thursday (following week 2 Forest Ecology lectures)
 COURSE SCHEDULE
Title
Introduction to the course CRM
Introduction to tropical forests CRM
Flora and Fauna Diversity BA
Synusia/lieforms CRM
Tree growth and forest succession CRM
Reproductive biology 1 CRM
Reproductive biology 2 CRM
Interactions in tropical forest BA
Biogeochemical cycling CRM
Nutrient cycling CRM
Genetic, population and community ecology BA
Current issues 1 CRM
Current issues 2 CRM
Current issues 3 CRM
 Today’s lecture
• Global vegetation patterns
– Quick overview of what causes them
• Holdridge life zones system
• Focus in on the Tropics
– Introduce the different types of tropical
vegetation
• Focus in on Tropical Rainforests
– Look at what factors cause variations in the type
of rainforest you get
– Why important for a forester
 What factors determine the type of
terrestrial ecosystem you get?
• Climate
• What specific aspects of climate?
– Temperature
– Water availability i.e. Rainfall

• What determines the temperature at a

particular area?
– Latitude – distance from the equator
– Altitude – height above sea level
Factors that determine temperature
 Why?
• The equator receives greater insolation.
• Insolation is the solar radiation that reaches
the earth's surface. It is measured by the
amount of solar energy received per square
centimetre per minute.
 Two basic causes of greatest
insolation at equator:
• Solar radiation travels shorter distance through
atmosphere (less absorption, scatter, reflection)
at equator than higher latitudes
• More direct (maximum = 90º angle of input)
solar radiation (including visible light waves)
hitting Earth at equator. Thus, Given amount of
solar radiation illuminates less land
(atmosphere) area at equator (see next 2 slides).
Visual illustration of latitudinal gradient of insolation
 Take home message
• Temperature vary and this determine what type of
biome you get
Taiga (Subarctic)
Tundra (Arctic)
Temperate Forests
 Tropical forests

On top of temperature you also have difference in

rainfall
The thermal equator, oscillating latitudinally with seasons,
drives low latitude patterns of rainfall by establishing zones of
low pressure (high rainfall) and high pressure (low rainfall).
The hadley cell (centered on thermal
equator) depends on convection
currents with updrafts that cause low
latitude rainforests, and downdrafts
that cause subtropical hot deserts
(20º - 30º N, S lat.).
Major latitudinal displacements
of surface air currents:
convection currents drive
Hadley cells, pulling air at
surface into Inter-Tropical
Convergence Zone, ITCZ);
Ferrel Cells driven by low
pressure zone at 20º-30º lat.;
Midlatitude westerlies
converge into jet stream; polar
cells driven by high pressure
(cold) flows out of polar region
along Earth’s surface towards
south.
 Early Ecologists
• Observed epeatable patterns in vegetation
around the globe
• Developed classification schemes to enable
people (ecologists) to share a common
language
• There are number of different classification
schemes.
• We are going to use one based on Holdridge
life zone system as an example.
Holdridge’s life zone system is one
of most widespread, quantitative
schemes for classification of
vegetation, land types
 Why do we need a classification scheme?
• mapping (and monitoring) of vegetation is essential if
we want to understand the natural environment and
how to manage it.
• Example of a classification scheme
– UMS students = ~ 20,000 students
– Undergraduates from postgraduates
– Different “Schools” e.g. Forestry from other disciplines
– Years (First to Fourth year)
– Program (HG19, HG20, HG23 & HY11)
– Would work if we were interested in looking at what subjects you were
studying, but not if we were interested in finding out which are harder
working
 Holdridge’s Classification
• The Holdridge life zones system is a global bioclimatic
scheme to classify land areas.

• The three axes of the life zone system are:

• Annual precipitation (expressed on logarithmic scale)
• Mean annual biotemperature (expressed on logarithmic scale)
• potential evapotranspiration ratio (PET) to mean total
annual precipitation
Holdridge’s life zone system is one
of most widespread, quantitative
schemes for classification of
vegetation, land types
 BIOTEMPERATURE
• Is based on the growing season length and temperature. It
is measured as the mean of all temperatures above
freezing, with all temperatures below freezing adjusted to
0°C, as plants are dormant at these temperatures.

• NB: some definitions also state that temperatures above

30°C are excluded – as far as I know this is incorrect
Also incorporates three indicators: humidity provinces, latitudinal regions, altitudinal belts

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holdridge_life_zones
 The Tropics
Alison J. Reading, Russell D. Thompson, Andrew C Millington, 1995
• “Tropics” – refer to parts of the world which lie between the
Tropic of Cancer (23.5o N) and the Tropic of Capricorn (23.5o S)

• These latitudinal boundaries correspond to the outer limits of the areas

where the sun can lie at zenith (sun directly above the head)
• Receive large amounts of solar radiation throughout the year
• Minimal seasonal fluctuations in temperature
• NO DISTINCT WINTER SEASON
 Tropical forest ecosystems
• Tropical forest ecosystems vary in response to
differing environmental variables
Dry tropics
 Tropical forest ecosystems
• Tropical forest ecosystems vary in response to
differing environmental variables
Zone D Wet & Dry tropical forest
 Wet & Dry tropical forest

Teak forests
 Tropical forest ecosystems
• Tropical forest ecosystems vary in response to
differing environmental variables
Humid tropical forest
 Garnier, 1958
Some comments on defining the humid tropics. Research Note 11.
Dept. Geography, Univ. of Ibadan.

• Defines humid areas as ones in which actual

evapotranspiration equals potential
evapotranspiration such that soil moisture is not
depleted below a critical level.
• For areas which fulfill the tropical requirements of a
minimum monthly temperature of 18oC and a mean
vapor pressure of at least 20 mb, Garnier (1958)
uses the number of months in which this condition is
satisfied to differentiate tropical types.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holdridge_life_zones
Lowland rainforest
 Classification at the smaller scale
• Broad scale classification next to useless in the
local context

• Why?

• What factors might influence the nature of the

vegetation at a small scale?
 Soils of Sabah
• Predominantly derived from sandstone or
mudstone
– 17 soil associations from these two materials alone
• Igneous rocks
– Acid
– Basic
– Intermediate
– Ultrabasic
• Limestone
• Alluvium
• 51 SA
 Soil fertility : forest relationships
Species richness

Forest structure
Lowland MDF

Low High
Soil fertility
Ashton 1969, Rahayu et al. 2011

Not just fertility, also drainage, etc. Kerangas forest

Annual rainfall in Sabah
Water availability : forest relationships

Forest structure
Species richness

Low High

Water availability
Effects of water availability on the forests of
Sabah

Leptospermum dominated

The Kerangas forests of Berhala island

Altitude
Soil fertility, water availability and altitude
interact to determine the type of forests
 Implications for forest ecology &
management
• Sabah’s forests are not homogenous
– Forest structure, productivity and species
compositions varies as a response to these
environmental variables
• Creates issue when it comes to management &
conservation
Stand volumes & Regeneration rates
are not the same

Lowland MDF Kerangas forest

Some habitats are not suitable for the
mega-fauna
Really important point and often not
understood by oil palm industry and
politicians
 Suzika’s work
• MPhil student at UMS
• Looking at Ficus spp. (Kayu Ara)
diversity and densities across the
State.
• Important fall-back food for fauna
Some plant species are specialized to
specific habitats

Dipterocarpus lamellatus
 Sandy’s work
• MSc student at
UMS
• Using advanced
modeling
techniques to map
the distribution
trees endemic to
Sabah
What does all this mean for a forester?
• Can’t just “borrow” a forest management plan
from another forest reserve and apply it at
your FMU (NB: FMP aren’t cheap to develop)
• Need to develop one for your FMU
• Need to take into account the different local –
scale factor that influence vegetation and plan
accordingly
 Summary
• Vegetation varies as a response to environmental
variable
• Classification schemes try to capture this variation
• The structure, productivity and species composition
of Sabah’s forests vary in response to altitude,
water availability and soil fertility.