2013 IEEE Symposium on Humanities, Science and Engineering Research (SHUSER)

Floristic Composition and Diversity in

Lowland Dipterocarp and Riparian Forests of
Taman Negara Pahang

*Nor Farika Zani, *Mohd Nazip Suratman and **Fairuz Khalid

* Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), 40450 Shah Alam, Malaysia
Centre for Biodiversity and Sustainable Development, 40450 Shah Alam, Malaysia
**Faculty of Plantation and Agrotechnology, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), 40450 Shah Alam,
Corresponding author: ika_mim88@yahoo.com

Abstract—This study was conducted to determine the level of tree
species diversity and composition in a primary tropical rainforest
of Taman Negara Pahang. For this purpose, field data were
collected from a twenty 0.04-ha permanent plots, established in
two distinct sites of each in lowland dipeterocarp and riparian
forests of the study sites. All trees with a diameter at breast
height (DBH) greater than 10 cm in the sampled plots were
measured. A total of 419 stems which comprised of 43 families,
104 genera and 184 species were enumerated in the lowland
dipterocarp forest while 285 stems, 30 families, 60 genera and 75
species in the riparian forests. Euphorbiaceae is the most
dominant, abundant and rich family in lowland dipterocarp
forest whereas Meliaceae is the abundant, Leguminosae is the
richest while Sterculiaceae is the most dominant family in
riparian forests. Elateriospermum tapos is the most dominant
species in lowland dipterocarp forest while in riparian forests is
Dysoxylum arborescens with an Importance Values Index (IVI) of
13.29% and 69.19%, respectively. The Shannon-Weiner diversity
index (H’) shows a higher value for lowland dipterocarp forest
which is 4.84 as compared to riparian forests that is 3.38
indicating a higher diversity of tree species in lowland
dipterocarp than riparian forests. This information is useful in
providing baseline information on floristic composition and
diversity of different forest types in Taman Negara Pahang.
Keywords- Species composition, Species diversity, Taman
Negara Pahang, Shannon-Weiner index, Tropical rainforest
I. INTRODUCTION
The tropical rainforest is said to be one of the most diverse,
complex and productive terrestrial ecosystems in the world.
According to [1], tropical rainforests are recognized as the
richest ecosystems in the world in terms of structure and
species diversity and are able to maintain the global climate
change by reducing the accumulation of greenhouse gases.
Nutrient cycling is probably one of the most significant
ecological processes in the tropical rainforests [2]. In term of
land base, Malaysia comprises of a total land area of 32.86
million hectares. Of the total, 62.3% are vegetation covers [3].
According to [4], tropical rainforests contain 70 percents of the
world’s plants and it was estimated that more than 200 tree
species present per hectare in tropical rainforest. The climate
of Malaysia is typically humid tropical and is characterised by
year round high temperatures and seasonal heavy rain. As a
result of these climatic conditions, the predominant natural
vegetation is tropical rain forest whereby the main forest types
being lowland then hill dipterocarp forest, peat swamp forest,
freshwater swamp forest and mangrove forest [3].
Taman Negara Pahang is the biggest national parks in
Peninsular Malaysia and is a fully protected forest where
harvesting is strictly prohibited. Therefore, Taman Negara
Pahang contains an old growth with high species composition
and diversity of flora. However, to date, there is only a few
studies have been conducted on tree species composition and
diversity in Taman Negara Pahang [5, 6] but these studies
mainly conducted only in the lowland dipterocarp forest. Thus,
the present study aims at determining the floristic composition
and diversity in the lowland dipterocarp and riparian forests of
Taman Negara Pahang. These two habitats might have
different species structure that attributed from different
ecological factors in the study area. This study intends to
provide baseline information on floristic composition and
diversity between different forest types in Taman Negara
Pahang.
II. MATERIALS & METHOD
A. Study Area
This study was conducted in lowland dipterocarp and
riparian forests of Taman Negara Pahang. Twenty plots were
set up each for lowland dipterocarp and riparian forests located
at Kuala Keniam (latitude 4° 31.058' to 4° 31.280', longitude
102° 27.934' to 102° 28.308') and along Keniam River (latitude
4° 31.507' to 4° 31.554', longitude 102° 28.264' to 102°
28.130') and Tembeling River (latitude 4° 27.690, longitude
102◦ 29.196'), respectively. Taman Negara Pahang has a
tropical climate with annual rainfall of about 2,260 mm and is
diverse in forest vegetation such as trees, climbers, shrubs, and
palms. Average temperature throughout the year ranges from
25–37°C with more than 80% humidity. The research plots for
both forests were established in flat, undulating and rolling area
with slope of between 5° to 50°.

978-1-4799-0443-3/13/$31.00 ©2013 IEEE 696

 2013 IEEE Symposium on Humanities, Science and Engineering Research (SHUSER)

B. Data Collection and Sampling

For the purpose of forest inventory, a total of twenty plots Species evenness (E) was determined using Shannon- Weiner
measuring at 20 m × 20 m were randomly established at each values.
forest type. The coordinates for each plot was recorded. All
′
trees with diameter at breast height (DBH) above 10 cm was / ln
permanently tagged, measured and identified. DBH was Where
measured using DBH tape while tree height and slope was
measured using clinometer. If the tree species could not be E = Evenness
identified in the field, the botanical specimens (e.g. leaves,
flower or fruit) were collected and then taken to herbarium H’ = Shannon diversity index
laboratory of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) for S = The number of species at the study area
identification. The identification process was made possible
with an aid of the Tree Flora of Malaya [7, 8, 9, 10]. Community similarity between lowland dipterocarp and
riparian forests were calculated using Sorensen’s Similarity
C. Data Analysis Index (S) [15].
Species composition and diversity were calculated based
on forest inventory data. Species composition refers to the 2
number of different species in the study area [11]. It can be
represented in terms of relative density (RD), relative basal 2
area (RBA) and relative frequency (RF). Important value
index (IVI) was calculated to determine the species Where
importance in the community [12]. In order to determine the
species abundance, several parameters were calculated which S = Sorensen’s Similarity Index
include the density, frequency and basal area of a particular a = The number of species common to lowland
area (Brower et al., 1989). Formula used to calculate RD, dipterocarp and riparian forest
RBA, RF and IVI are as listed below [11]. b = The number of species only occur at lowland
dipterocarp forest
RD = (Number of individuals of a species/ total number of c = The number of species only occur at riparian forests
individuals of all species) × 100
RBA = (combined BA of one species/ total BA of all species) D. Statistical Analysis
× 100 T-test analysis was performed to study the basal area
RF = (frequency of one species/ sum of all frequencies) between lowland dipterocarp and riparian forest. This analysis
× 100 was carried out using Statistical Analysis Software (SAS)
version 9.3.
IVI = RD + RBA + RF (1-300 %)
III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
In this study, basal area was calculated using equation from A. Species Composition
[13].
Table 1 shows a total of 43 families, 104 genera and 184
BA πr tree species were found in lowland dipterocarp forest whereas
= 3.142 × DBH/200 30 families, 60 genera and 75 tree species were found in
riparian forests. Table 2 shows the species composition in
Where terms of species abundant, richness, dominance and IVI.

BA = Tree basal area (m2)

π = 3.142 TABLE 1. NUMBER OF STEM, FAMILY, GENUS AND SPECIES IN THE
D = radius (cm) LOWLAND DIPTEROCARP AND RIPARIAN FORESTS OF
TAMAN NEGARA PAHANG
Species diversity was determined using Shannon- Weiner No. of No. of No. of No. of
Forest Types
Diversity Index (H’) [14]. Stems Family genus species
Lowland 419 43 104 184
′
Riparian 285 30 60 75

Where

H’ = Shannon-Weiner diversity index

S = The number of species at that site
Pi = Proportion of individuals of the ith species

UiTM Excellence Fund and International Foundation for Science (IFS)

697
 2013 IEEE Symposium on Humanities, Science and Engineering Research (SHUSER)
TABLE 2. SPECIES DENSITY, FREQUENCY, DOMINANCE AND IMPORTANT VALUE INDEX (IVI) OF LOWLAND DIPTEROCARP
AND RIPARIAN FORESTS OF TAMAN NEGARA PAHANG
Forest types Density Frequency
Lowland Euphorbiaceae Euphorbiaceae
Dipterocarp (98 ind/ha) (95%)
Meliaceae Leguminosae
Riparian
(94 ind/ha) (80%)
Euphorbiaceae was the most abundant, rich and dominant
species in lowland dipterocarp forest (Table 2). As for riparian
forest, Meliaceae was the most abundant and dominant family
in riparian forests. However, the richest family in riparian
forests is Leguminosae with 15 species. A study conducted by
[12] found a similar result where Euphorbiaceae was the most
common family in Kenong Forest Park, Kuala Lipis. Similarly,
in tropical rainforest of Central Amazonia, [16] recorded
Leguminosae as the most abundant, rich and dominant species
in his study.
The mean basal area in lowland dipterocarp is significantly
lower (P≤ 0.001) than riparian forests where 3.10 m2/ha and
4.69 m2/ha were recorded for lowland dipterocarp and riparian
forest, respectively. A tree’s basal area is the cross sectional
area of tree at breast height [17]. A higher basal area indicates a
more stable the community. The dominance of a species in the
present study is based on the IVI of a species. The most
dominant species in lowland dipterocarp forest is
Elateriospermum tapos while in riparian forests is Dysoxylum
arborescens with IVI of 13.29% and 69.19%, respectively.
Reference [12] observed a slightly higher IVI in lowland area
of Kenong Forest Park in which the most dominant species was
Intsia palembanica with the IVI of 14.58 %. In comparison
with other forest type, Malaleuca cajupati was the most
dominant species in [18] study plots at heath forest in Rantau
Abang, Terengganu by having IVI of 105.82%.
The species evenness (E) for lowland dipterocarp forest
ranges from 0.89 to 1.00 while riparian forest ranges from 0.55
to 0.96 (table not shown). E refers to how even the species
distribution in the study area. Nearly all plots in lowland
dipterocarp forest have a uniform trend of high E value which
indicates a close number of tree species in the study area. The
riparian forest, however, shows less uniform E value. A study
conducted by reference [11] in Miombo Woodlands presented
quite similar result where the species evenness value in
Nyagoro site is 0.91 but lower in Kitonga (E = 0.76) and
Udekwa (E = 0.72).
B. Species Diversity
Shannon-Weiner diversity index (H’) was used to calculate
the species diversity for lowland dipterocarp and riparian
forests. The Shannon-Weiner value for lowland dipterocarp
forest is higher than riparian forests which is 4.84
698
Dominance Important Value Index (IVI)
Euphorbiaceae Elateriospermum tapos
(3.10 m2/ha) 13.29 %
Sterculiaceae Dysoxylum arborescens
2
(4.69 m /ha) 69.19%
and 3.38, respectively. This value indicates the study plots in
lowland dipterocarp forest were more complex and more
diverse in terms of species composition compared to riparian
forests. Shannon-Weiner diversity index values in this study
are comparable with other studies. A study by [6] in the same
forest, that is lowland forest of Kuala Keniam recorded a
lower H’ value at the ranges of 3.42 to 3.97. In contrast, [19]
reported a considerably higher H’ values for inland, seasonal
flood and riverine forest at Chini watershed forest, Pahang.
The H’ values for the three forests were 5.40, 5.10 and 5.08,
respectively. In addition, [11] recorded an extremely low H’
value for secondary forest of Miombo Woodlands which is
within the range of 1.29 to 1.50 that could be due to
deforestation that affected the tree species diversity in the
forest.
C. Similarity Index
The Sorenson’s similarity index expresses moderately high
similarity (63.16 %) of family composition between lowland
dipterocarp and riparian forest in the present study. However,
lower similarity index of 21.62% was reported at species level.
A higher similarity index values in terms of species
composition were reported for Kenong Forest Park [12] and
Chini watershed forest [19] of 48% and 40%, respectively.
According to [20], differences in species composition between
forest types might be due to the differences in soil chemical
properties of the study area.
CONCLUSION
A total of 419 stems which comprised of 43 families, 104
genera and 184 species were recorded in the lowland
dipterocarp forest while 285 stems, 30 families, 60 genera and
75 species in the riparian forests. Euphorbiaceae is the most
dominant, abundant and rich family in lowland dipterocarp
forest. Meanwhile, Meliaceae is the most abundant,
Leguminosae is the richest family whereas Sterculiaceae is the
most dominant family in riparian forests. Elateriospermum
tapos is the most dominant species in lowland dipterocarp
forest while in riparian forests is Dysoxylum arborescens. The
Importance Value Index (IVI) of lowland dipterocarp and
riparian forests were 13.29% and 69.19%, respectively. In this
study, the species evenness was observed in both lowland
dipterocarp and riparian forests. The Sorensen similarity index
of family composition presented a moderately high value of
 2013 IEEE Symposium on Humanities, Science and Engineering Research (SHUSER)
63.16% whereas a lower value of 21.62% was obtained at
species level. The lowland dipterocarp forest has higher
Shannon-Weiner diversity index (H’) which is 4.84 compared
to riparian forests which is 3.38.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This research was supported by an Excellence Fund from the
Universiti Teknologi MARA and International Foundation for
Science (IFS) (D/5321-1). The authors would like to thank the
Department of Wildlife and National Parks (PERHILITAN)
for giving us permission to conduct this research in Taman
Negara Pahang. Many thanks are extended to our field
assistants and to Herbarium laboratory of Universiti
Kebangsaan Malaysia for the identification of tree species.
REFERENCES
[1] M.Z. Hamzah, A. Arifin, A.K. Zaidey, A.N. Azirim, I. Zahari, A.H.
Hazandy, H. Affendy, M.E. Wasli, J. Shamshuddin and M. Nik
Muhammad. “Characterizing soil nutrient status and growth
performance of planted dipterocarp and non-dipterocarp on degraded
forest land in Peninsular Malaysia.” Journal of Applied Science 9, 4215-
4223, 2009.
[2] A. Latiff, I. Faridah-Hanum, A. Zain. and Razali Jaman. “Biomass and
floristics of Sayap-Kinabalu Park, Sabah”. ASEAN Review of
Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation, 1998.
[3] C.F. Symington. “Forester’s manual of Dipterocarps (2nd edn.) (revised
by Ashton PS, Appanah S). Malayan Forest Records No. 16. Pp. 519.
Forest Research Institute Malaysia & Malaysian Nature Society, Kuala
Lumpur, 2004.
[4] R. Sands. Forestry in a global context. CABI Publishing. 49. 2005.
[5] M.S. Nizam, J. Norziana, A.R. Sahibin and A. Latiff. (2006). “Edaphic
relationships among tree species in the National Park at Merapoh,
Pahang, Malaysia.” Jurnal Biosains, 17(2), 37-53, 2006.
[6] M.N. Suratman, M. Kusin, S.A.K. Yamani, K. saleh, M. Ahmad and S.
A. Bahari. “Stand structure and species diversity of Keniam Forest,
699
Pahang National Park”. 2010. International Conference on Science and
Social Research, 772-777. 2010.
[7] T.C. Whitmore. Tree Flora of Malaya. Vol. 1. Kuala Lumpur,
Longman. 1972.
[8] T.C. Whitmore. Tree Flora of Malaya. Vol. 2. Kuala Lumpur, Longman.
1973.
[9] F.S.P. Ng. Tree Flora of Malaya. Vol. 3. Kuala Lumpur, Longman.
1978.
[10] F.S.P. Ng. Tree Flora of Malaya. Vol. 4. Kuala Lumpur, Longman.
1989.
[11] J.A. Isango. Stand structure and tree species composition of Tanzania
Miombo Woodlands: A case study from Miombo Woodlands of
community based forest management in Iringa District. Journal of
Working Papers of the Finish ForestResearch Institute, 50, 43-56. 2007.
[12] M.S. Nizam, S. Rohani and W.A. Wan Juliana. “Floristic variation of
tree communities in two distinct habitats within a forest park in Pahang,
Peninsular Malaysia. Sains Malaysiana 41(1).1-10. 2012.
[13] B.M., Husch, C.I., Miller and T.W., Beers. Forest mensuration. New
York: John Wiley and Sons Publishing. 1982.
[14] C.E. Shannon and W. Weaver. “The Mathematical Theory of
Communication. University of Illinois Press, Urbana. 117 pp. 1949.
[15] M. Kent and P. Coker. “Vegetation description and analysis: A practical
approach. Chichester, England: John Wiley & sons, 361 pp. 1992.
[16] L.V. Fereira and G.T. Prance, “Species richness and floristic
composition in four hectares in the Jau National Park in upland forst in
Central Amazonia”. Biodivers. Conserv., vol. 7, pp. 1349-1364. 1998.
[17] A. J. Martin. “What is Basal Area?”. Department of Forest Ecology and
Management. University of Wisconsin. 1989.
[18] N.L.W. Musa, L. Nawi and N.N. Md Isa. “Study on the floristic
composition and forest structure of Heath forest at Dungun area in
Terengganu. Undated.
[19] M. Khairil, W.A., Wan Juliana, M.S. Nizam and R. Faszly. “Community
structure and biomass of tree species at China Watershed Forest, Pekan
Pahang. Sains Malaysiana 40(11):1209-1221. 2011.
[20] D. Newberry, McC and Proctor. “Ecological studies in four contrasting
lowland rainforest in Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak. Journal of
Ecology 72: 475-493. 1984.