The community structure of a logged-over tropical rain forest in Mt. Makiling Forest Reserve, Philippines

Abstract

Community structure and species diversity were studied at a 4-ha tropical rain forest in Luzon Island, Philippines, 50 years after selective logging. The once selectively logged forest had high species diversity and a complex guild structure. The 4-ha plot recorded 3648 trees and palms of 179 species above 5 cm in diameter breast height (dbh). The dbh size of all trees and palms showed an inverse-J distribution with a maximum of about 150 cm. Species diversity indices for the 4-ha plot fell within the range of the indices previously reported for old-growth tropical rain forests in Southeast Asia. The dbh size distribution in the population of each component indicated that the community was composed primarily of shade-tolerant species. Most species with more than 1% density or basal area of the plot total had an aggregate distribution, and nearly half of them showed a significant topographic preference. The smaller presence of dipterocarp species, which were the dominants in the original flora, indicated that the species have suffered heavy utilisation in the past, with the result that numerous non-dipterocarp tree species now formed a species-rich secondary tropical rain forest.

Source or Periodical Title

Journal of Tropical Forest Science

ISSN

1281283

Page

446-458

Document Type

Article

Subject

Community structure, Guild structure, Logged-over forest, Species diversity, Tropical rain forest

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