**1. Introduction**

The tropical rainforests are earth's most complex biome that harbour a greater diversity of life than any other terrestrial habitat. The tropical rainforests of Kuala Keniam in Pahang National Park, Malaysia is no exception. They are home to biodiversity, which consists of thousands of species of flora and fauna that depend upon each other and are linked directly or indirectly with ecosystems. Kuala Keniam forests are one of the biodiversity hotspots in Pahang National Park located at the mouth of and along the Keniam River. A variety of species of plants, bacteria, insects, fungi, birds, mammals, reptiles, fish, invertebrates and amphibians live together with non-living elements like water, soil and air to make a functioning ecosystem [1]. This amazing spectrum of life makes Kuala Keniam forests a living laboratory of scientific research, and is regarded as one the most exciting habitat by researchers, scientists, botanists and naturalists within Pahang National Park.

Historically, Pahang National Park was declared as a National Park by the British Administrators with the name King George V National Park under Enactment 1939, to commemorate the installation of King George V in England [2]. The Department of Wildlife and National Parks (acronym: DWNP in English and PERHILITAN in Malay) was established in 1972 by the Government of Malaysia under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. The department is responsible to strengthen wildlife conservation programmes through management, enforcement, enrichment and research of wildlife [3]. In addition, it maintains the integrity of protected areas and enhances knowledge, awareness and public participation towards wildlife conservation. In 2007, the Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Malaysia in collaboration with DWNP established a field research station in a protected area of Pahang National Park known as UiTM-PERHILITAN Research Station.

This introductory chapter aims to document the great richness of biodiversity in the tropical rainforests of Pahang National Park, Malaysia, and share the findings from a scientific expedition undertaken by UiTM in its effort to carry out a multidisciplinary research programme focusing on the aspects of biodiversity in the area.

## **2. Establishment of UiTM-PERHILITAN research station**

UiTM-PERHILITAN Research Station (hereafter is referred to as Kuala Keniam forests) was established with a primary focus to provide a great natural laboratory to conduct scientific investigations of the biodiversity of tropical rainforest as well as

**Figure 1.** *Accommodation facilities for researchers and visitors in Kuala Keniam forests, Pahang National Park.*

ecosystem processes and interactions between them within the National Park landscape and on ways of managing them. Physical facilities at Kuala Keniam forests are designed to accommodate programmes of research, education and services (**Figure 1**). Currently available facilities include a multi-purpose building, boats, chalets, bathrooms, toilets, prayer room and base camp which can accommodate 50–70 people at a particular time. The interpretive trails and forest arboretum in Kuala Keniam forests are used for teaching purposes in the fields of dendrology, forest botany, environmental sciences, park and recreation management and wildlife management. Transect lines and permanent field plots from research activities were established to provide handson training in forest ecology, silviculture and forest inventory.

Initial research was funded through a top-down Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS) awarded by the Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia [4]. UiTM teamed with DWNP in a joint Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate with three main objectives. Firstly, to carry out joint programmes of scientific research, conservation, management of biological resources. Secondly, to strengthen the capacity of the DWNP in terms of training, attachment and networking and to provide the necessary framework to develop expertise in the research, conservation and management of biological resources. Finally, to provide consultancy related to research, conservation and management of biological resources.

#### **3. Topography, climate and vegetation of Kuala Keniam forests**

The total area of Pahang National Park is 4,343km2 which covers the three states, namely Pahang, Kelantan and Terengganu [2]. It is considered one of the oldest tropical rainforests in the world of more than 130 million years old. Geographically, the park lies between 80 and 2,187 m above sea level with Mount Tahan is the highest peak. The weather is characterised by permanent high temperatures ranging from 20o C at night and 35o C in the daytime with high relative humidity (above 80%) [5, 6]. Annual rainfall is approximately 2,260 mm with the highest rainfall occurring *Introductory Chapter: Tropical Biodiversity Research in Protected Area of Pahang National Park… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.102616*

**Figure 2.** *Riparian vegetations along Tahan River, Pahang National Park.*

in October to November with about 312 mm of rainfalls [7]. The lowest rainfall occurs in March with only about 50 mm. Keniam River is one of the major rivers flowing into the Tembeling River with the presence of *Diptercarpus oblongifolius* (Keruing neram) trees along with the riparian habitats (**Figure 2**).

The great richness of this tropical rain forest is illustrated by a hectare plot that contains more than 280 tree species, with the Shannon index of diversity (*H*') ranging from 1.9 to 2.5 [5]. The rainforest consists of tall evergreen trees that attain heights up to 50 m. It is typically very damp and rich in herbaceous, shrubs, epiphytes, lianas and tree species from the family of Dipterocarpaceae [8]. *Elasteriospermum tapos* (Perah) is dominant and frequently occurs in Kuala Keniam and its vicinity [6]. Other trees include *Intsia palembanica* (Merbau), *Koompassia malaccensis* (Tualang), *Knema patentinervia* (Penarahan), *Aporosa prainiana* (Sebasah), *Macaranga lowii* (Balik angin) and *Koompassia malaccensis* (Kempas) [5, 6]. *Dipterocarpus oblongifolius* (Keruing neram), *Pometia pinnata* (Kasai daun besar) and *Pterocambium javanicum* (Melembu) trees commonly occur along the river banks together with other riparian vegetation such *Milletia hemsleyana* (Jada), *Neonauclea subdita* (Mengkai) and *Dysoxylum angustofolium* (Maris) [1]. The understory trees and shrub community consist of the families Rubiaceae, Myrtaceae and Euphorbiaceae with *Rennelia* spp., *Syzygium* spp., *Mallotus* spp. being the common genera [5]. Common tree crown epiphytes include *Asplenium nidus* (bird nest fern) and *Platycerium coronarium* (staghorn fern).
