**5.2 Tropical rainforest formation**

The main forest types in Malaysia are formed from three types of formation, that is, climatic, edaphic, and biotic climax. **Figure 1** shows five forest zones are developed from climatic climax formations are lowland dipterocarp forest (0–300 m above sea level [a.s.l.]), hill dipterocarp forest (300–800 m a.s.l.), upper hill dipterocarp forest (800–1100 m a.s.l.), oak-laurel forest (1100–1600 m a.s.l.), and montane ericaceous forest (above 1600 m a.s.l.) (Symington, 2004). These forests are characterized by species composition. The first three forest types are mostly dominated by trees from the dipterocarpaceae family; hence, they are termed as

#### **Figure 1.**

*Altitudinal profile of forest zones developed from climatic climax formation in Malaysia (modified from Symington [40]).*

**7**

*Introductory Chapter: Managing World's Forests for Sustainable Development*

moist and are characterized by a thick layer of mosses and bryophytes.

dipterocarp forests. Montane ericaceous and oak-laurel are characterized by an abundance of trees from Fagaceae–Lauraceae and Ericaceae families, respectively [41]. They can be distinguished by a number of structural characters which include the size of canopy height, canopy layer, leaves, and the presence of vascular and non-vascular epiphytes and climbers. The montane forest also differs from lowland in having fewer and smaller emergent trees, flattish canopy surfaces, gnarled limbs, and denser sub-crowns [42]. The montane ericaceous and oak-laurel forests are

There are seven forest types that were developed based on edaphic climax formations [40]. The edaphic refers to ecological climax resulting from soil factors which are commonly persisting through cycles of climatic and physiographic change. These forests include mangrove swamp, peat swamp, freshwater swamp, beach, riparian, heath, and limestone. Mangroves occur on estuarine mud below the tide mark mainly concentrated in the west of Peninsular Malaysia [24]. Main genera of mangroves include *Rhizophora*, *Sonneratia*, *Avicennia*, *Bruguiera*, *Ceriops*,

Beach forests form narrow strips of woodland, sandy, or gravel beaches along the seacoast, above the level of all but the highest tides. *Calophyllum inophyllum* (Bintangor laut), *Syzygium grande* (Kelat jambu laut), and *Casuarina equisetifolia* (Ru pantai) are the main common trees dominated the beach forests. Dipterocarpaceae species such as S*horea siamensis* (Temak batu) has been recorded to occur in the beach forests of Pulau Rebana located at off the coast of Perlis [40]. Peat swamp forest developed on un-decomposed and partly decomposed organic matter. Over time, these create thick layers of acidic peaty soils. Most of the species are different from dry land. Dipterocarps are important components in peat swamp forests such as *S. albida* (Meranti merah), *S. uliginosa* (Meranti bakau), *S. teysmanniana* (Meranti bunga), *S. platycarpa* (Meranti paya), and *A. marginata* (Mersawa paya). Non-dipterocarpaceae species include *Tetramerista glabra* (Punah), *Gonystylus bancanus* (Ramin melawis), and *Koompassia malaccensis*

Riparian forests are narrow strips of vegetation in adjacent to a body of water such as a river, stream, and lake [43]. The zones of riparian forest are determined by the incidence of tidal influence, width of stream, rate of flow, and altitude. The most abundant Dipterocarpaceae is *D. oblongifolius* (Keruing neram). The best known non-dipterocarpaceae include *Saraca thaipingensis* (Gapis), *Pometia pinnata* (Kasai daun besar), *Tristaniopsis whiteana* (Pelawan), and *Dysoxylum angustifolium*

Freshwater swamp forests occur in flat land, which is inundated with freshwater, either permanently or seasonally. The forests contain many of the endangered species such as *D. semivestitus* (Keruing padi), *S. hemsleyana* (Cengal pasir daun besar), *V. flavida* (Resak padi), *H. apiculata* (Giam melukut), *and S. macrantha* (Meranti kepong hantu) as discovered at Hutan Simpan Parit, Perak [44]. Commonly found non-dipterocarps include *Alstonia spatulata* (Pulai basung), *Fagraea crenulata*

Heath forests are moist forest in areas with acidic and sandy soils that are extremely nutrient poor. The forests developed on pale, light-textured, and acidic sandy soils. The forests are known in Borneo as Kerangas—an Iban language means land too poor for rice growing once cleared. *S. glauca* (Damar laut daun kecil) occurs gregariously, other dipterocarps are *H. semicuneata* (Sama rupa cengal) and

The association of man has resulted in destruction or interference of forests that produce a type of vegetation that is in equilibrium with the prevailing biotic factors. For example, lowland dipterocarp forests were converted into very different type of

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.89642*

and *Lumnitzera*.

(Kempas).

(Maris).

(Malabera), and *Lagerstroemia* spp. (Bungor).

*Vatica odorata* (Resak kesat).

#### *Introductory Chapter: Managing World's Forests for Sustainable Development DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.89642*

dipterocarp forests. Montane ericaceous and oak-laurel are characterized by an abundance of trees from Fagaceae–Lauraceae and Ericaceae families, respectively [41]. They can be distinguished by a number of structural characters which include the size of canopy height, canopy layer, leaves, and the presence of vascular and non-vascular epiphytes and climbers. The montane forest also differs from lowland in having fewer and smaller emergent trees, flattish canopy surfaces, gnarled limbs, and denser sub-crowns [42]. The montane ericaceous and oak-laurel forests are moist and are characterized by a thick layer of mosses and bryophytes.

There are seven forest types that were developed based on edaphic climax formations [40]. The edaphic refers to ecological climax resulting from soil factors which are commonly persisting through cycles of climatic and physiographic change. These forests include mangrove swamp, peat swamp, freshwater swamp, beach, riparian, heath, and limestone. Mangroves occur on estuarine mud below the tide mark mainly concentrated in the west of Peninsular Malaysia [24]. Main genera of mangroves include *Rhizophora*, *Sonneratia*, *Avicennia*, *Bruguiera*, *Ceriops*, and *Lumnitzera*.

Beach forests form narrow strips of woodland, sandy, or gravel beaches along the seacoast, above the level of all but the highest tides. *Calophyllum inophyllum* (Bintangor laut), *Syzygium grande* (Kelat jambu laut), and *Casuarina equisetifolia* (Ru pantai) are the main common trees dominated the beach forests. Dipterocarpaceae species such as S*horea siamensis* (Temak batu) has been recorded to occur in the beach forests of Pulau Rebana located at off the coast of Perlis [40].

Peat swamp forest developed on un-decomposed and partly decomposed organic matter. Over time, these create thick layers of acidic peaty soils. Most of the species are different from dry land. Dipterocarps are important components in peat swamp forests such as *S. albida* (Meranti merah), *S. uliginosa* (Meranti bakau), *S. teysmanniana* (Meranti bunga), *S. platycarpa* (Meranti paya), and *A. marginata* (Mersawa paya). Non-dipterocarpaceae species include *Tetramerista glabra* (Punah), *Gonystylus bancanus* (Ramin melawis), and *Koompassia malaccensis* (Kempas).

Riparian forests are narrow strips of vegetation in adjacent to a body of water such as a river, stream, and lake [43]. The zones of riparian forest are determined by the incidence of tidal influence, width of stream, rate of flow, and altitude. The most abundant Dipterocarpaceae is *D. oblongifolius* (Keruing neram). The best known non-dipterocarpaceae include *Saraca thaipingensis* (Gapis), *Pometia pinnata* (Kasai daun besar), *Tristaniopsis whiteana* (Pelawan), and *Dysoxylum angustifolium* (Maris).

Freshwater swamp forests occur in flat land, which is inundated with freshwater, either permanently or seasonally. The forests contain many of the endangered species such as *D. semivestitus* (Keruing padi), *S. hemsleyana* (Cengal pasir daun besar), *V. flavida* (Resak padi), *H. apiculata* (Giam melukut), *and S. macrantha* (Meranti kepong hantu) as discovered at Hutan Simpan Parit, Perak [44]. Commonly found non-dipterocarps include *Alstonia spatulata* (Pulai basung), *Fagraea crenulata* (Malabera), and *Lagerstroemia* spp. (Bungor).

Heath forests are moist forest in areas with acidic and sandy soils that are extremely nutrient poor. The forests developed on pale, light-textured, and acidic sandy soils. The forests are known in Borneo as Kerangas—an Iban language means land too poor for rice growing once cleared. *S. glauca* (Damar laut daun kecil) occurs gregariously, other dipterocarps are *H. semicuneata* (Sama rupa cengal) and *Vatica odorata* (Resak kesat).

The association of man has resulted in destruction or interference of forests that produce a type of vegetation that is in equilibrium with the prevailing biotic factors. For example, lowland dipterocarp forests were converted into very different type of

*Forest Degradation Around the World*

timber [38].

and Sapindaceae).

**5.2 Tropical rainforest formation**

dipterocarp species are from the family dipterocarpaceae and are the giants of the South-East Asian forests as well as the dominant family in them. Dipterocarp trees dominate forests in Borneo, Sumatra, Java, Peninsular Malaysia, and the wet parts of Philippines. The largest genera are *Shorea* (196 species), *Hopea* (104 species), *Dipterocarpus* (70 species), and *Vatica* (65 species). Other common genera namely *Dryobalanops*, *Neobalanocarpus*, *Parashorea*, *Cotylelobium*, and *Anisoptera* are also important part of tree communities of tropical rainforests. It is common to find 25 or more species of *Shorea*, and six or more species of the other three genera in the forest of Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo, and Sumatra. Dipterocarp trees have excellent timber qualities, and they are marketed internationally as plywood and as sawn

Non-dipterocarps consist of 427 species from 201 genera and 50 families of nondipterocarps. Examples of important non-dipterocarp families are Leguminosae, Myristicaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Burseraceae, Sapotaceae, and Apocynaceae. Unlike dipterocarp species, generally non-dipterocarp timbers are less durable than the dipterocarp. However, according to Schulte [39], the non-dipterocarp species also play an important role within the tropical rainforest. They either form the major components of the understory layer (i.e., Annonaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Lauraceae, Meliaceae, Myristicaceae, and Rubiaceae) or they have the commercial use, frequently only locally as fruit trees (i.e., Moraceae, Anacardiaceae, Bombacaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Guttiferae, Lauraceae, Mimosaceae, Polygalaceae,

The main forest types in Malaysia are formed from three types of formation, that is, climatic, edaphic, and biotic climax. **Figure 1** shows five forest zones are developed from climatic climax formations are lowland dipterocarp forest (0–300 m above sea level [a.s.l.]), hill dipterocarp forest (300–800 m a.s.l.), upper hill dipterocarp forest (800–1100 m a.s.l.), oak-laurel forest (1100–1600 m a.s.l.), and montane ericaceous forest (above 1600 m a.s.l.) (Symington, 2004). These forests are characterized by species composition. The first three forest types are mostly dominated by trees from the dipterocarpaceae family; hence, they are termed as

*Altitudinal profile of forest zones developed from climatic climax formation in Malaysia (modified from* 

**6**

**Figure 1.**

*Symington [40]).*

forests due to cutting, firing, grazing, or intermittent cultivation. The forests mainly contain a mixture of *Schima wallichiana* (Medatang gatal) and *Oxytenanthera nigrociliata* (bamboo), which also includes forest remnants in the form of secondary forests in all stages of development from open grassland to scrub. Some common dipterocarps found this type of forests are *S. roxburghii* (Meranti temak nipis), *Anisoptera* spp. (Mersawa), and *V. cinerea* (Resak laut).

Ecologically, Gelam swamp forests are related to the peat swamp forests but their floristic composition is almost entirely different. Many of secondary species exist, namely, *Macaranga maingayi* (Mahang) and *Stenochlaena palustris* (Akar paku). Fire has prevented the development of peat swamp complex and promoted predominance of the fire-resistant gelam—*Melaleuca cajuputi*. No dipterocarps occur in gelam freshwater swamp forest.
