The limitations of vernacular names in an inventory study, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia

One hectare of primary forest in Central Kalimantan was enumerated and all trees 10 cm dbh tagged and identified to species as far as possible. Two informants, regarded as the most knowledgeable on forest trees by the local community, supplied the vernacular names for the trees. The study found that only 12% of vernacular names given by one informant and 22% by the second could be equated consistently to taxa. Of these taxa 77% were given the same vernacular name by both informants and the remaining 23% had an obvious common origin (cognate). Many of these taxa were distinctive or had a use to the informants. The results have important implications for the conversion of vernacular names to scientific names by anyone carrying out inventory work in Kalimantan.     

The diversity of 15 ha of lowland mixed dipterocarp forest, Central Kalimantan

Fifteen hectares of primary forest in Central Kalimantan were enumerated and all trees 10 cm dbh tagged and identified to species as far as possible. Tree density, relative abundance of families and species diversity were calculated, as was a mean additive species/area curve for 1 ha and a species/area curve for all 15 ha. The Jaccard index of similarity was also calculated for the 15 plots. The 15 ha enumerated contain 8771 trees with a dbh of 10 cm, belonging to 1298 morphospecies in 56 families. On average a single plot had 583 trees and 205 species. These figures are within the upper range of species diversity for the Malesian region as a whole. Dipterocarpaceae make up 14% of all trees in the plots, closely followed by Euphorbiaceae with 13%. A surprisingly low coefficient of similarity is found between the plots, the lowest being 3% and the highest 30%. Species/area curve construction showed that the asymptote is not reached in any of the 1 ha plots or when the 15 plots are added together.     

A floristic analysis of the lowland dipterocarp forests of Borneo

Aim To (1) identify floristic regions in the lowland (below 500 m a.s.l.) tropical dipterocarp rain forest of Borneo based on tree genera, (2) determine the characteristic taxa of these regions, (3) study tree diversity patterns within Borneo, and (4) relate the floristic and diversity patterns to abiotic factors such as mean annual rainfall and geographical distance between plots. Location Lowland tropical dipterocarp rain forest of Borneo. Methods We used tree (diameter at breast height ≥ 9.8 cm) inventory data from 28 lowland dipterocarp rain forest locations throughout Borneo. From each location six samples of 640 individuals were drawn randomly. With these data we calculated a Sørensen and Steinhaus similarity matrix for the locations. These matrices were then used in an UPGMA clustering algorithm to determine the floristic relations between the locations (dendrogram). Principal coordinate analysis was used to ordinate the locations. Characteristic taxa for the identified floristic clusters were determined with the use of the INDVAL method of Dufrene & Legendre (1997) . Finally, Mantel analysis was applied to determine the influence of mean annual rainfall and geographical distance between plots on floristic composition. Results A total of 77 families and 363 genera were included in the analysis. On average a random sample of 640 trees from a lowland dipterocarp forest in Borneo contains 41.6 ± 3.8 families and 103.0 ± 12.7 genera. Diversity varied strongly on local scales. On a regional scale, diversity was found to be highest in south‐east Borneo and central Sarawak. The most common families were Dipterocarpaceae (21.9% of trees) and Euphorbiaceae (12.2% of trees). The most common genera were Shorea (12.3% of trees) and Syzygium (5.0% of trees). The 28 locations were clustered in geographically distinct floristic regions. This was related to the fact that floristic similarity depended strongly on the geographical distance between plots and similarity in mean annual rainfall. Conclusions We identified five main floristic regions within the lowland dipterocarp rain forests of Borneo, each of which had its own set of characteristic genera. Mean annual rainfall is an important factor in explaining differences in floristic composition between locations. The influence of geographical distance on floristic similarity between locations is probably related to the fact that abiotic factors change with distance between plots. Borneo's central mountain range generally forms an effective dispersal barrier for the lowland tree flora. Diversity patterns in Borneo are influenced by the mid‐domain effect, habitat size and the influence of past climatic changes (ice ages during the Pleistocene).