Sustainable Forest Management is the management of forests according to the principles of sustainable development. Sustainable Forest Management has to keep the balance between three main pillars: ecological, economic and socio-cultural.
B) Mini Scientific Expedition to Bukit Kana National Park
Introduction:
Bukit Kana National Park was gazetted on 15 January 2015 covering an area of 4,923 hectares. It is located at Sangan within the Tatau District, Bintulu. It is one of the 42 national parks in Sarawak which is rich in Biodiversity but has yet to be explored and recorded. A joint mini scientific expedition was organized by the Forest Department Sarawak together with Universiti Putra Malaysia Bintulu Sarawak Campus (UPMKB) on November 2018 to document and record the biodiversity richness of the area. The nine-day expedition involved the participation of 75 university students as well as staff of UPM and Forestry Department.
With the theme “Unlocking the Secret of Bukit Kana National Park”, the expedition was aimed to explore and study the potential held within the rich biodiversity of the park. Some of the topics included in the expedition were plant and fungi identification, insect and wildlife diversity, floristic and forest structure, wood debris and water quality.
Pictures:
Publication
Book
- Z, Rosli, Chubo, J.K. and Allwi, 2020.The Enchanting Wonders of Bukit Kana National Park. ISBN: 978-967-12140-3-9
Journal
- Lepun, P and Heng, R.K.J 2020. Floristic and forest structure of hill mixed dipterocarp forest at Bukit Kana National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia. Malaysian Forester 2020 83 (2):259 – 280 259.
In Sarawak, the upland hills dominated by the dipterocarps is termed as Mixed Dipterocarp Forest and these forests are important source of timber for the state. However, forest degradation and over-exploitation are threatening the biodiversity and ecological services provided by these forests. The objective of this study was to assess the floristic and forest structure of the hill forest. The study was conducted in the vicinity of the Bukit Kana National Park office. A transect line was established along the trail. A total of 12 study plots (20 x 20 m) was established covering an area of 0.48 ha. Trees of 20 cm dbh and above were tagged and identified. Analysis showed that, there are 201 individual trees belonging to 96 species in 57 genera representing 34 families. The Dipterocarpaceae represents about 28% while the non-Dipterocarpaceae 72% of the families recorded. The five most common families in term of the number of trees were Dipterocarpaceae (27.9%), Fagaceae (12.9%), Lauraceae (9.0%), Myrtaceae (7.0%) and Myristicaeae (5.0%). Based on the Important Value Index (IVI), the most important species was Shorea macrophylla (IVI=79.7). About 12.5% of the total species are endemic to Borneo while 6.3% are protected under the Sarawak law, in addition of 2.1% under Appendix II of CITES and 8.3% as Critically Endangered and Endangered under IUCN Red List. The total tree density was 201 trees/0.48ha. Field observations suggest that the forest is very dense with smaller tree size. The average tree diameter at breast height was 37.8 ± 16.9 cm (mean ± S.D.). When the data were plotted, an inverted J-curve pattern was observed showing the smaller size tree dominated and decreased to the large diameter size classes. The pattern reported is common in a tropical forests which suggests a healthy forest recruitment process. The average height was 17.4 ± 5.6 m (mean ± S.D.) with a range of 7.4 to 45 m. About 62% was contributed by strata B and C indicating the main canopy of the forest is still intact. The total basal area was 27 m2/0.48ha whereas, the estimated biomass was 281 t/0.48 per ha. Lithocarpus urceolaris was reported to store 66.5 tonnes of biomass representing 24% of the total trees. As half of biomass is carbon, it is estimated the Bukit Kana hill forest has the potential to store 293 tC/ha. The forest still exhibits the typical feature of a hill mixed dipterocarp forest, despite the Dipterocarpaceae has a low percentage, the most important families with IVI is represented by Shorea macrophylla. This forest has the potential to be one of the sites for seed production, gene bank and tree conservation.
- Gerusu, G.J., Ismail,N.B. Heng, R.K.J., Rosli, Z. and Lakam Mejus, L. 2020. Natural control on coarse woody debris features in steep headwater of Borneo tropical forested catchments. Malaysian Forester 83 (2): 240 – 258
Undisturbed upper forested catchments are important ecosystems because they serve as vital sources of clean and sustainable water resources. However, natural control on coarse woody debris (CWD) characteristics within these upper forested catchments remain poorly understood and often being neglected. This study aimed to assess the CWD characteristics based on natural control at two undisturbed steep upper forested catchments. Coarse woody debris survey was conducted at a 2-km-long upstream for each stream and divided into 100 sampling stations at 20 m interval. The methods applied were described to determine their distribution with respect to position, size, volume and decay class. The results demonstrated that 2.9 and 1.7 individual CWD were recorded at every 20 m interval at Sg. Kana Kanan and Sg. Kana Kiri, respectively. Natural control on diameter showed a reverse J-shaped distribution. As for volume per unit stream length (m3/m) analysis, Sg. Kana Kanan and Sg. Kana Kiri recorded approximately 0.036 m3/m and 0.022 m3/m, respectively. The decay surveyed demonstrated that approximately 33.6 % of the survey materials fall into Class IV compared with 37.6% for Sg. Kana Kiri based on natural factor. The CWD patterns within both steep undisturbed catchments may contribute as a benchmarking in tropical hill forest ecosystems. The assessment of natural effect on CWD revealed that woody debris is an important component to be considered in any future hydrological studies.
For more further enquiries:
Dr. Zamri Bin Rosli
Senior Lecturer
Department of Forestry Science
Faculty of Agricultural Science and Forestry
Tel: +6086 855462
Email: zamrirosli@upm.edu.my
Updated:: 06/10/2022 [lanz]
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