Analysis of importance value index of unlogged and logged peat swamp forest in Nenasi Forest Reserve, Peninsular Malaysia

Abstract

Abstract. Ismail MH, Fuad MFA, Zaki PH, Jemali NJN. 2017. Analysis of importance value index of unlogged and logged peat swamp forest in Nenasi Forest Reserve, Peninsular Malaysia. Bonorowo Wetlands 7: 74-78. Peat swamp forests are highly significant globally, both for their diverse and threatened species, and represent unique wetland ecosystems. Apart from its critical role in providing habitat for wildlife, the tropical peat swamp forest also acts as a gene bank that harbors potentially useful varieties of plant species. The composition of trees of the peat swamp forest in Nenasi Pahang State, Peninsular Malaysia, were investigated, especially in un-logged and logged-over forests. The objectives of this study are two folds; (i) to identify and compare the dominant tree species in the two types of forests and (ii) to calculate the importance value index (IVI) of the vegetation in the study areas. Two plots of 50m by 20m were established in different forest types. This quadrate was subdivided at each site using 25m by 20m and 5m by 5m, respectively. The results showed that the unlogged peat swamp forest is higher in tree species compared to logged peat swamp forest. There were 10 species distributed among 9 families in the unlogged forest and 7 species in 7 families in the logged forest. The most dominant species identified in unlogged peat swamp forests were Litsea sp., Syzygium sp., and Santiria laevigata. The IVI for these species were 71.21, 51.13, and 42.49. In logged peat swamp forests, the dominant species are Shorea platycarpa, Pometia pinnata, and Xylopia fusca. The IVI of these species were 87.38, 52.66, and 47.55, respectively. The study concludes that about 40 percent of the tree composition in the logged peat swamp forests has declined compared to unlogged peat swamp forests.