Content

Introduction
Readings
Fundamental Concepts
Self Check
Case Study Discussion
Summary
Self Review

Introduction

This case study addresses a particular forest that has been the subject of a great deal of research and currently hosts an important research station, namely Danum Valley, in Sabah, Malaysia. It is located in the northeast of the island of Borneo, within a large tract of rain forest. It primarily consists of lowland rain forest, and is dominated by dipterocarps.

The area is renowned for its diversity: 811 tree species have been recorded in an area of 8 hectares. There are records of a variety of animals, including Borneo Rhino, Malayan Sun Bear, Bornean Orangutan, Borneo Pygmy Elephant and Clouded Leopard, although rhinos have not been seen for some time and have been declared extirpated from the Malaysian parts of Borneo. A few may still survive in the Indonesian part of Borneo.

A particular feature of the research undertaken at Danum is the role that drought plays in the ecology of the forest. This has shown not only that drought can be an important factor in a moist evergreen rain forest, but that the effects of droughts can be long-lasting, affecting the structure and composition of the forest for at least a century.

Outcomes

After reading this presentation, you should be able to:

Develop a picture of lowland dipterocarp forest in Borneo
Examine how past disturbances have affected the current forest structure
Evaluate the role of drought in these forests
Determine how droughts affect the understorey and overstorey trees differentially

Readings

Optional Readings

Ashton, P. 2014. On the forests of Tropical Asia. Lest the memory fade. London, UK: Kew Publishing. 670 pp.
Hazebroek, H.P., Adlin, T.Z. and Sinun, W. 2012. Danum Valley. The Rain Forest. Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia: Natural History Publications (Borneo). 568 pp.

Fundamental Concepts

PPT Presentations

This topic contains 1 presentation:

5.1.1 Case study - Borneo's Danum Valley.pptx

Self-check Quiz (For certificate learning only)

After viewing the presentation, take this self-check quiz to check your own progress. This quiz is designed to see how well you remember some of the issues presented in the topic. There are six questions, and each has a potential of 4 answers, only one of which is correct. When you are ready, click the link 'Self-Check Quiz 5.1.1' to start taking the quiz.

Case Study Discussion (For certificate learning only)

Once you have have read the presentation, post a question about the ecology of the forests in Danum Valley, and answer/respond to at least one other student’s question on the discussion board Case Study 1 Discussion - Borneo's Danum Valley.

Summary

In this case study, you have learned about a lowland mixed dipterocarp forest in northeast Borneo. Borneo probably has the best developed mixed dipterocarp forests of anywhere, and could be taken as the reference condition for this forest type. The forests at Danum Valley have been the subject of numerous research studies, including work on their basic structure, composition and ecology, and also work on the long-term impacts of logging. In this presentation, we have not discussed the impacts of logging - this is another topic entirely.

Drought is surprisingly important at Danum. Droughts vary in magnitude, with a drought in 1878 being particularly important. It may explain why basal area at the end of the 20th century remained surprisingly low, and also why the canopy has a very open structure with abundant pioneer tree species.

Self-review (For self learning)

To review what you have learned in the topic, you are encouraged to use the following reflection questions as a study guide to do a self-review for the topic:

Can you describe, in broad terms, the lowland dipterocarp forest in Danum Valley?
How have past disturbances have affected the current forest structure at Danum?
How important is drought in these forests?
How do droughts affect the understorey and overstorey trees, and why are there differences in the responses?

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