Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Foreword
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Part I General perspectives
- Part II Regional floristic and animal diversity
- 9 Tropical montane cloud forests in Malaysia: current state of knowledge
- 10 Montane cloud forests on remote islands of Oceania: the example of French Polynesia (South Pacific Ocean)
- 11 Tropical lowland cloud forest: a neglected forest type
- 12 Altitudinal zonation and diversity patterns in the forests of Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
- 13 The outstandingly speciose epiphytic flora of a single strangler fig (Ficus crassiuscula) in a Peruvian montane cloud forest
- 14 Comparative structure, pattern, and tree traits of laurel cloud forests in Anaga, northern Tenerife (Canary Islands) and in lauro-fagaceous forests of central Japan
- 15 Temperature and humidity as determinants of the transition from dry pine forest to humid cloud forests in the Bhutan Himalaya
- 16 The importance of cloud forest sites in the conservation of endemic and threatened species of the Albertine Rift
- 17 The mountain tapir (Tapirus pinchaque) and Andean bear (Tremarctos ornatus): two charismatic, large mammals in South American tropical montane cloud forests
- 18 Cloud forests in East Africa as evolutionary motors for speciation processes of flightless Saltatoria species
- 19 Diversity of geometrid moths in two Neotropical rain forests
- Part III Hydrometeorology of tropical montane cloud forest
- Part IV Nutrient dynamics in tropical montane cloud forests
- Part V Cloud forest water use, photosynthesis, and effects of forest conversion
- Part VI Effects of climate variability and climate change
- Part VII Cloud forest conservation, restoration, and management issues
- References
9 - Tropical montane cloud forests in Malaysia: current state of knowledge
from Part II - Regional floristic and animal diversity
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 May 2011
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Foreword
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Part I General perspectives
- Part II Regional floristic and animal diversity
- 9 Tropical montane cloud forests in Malaysia: current state of knowledge
- 10 Montane cloud forests on remote islands of Oceania: the example of French Polynesia (South Pacific Ocean)
- 11 Tropical lowland cloud forest: a neglected forest type
- 12 Altitudinal zonation and diversity patterns in the forests of Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
- 13 The outstandingly speciose epiphytic flora of a single strangler fig (Ficus crassiuscula) in a Peruvian montane cloud forest
- 14 Comparative structure, pattern, and tree traits of laurel cloud forests in Anaga, northern Tenerife (Canary Islands) and in lauro-fagaceous forests of central Japan
- 15 Temperature and humidity as determinants of the transition from dry pine forest to humid cloud forests in the Bhutan Himalaya
- 16 The importance of cloud forest sites in the conservation of endemic and threatened species of the Albertine Rift
- 17 The mountain tapir (Tapirus pinchaque) and Andean bear (Tremarctos ornatus): two charismatic, large mammals in South American tropical montane cloud forests
- 18 Cloud forests in East Africa as evolutionary motors for speciation processes of flightless Saltatoria species
- 19 Diversity of geometrid moths in two Neotropical rain forests
- Part III Hydrometeorology of tropical montane cloud forest
- Part IV Nutrient dynamics in tropical montane cloud forests
- Part V Cloud forest water use, photosynthesis, and effects of forest conversion
- Part VI Effects of climate variability and climate change
- Part VII Cloud forest conservation, restoration, and management issues
- References
Summary
ABSTRACT
Taking 1500 m elevation as the approximate lower limit of upper montane cloud forest occurrence in Malaysia, 0.72% of the total land area of the country may be considered to be potentially covered by tropical montane cloud forests (TMCF). Delineation of TMCF is not easy due to the interplay of climatic and topographic features (including the “mass-elevation” effect). Some studies have shown that the lifting condensation level (cloud base) occurs around 1200 m.a.s.l. in Peninsular Malaysia, at c. 1800–2000 m on large mountains like Mt. Kinabalu (Borneo), and as low as c. 700 m on small, outlying coastal mountains (e.g. Gunung Silam, Sabah). Published information on the biodiversity of TMCF in Malaysia is scattered. Important tree families in montane forests include Ericaceae, Myrtaceae, Coniferae, Fagaceae, and Lauraceae, which are often blanketed with epiphytes, ferns, bryophytes, and liverworts. About 3000–4000 vascular plant species are found in the montane forests of Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo. There is a distinct montane community amongst most classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates, but the fauna of TCMF is mostly a small sub-set of the overall montane fauna. About 18 mammal species in Borneo and 10 in Peninsular Malaysia are strictly montane but none are truly restricted to cloud forests. Bird diversity is well studied but limited information is available on the number of species that are cloud forest specialists. Patchy records are available for butterflies, moths, mollusks, and herpetofauna. Studies on the capture of cloud water in Malaysian cloud forests are rare. […]
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- Information
- Tropical Montane Cloud ForestsScience for Conservation and Management, pp. 113 - 120Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2011
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