A Comparison of the Mammal Fauna in Contiguous Areas of Primary and Regenerating Lowland Dipterocarp Forest, with a Discussion of Approaches to a Census of Faunal Diversity of These Habitats

Louis Ratnam, Lim Boo Liat and Nor Azman Hussein

Abstract

The Pasoh Forest Reserve covers an area of 1400 hectares and comprises a relatively large block of lowland dipterocarp forest. This reserve was the focus of scientific studies under the International Biological Programme (IBP) between 1970 and 1974. This paper presents the results work carried out by Lim in 1968, 1970 and 1974 when 14 days of trapping was carried out each year together with observations made in 1991 to 1993 by personnel of the Zoological section of Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM). This work and observations were carried out both in the primary forest (PF) and the regenerating forest (RF).

The most important trends seen from these two scenarios is that a regenerating forest, although poorer in species diversity and total mammal populations, if left alone can slowly recover, but if the disturbance factors remain, such a recovery is effectively prevented or prolonged. However this work is far from conclusive and two obvious steps need be carried out:

• Pasoh needs to be evaluated again using a similar approach to chart any further changes.
• Other sites should be identified where the same kind of comparison can be made.

Both these studies should be designed from the outset for statistical analysis and attention must be paid to identifying the factors that cause lowered populations and mammal species diversity in a logged over forest.

This information is needed critically, because it will allow for the development of management systems for the production lowland dipterocarp forest (and other forests as well) that will enable such forests to play an optimal role in the conservation of animal diversity of the country.