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This study assessed the health of the mangrove ecosystem and mapped the spatial variation in selected variables sampled across the Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve (MMFR) by using a geostatistical technique. A total of 556 samples were collected from 56 sampling points representing mangrove biotic and abiotic variables. All variables were used to generate the semivariogram model. The predicted variables over the entire MMFR have an overall prediction accuracy of 85.16% (AGB), 90.78% (crab abundance), 97.3% (soil C), 99.91% (soil N), 89.23% (number of phytoplankton species), 95.62% (number of diatom species), 99.36% (DO), and 87.33% (turbidity). Via linear weight combination, the prediction map shows that mangrove ecosystem health in Kuala Trong throughout the Sungai Kerang is excellent (5: MQI > 1.5). Some landward areas of Kuala Trong were predicted to have moderate health (3: −0.5 ≤ MQI ≤ 0.5), while Kuala Sepetang was predicted to have the bad ecosystem health (2: −1.5 ≤ MQI ≤ −0.5), with active timber harvesting operations and anthropogenic activities in the landward areas. The results of this method can be utilised to carry out the preferred restoration, through appropriate management and facilities distribution, for improving the ecosystem health of mangroves. more...

Drought is one of the most devastating climate factors in terms of its spatial extent and intensity. Therefore, a study was conducted to evaluate the water stress tolerance in young saplings of Syzygium cumini (L.) Skeels and Populus deltoides Marchall that are cultivated in the rain fed areas of Pakistan. Plants were subjected to three levels of moisture regimes: well-watered (WW, 90% of field capacity), mild stress (MS, 60% field capacity), and severe stress (SS, 30% of field capacity). Results showed that dry biomass production (leaf, stem, and root), chlorophyll a, b and carotenoid contents decreased significantly while osmolyte accumulation increased in both species, with the highest increase was evidenced in Populus deltoides saplings. A significant decrease was evidenced in CO2 assimilation rate and stomatal conductance that resulted in a significant increase in intrinsic water use efficiency in both species under MS and SS. In both the species, along with a significant increase in the production of hydrogen peroxide and superoxide radical, the antioxidants enzyme activities of superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, catalase, and ascorbate peroxidase also increased significantly in both species under MS and SS with highest activity evidenced in Syzygium cumini. The results suggest that Syzygium cumini saplings showed better a tolerance mechanism to water stress. more...

Disposal of industrial wastewater has resulted in increased concentration of heavy metals (HMs) along the coastline of Malaysia. However, little is known about the accumulation capacity of HMs by Rhizophora apiculata in Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve (MMFR) Malaysia. The aim of this study is to measure the concentration of HMs in different ages of mangrove forests. In this study, 15 and 80-year old trees of Rhizophora apiculata were selected for experimentation. Thirty samples of leaves, roots and sediments were analyzed to measure the concentration of HMs in 15 and 80-year-old trees. The measured concentrations of copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn) and zinc (Zn) in leaves, roots and sediments were used to compare bio- concentration and translocation factor between the abovementioned two age groups. Concentration of Mn came out to be significantly higher in leaves than in sediment. This suggested that Rhizophora apiculata was an efficient Mn-extractor. On the other hand, it was found less efficient in extracting heavier metals (Fe, Cu and Zn) from the sediment, as their concentration was lower in leaves and roots as compared to sediments. The translocation factor was highest for Mn, indicating high mobility of Mn from roots towards the leaves. Bio-concentration factor was also found highest for Mn (3.52) followed by Zn (1.88), Cu (1.33) and Fe (0.26). Therefore, it can be concluded that Rhizophora apiculata is more efficient in extracting Mn as compared to Zn, Cu and Fe. more...

Discriminating between vegetation and non-vegetation areas is of crucial importance in the study of mangroves. This will help mangrove monitoring and management since losses and degradation of the mangroves are reported to be substantial in recent years. This study investigates the integration of Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Soil-Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI) as a tool to discriminate vegetation covers in the mangrove forest. High resolution remotely sensed images from Satellite Pour l’Observation de la Terre (SPOT-6 and SPOT-7) satellite, with 1.5 m spatial resolution over the Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve (MMFR) was acquired. A complete ground-truthing was conducted at the preliminary stages of land cover classification. A Moran's I analysis shows a random pattern of ground-truthing; (Kuala Sepetang; p-value = 0.219; Kuala Trong, p-value = 0.163; Sungai Kerang, p-value = 0.159). Since SAVI requires a suitable L-factor to be used to distinguish the vegetation areas, four different L-factors viz. 0.1, 0.25, 0.5 and 0.75 were tested, and the multiple linear regressions, using the stepwise regression method of backward elimination, found that the L-factor 0.75 was significant to be used for MMFR. A correlation analysis conducted between the results of NDVI, SAVI and supervised classification shows a high significant relationship, especially between NDVI and SAVI (0.991) at 99.99% level. This shows that NDVI and SAVI are useful analyses that can be employed to improve the accuracy of classification in the mangroves. more...

Knowledge about the biogeographic affinities of the world’s tropical forests helps to better understand regional differences in forest structure, diversity, composition, and dynamics. Such understanding will enable anticipation of region-specific responses to global environmental change. Modern phylogenies, in combination with broad coverage of species inventory data, now allow for global biogeographic analyses that take species evolutionary distance into account. Here we present a classification of the world’s tropical forests based on their phylogenetic similarity. We identify five principal floristic regions and their floristic relationships: (i) Indo-Pacific, (ii) Subtropical, (iii ) African, (iv)American, and (v) Dry forests. Our results do not support the traditional neo- versus paleo tropical forest division but instead separate the combined American and African forests from their Indo-Pacific counterparts. We also find indications for the existence of a global dry forest region, with representatives in America, Africa, Madagascar, and India. Additionally, a northern-hemisphere Subtropical forest region was identified with representatives in Asia and America, providing support for a link between Asian and American northern-hemisphere forests. more...

Rhizophora mucronata is an important ecosystem entity of the Malaysian mangrove forest. Since the species grows in a harsh environment, any organism that is isolated from this species would be of huge interest due to its potential in having novel bioactive compounds. In the present work, we isolated, identified and characterized, a total of 78 fungal isolates harboring inside the leaf tissues of R. mucronata. Molecular identification using the nuclear ribosomal DNA internal transcribe spacer (ITS) sequences returned with high similarity matches to known sequences in the GenBank. Maximum likelihood analysis revealed the phylogenetic relationship of all isolates from this study. Most of the dominating fungal endophytes were from the genera Pestalotiopsis, followed by Alternaria and Cladosporium. Six isolates representing the genera Alternaria, Fusarium, Nigrospora, Pestalotiopsis, Phoma, and Xylaria, were further screened for their antagonism activities. Dual culture test assay revealed their inhibition percentages against the phytopathogenic fungus Fusarium solani between 45–66%, and 0.8–23% when using non-volatile test assay. Of the six isolates, only Fusarium lateritium and Xylaria sp. showed antibacterial activities against the pathogenic bacteria, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus, with the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) ranging from 0.5 to 2 mg/mL. The DPPH radical scavenging assay recorded a high level of antioxidant activity in Xylaria sp., 3-fold above that of F. lateritium. We demonstrate for the first time, two members belonging to the endophytic fungal community in the tropical mangrove species that have potential use as antagonists and antibacterial agents for future biotechnological applications. more...

Overexploitation in search of its valuable non-wood fragrance product has put pressure on the survival of the endangered Aquilaria trees in the wild. In this study, the pattern of genetic variation among wild populations was measured to aid in designing useful strategies for in situ conservation. We sequenced the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) of the nuclear region of 19 wild Aquilaria malaccensis populations from different states in Peninsular Malaysia, and compared the sequence with the same species residing outside of Malaysia, mainly from the Assam region in India and Sumatra in Indonesia. This widely distributed species is found in the Indomalesian region and is a major source of agarwood. In addition, we included five wild Aquilaria hirta populations for semblance purposes. Intraspecific variations were not found within A. malaccensis and A. hirta populations in Peninsular Malaysia. Interestingly, Single Nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified when comparing A. malaccensis from three geographical regions, with a total of 25 SNPs detected. We imply that geographical segregation is a contributing factor toward genetic variation in A. malaccensis. This is the first report on utilizing the ITS region for analysing genetic variation in A. malaccensis of various geographical regions. The molecular information obtained in this study will serve as a useful reference in designing in situ programmes for this endangered species. more...

A Guide to Pollen Morphology of Some Malaysian Mangrove Plants is a quick reference for those seeking information on the pollen of mangrove plants. Pollen examined by the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) details the characters of pollen at high accuracy and magnification such as ornamentation, aperture, lumen and shape which are important to a certain extent in differentiating plant taxa at the species, genus or family level. Pictures of the plant in the field are also included for reference. more...

Ever wondered how candles are made? It is always with wax and wicks. Thus, a candle has a wick that is embedded in a wax to provide light and sometimes fragrance.

Knowledge on soil recovery in hill dipterocarp forests after logging is of importance for the management of forests. Samples of soils 14-years after supervised logging (SLo) and 16-years after conventional logging (CL) in a hill dipterocarp forest (HDF) at Ulu Muda Forest Reserve, Kedah were evaluated for their physico-chemical properties, soil fertility index and soil evaluation factor. Results showed the detrimental effects of logging on soil chemical characteristics and not sufficient to recover to its original state during this period. Soil Evaluation Factor (SEF) was also found to be more useful than Soil Fertility Index (SFI) for this logged-over HDF to show differences of soil quality between sites. Pearson coefficient correlation showed insignificant correlation between the SEF and tree density, basal area, volume and total biomass. more...

Increased use of nitrogenous (N) fertilizers in agriculture has significantly altered the global N-cycle because they release nitrogenous gases of environmental concerns. The emission of nitrous oxide (N2O) contributes to the global greenhouse gas accumulation and the stratospheric ozone depletion. In addition, it causes nitrate leaching problem deteriorating ground water quality. The nitrate toxicity has been reported in a number of studies showing the health hazards like methemoglobinemia in infants and is a potent cause of cancer. Despite these evident negative environmental as well as health impacts, consumption of N fertilizer cannot be reduced in view of the food security for the teeming growing world population. Various agronomic and genetic modifications have been practiced to tackle this problem. Some agronomic techniques adopted include split application of N, use of slow-release fertilizers, nitrification inhibitors and encouraging the use of organic manure over chemical fertilizers. As a matter of fact, the use of chemical means to remediate nitrate from the environment is very difficult and costly. Particularly, removal of nitrate from water is difficult task because it is chemically non-reactive in dilute aqueous solutions. Hence, the use of biological means for nitrate remediation offers a promising strategy to minimize the ill effects of nitrates and nitrites. One of the important goals to reduce N-fertilizer application can be effectively achieved by choosing N-efficient genotypes. This will ensure the optimum uptake of applied N in a balanced manner and exploring the molecular mechanisms for their uptake as well as metabolism in assimilatory pathways. The objectives of this paper are to evaluate the interrelations which exist in the terrestrial ecosystems between the plant type and characteristics of nutrient uptake and analyze the global consumption and demand for fertilizer nitrogen in relation to cereal production, evaluate the various methods u more...

In Peninsular Malaysia, mangrove crab fetches high commercial value and is a sought after seafood. This rare species contributes towards balancing the ecosystem through its daily activities such as burrowing and consuming leaf litter. Through burrowing, mangrove crab helps to aerate sediment through consuming leaf litter; and it also helps to retain much of the energy in the forest. The roles of this unique creature may be akin to an engineer of the forest. more...

Mitragyna speciosa or locally known as ketum in Malaysia is traditionally popular in the northern parts of Peninsular Malaysia and Thailand. The leaves are chewed or boiled and taken daily as a popular tonic by farmers to endure the sun, fatigue, and hard work. The truth is that ketum cheats the brain into believing that you are stronger than you thought. more...

Mangrove forests provide different goods and services. The unique environmental factors affecting the growth of mangroves are distance from the sea or the estuary bank, frequency and duration of tidal inundation, salinity, and composition of soil. These crucial factors may under certain circumstances be sources of obstacles in accessing and managing the mangroves. The application of remotely sensed imagery data can bring about a more accurate way of monitoring mangroves. In this study, a set of Landsat 8 satellite imagery covering Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve was classified by using an extension of ArcGIS application, namely Feature AnalystTM. Canopy densities of four different classes were identified according to spatial association, size, shape, texture, pattern and shadow of features in the image; they are dense canopy, moderately dense canopy, low dense canopy, and open areas. Ultimately, three classes of disturbance were created based on the factors believed to have effects on the quality of mangroves which are as follows: least disturbed area, moderately disturbed area, and most disturbed area. The accuracy of the classes identified was validated through ground surveys by observing the abundance of vegetation. Subplots of ground validation were created by using random systematic line plot method. Most of the over-logged areas were replanted with Rhizophora species. more...

The vision of the Malaysian National Policy on Biological Diversity 1998 which states "to conserve Malaysia's biological diversity and to ensure that its components are utilised in a sustainable manner for the continued progress and socio-economic development of the nation" indicates that Malaysian forests harbour a very large portion of the nation's biodiversity and that forests have an important role to play in the country's socio-economic development and environmental stability. Thus, the degradation of the nation's biological diversity would have grave repercussions on the economy, environment and people. In the forestry sector, biological diversity not only provides timber and non-timber goods but also numerous other ecological services such as environmental stability which includes carbon sequestration, maintenance of hydrological regimes and recycling of nutrients, besides providing a habitat for wildlife. Much of the nation's biological diversity has yet to be documented and strengthened with scientific investigations. Current forestry issues include deforestation, conservation, intensity of sampling, sustainable forest management, economic valuation of goods and services, carbon sequestration, payment for ecosystem services and reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. The applications of species composition studies are many, but those that are pertinent to forest biodiversity works include the determination of minimum sampling size in forest inventory as inventories are expensive and laborious in nature, the use of indices that are comparable between forests, consideration of minimum diameter for enumeration and measurement so as not to lose important information on biodiversity and estimation of biomass and carbon sequestration. The importance of predicting and enhancing forest regeneration is crucial to determine the next course of action by foresters in enriching the forests besides helping it to grow better and faster for future yie more...

The expansion of the forestry sector in Malaysia and the importance of forest for its biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services requires the development of human capital at both technical and professional levels. The relevance of forestry education in the country, its trends and challenges are herein discussed. more...

Pollination is a process where pollen grains are transferred from the stamens (male part) to the stigma (female part) of the flower; if it happens on the same plant it is called self pollination or if on another plant of the same species it is termed cross pollination. Pollination, however, is an accidental process that happens when animals such as bees, flies, wasps, moths, butterflies, bats, ants, beetles, and birds forage for food such as pollen and nectar from the flower. It also happens when the wind blows the pollen to the stigma of flowers. Wind pollinated flower are usually dull, small, without petals, and unscented. On the other hand, those flowers pollinated by animals are usually brightly-coloured and attractive, has a good amount of nectar or has a strong scent which can be sweet or foul smelling. more...

Birds are a major component of wetland ecosystems and often exhibit a distinct correlationship with wetland vegetation and food resources. Conversely, long-term effects of the climate change on avian community parameters and their habitats have not been examined in high-altitude wetland habitats. However these wetlands are highly important for a variety of avian species, i.e., they utilize the high-altitude wetland habitats permanently or in transit (i.e., stopover) during migration from September to March. Climate change is a major driving factor that affects avian diversity through various ways such as altered microclimate factors (temperature, relative humidity, and rainfall pattern) and microhabitat characteristics that had caused a shift in home range, food resources, and breeding ecology of various bird species inhabiting high-altitude wetland habitats. The current chapter indicates that climate change affects phenology, distribution, migration season (i.e., arrival and departure), and breeding ecology of avian species. In fact, very little is known about the effects of the climate change on the avian diversity in high-altitude wetland habitats. Hence, it is crucially important to determine the effects of climate change on avian diversity in high-altitude wetland habitats within the context of ecological and spatial parameters to understand the effects of climate change on avian diversity and their habitat for future wetland habitat conservation and management. more...

Forestry practices in Malaysia has come a long-way since the country's independence since 1957. The management of the forest resources has shifted away from primary wood production to a more holistic perspective involving economic, environmental and social aspects. The evolving phases in forestry practices in the country have been well documented in an earlier book entitled "Colonial British Forestry and the years thereafter". This INTRODUCTORY FOREST SCIENCE book is an attempt to present the complete array of subject matters involved in the study of forestry science in a single volume, Prepared specifically for first-year undergraduates in forestry curriculum throughout Malaysia and the region, it will also find acceptance among all those interested in the forest and its resources, Written by experts from the Faculty of Forestry at University Putra Malaysia(UPM), each chapter highlights the fundamentals, key-words, references and learning outcomes about the subject. Its easy reading makes it a useful introductory textbook for all those venturing into the field of forestry and should help invigorate their interests into the field of study more...

This study was conducted to determine the floral diversity and biomass in a coastal heath forest at Rantau Abang, Terengganu, Malaysia. The plot included contiguously arranged 100 subplots (10 m x 10 m). Results showed that 959 trees of 63 species belonging to 52 genera and 30 families are distributed in this coastal forest. Myrtaceae is the largest family (163 trees) followed by Annonaceae (160 trees) and Lecythidaceae (100 trees). Euphorbiaceae is the most diverse family containing 6 genera and 6 species. Syzygium claviflorum var. claviflorum (15.5%) was the dominant species followed by Polyalthia hypogaea (12.7%) and Barringtonia macrostachya (10.4%). Dipterocarpaceae has a small stocking as compared to the non-dipterocarp families in this forest. This family comprised about 9% of tree density and 6% of tree species diversity. The dominant species from Dipterocarpaceae is Shorea materialis. The total biomass in the forest lies around 249 ton/ha. The largest contribution to the biomass comes from Dipterocarpaceae with 86 ton/ha (34.5%) followed by Myrtaceae 75.3 ton/ha (30.2%). The biomass contribution of Shorea materialis is78.8 ton/ha, followed by Syzygium claviflorum 67.8 ton/ha. The biomass of Champereia griffithii is 0.006 ton/ha. more...

A study on community structure of trees >1cm Dbh was conducted in Ayer Hitam Forest Reserve (AHFR), Puchong Selangor, Malaysia. AHFR is one of the three remaining forests left in the Klang Valley and it is the only logged-over lowland Dipterocarp forest in urban settings. The aim of this study was to describe the tree community structure through structural attributes which are stem density, basal area (BA), aboveground biomass (AGB) and height distribution. A total of 7359 stem ha-130.57 m2 ha-1 (BA) and 232.7 t ha-1 (AGB) were estimated for 1-ha. The most abundant species for Dipterocarpaceae and Non-Dipterocarpaceae were Hopea sulcata Symington and Agrostistachys longifolia (Wight) Benth. (Euphorbiaceae), respectively. This study shows that AHFR is recovering but slowly and has good regeneration potential. more...

Bamboo, being one of the fastest growing plants needs only between 3 and 4 years to mature before they are ready for harvesting and utilization. This makes bamboo the best possible alternative to replace timber in the future. As a result, bamboo has been the focus of research in recent years. Currently, there is a growing demand for thicker walled and rapidly growing bamboo from the industry due to its mechanical strength, high durability and uninterrupted as well as sustainable supply. However, the information on the physical, mechanical and chemical properties for different bamboo species and age-groups is rather limited. In the current Omics era, ‘Proteomic Analysis’ has now become one of the basic technologies to obtain essential information of the biological systems. Proteomics is a powerful tool to study the global changes in protein synthesis in response to environmental stimuli as well as during development. At present, we are performing the proteomics studies on various commercially important known species of bamboo to understand the molecular mechanisms of rapid growth as well as thick wall lumen. This will help us to better understand the growth characteristics and physical properties of bamboo at molecular level by identifying the novel proteins associated with the production of thick wall and rapidly growing culms of bamboo. We believe that the present proteomics study shall provide a new dataset and the gene screening list, which will be a useful resource for future genetic as well as genomic studies for the development of high quality bamboo cultivars. more...