Forest floor vegetation in a forest gap affected by lightning strike in Bangi Forest Reserve, Selangor, Malaysia.

A study on the composition of forest floor vegetation in a small forest gap in Bangi Forest Reserve was conducted. The inventory was carried out in the forest gap formed due to the lightning strike which had caused some big trees died directly. The assessment was made about one year after the forest gap was formed in May 2012. In a survey of 0.018 ha plot, a total of 1222 individuals of vascular plants were recorded which include climbers, ferns, herbs, palms, and seedlings. The compositions of forest floor vegetation were represented by 141 species from 108 genus and 54 families. Pioneer species and late seral recorded the highest density. Two species of Macaranga, viz. M. conifera and M. gigantea were among the densest species with 4778 ind/ha and 4111 ind/ha. This study contributed the data of the forest floor in the forest gap in the lowland dipterocarp forest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]