Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-lj6df Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-11T00:28:36.207Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Mineral nutrient status of coastal hill dipterocarp forest and adinandra belukar in Singapore: analysis of soil, leaves and litter

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

P. J. Grubb ,
I. M. Turner  and
D. F. R. P. Burslem
P. J. Grubb
Affiliation:
Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EA, UK
I. M. Turner
Affiliation:
Department of Botany, National University of Singapore, Lower Kent Ridge Road, Singapore0511
D. F. R. P. Burslem
Affiliation:
Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EA, UK
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The soil of remnant primary rainforest on granite in Singapore is very acidic (pH mostly 3.5–4.2 at 0–10 cm) and has unusually low total concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus, but the mean concentrations of N and P in the living leaves and freshly fallen leaves of the more shade-tolerant species are within the ranges found for other lowland forests on infertile oxisols and ultisols. The concentration of Ca in freshly fallen leaves is very low. The soil under secondary forest (bselukar) on sandstone dominated by Adinandra dumosa (Theaceae) was degraded during use for agriculture. It has the same pH range but even lower values of total N and P. The mean concentrations of N, P, K, Ca and Mg in the living leaves are slightly higher than in leaves of the more shade-tolerant trees of primary forest, but lower than in the leaves of the species which require canopy gaps for establishment or early onward growth. The few species sampled in both primary forest and belukar show no consistent trend in foliar concentrations. The degraded soil has selected species with inherently lower foliar concentrations.

Keywords

lowland rainforestleaveslitterMalesianutrientssecondary forestsoil
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 10 , Issue 4 , November 1994 , pp. 559 - 577
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1994

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

LITERATURE CITED

Allen, S. E. (ed.). 1989. Chemical analysis of ecological materials. (2nd edition). Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford. 368 pp.Google Scholar
Amir, H. M. S. & Zakaria, M. 1991. Soil and foliar nutrient relationships in selected Shorea and Koompassia species in two forest reserves, Peninsular Malaysia. Journal of Tropical Forest Science 2:320–330.Google Scholar
Anderson, J. M., Proctor, J. & Vallack, H. W. 1983. Ecological studies in four contrasting areas of lowland rain forests in Gunung Mulu National Park. III. Decomposition processes and nutrient losses from leaf litter. Journal of Ecology 71:503–528.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anderson, J. M. & Swift, M. J. 1983. Decomposition in tropical forests. Pp. 287–309 in Sutton, S. L., Whitmore, T. C. & Chadwick, A. C. (eds). Tropical rainforest: ecology and management. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford, xiii + 498 pp.Google Scholar
Anon. 1976. Geology of the Republic of Singapore. Public Works Department, Singapore, xv + 79 pp.Google Scholar
Ashton, P. S. 1964. Ecological studies in the mixed dipterocarp forests of Brunei state. Oxford Forestry Memoirs 25. Clarendon Press, Oxford. 75 pp.Google Scholar
Bongers, F. & Popma, J. 1988. Is exposure-related variation in leaf characteristics of tropical rain forest species adaptive? Pp. 191–200 in Werger, M. J. A., van der Aart, P. J. M., During, H. J. & Verhoeven, J. T. A. (eds). Plant form and vegetation structure. SPB Academic Publishing, The Hague. 356 pp.Google Scholar
Burgess, P. F. 1975. Silviculture in the hill forests of the Malay Peninsula. Malaysian Forestry Department Research Pamphlet 66. 100 pp.Google Scholar
Burslem, D. F. R. P., Turner, J. M. & Grubb, P. J. 1994. Mineral nutrient status of coastal hill dipterocarp forest and adinandra belukar in Singapore: bioassays of nutrient limitation. Journal of Tropical Ecology 10:579–599.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cavelier, J. 1992. Fine-root biomass and soil properties in a semideciduous and a lower montane rain forest. Plant and Soil 142:187–201.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chan, H. Y. 1972. Soil and leaf nutrient surveys for discriminatory fertiliser use in West Malaysian rubber holdings. Pp. 201–213 in Ng, S. K. & Rajarao, J. C. (eds). Proceedings of the Rubber Research Institute of Malaysia Planters' Conference Kuala Lumpur 1971. 346 pp.Google Scholar
Chandler, G. 1985. Mineralization and nitrification in three Malaysian forest soils. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 17:347–353.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Choong, M. F., Lucas, P. W., Ong, J. S. Y., Pereira, B., Tan, H. T. W. & Turner, I. M. 1992. Leaf fracture toughness and sclerophylly: their correlations and ecological implications. New Phytologist 121:597–610.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coley, P. F. 1983. Herbivory and defensive characteristics of tree species in a lowland tropical rain forest. Ecological Monographs 53:209–233.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Corlett, R. T. 1988. Bukit Timah: history and significance of a small rain forest reserve. Environmental Conservation 15:37–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Corlett, R. T. 1990. Flora and reproductive phenology of the rain forest at Bukit Timah, Singapore. Journal of Tropical Ecology 6:55–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Corlett, R. T. 1991. Vegetation. Pp. 14–154 in Chia, L. S., Rahman, A. & Tay, D. B. H. (eds). The biophysical environment of Singapore. Singapore University Press, Singapore, xiv + 218 pp.Google Scholar
Corner, E. J. H. 1988. Wayside trees of Malaya. (3rd edition). Malayan Nature Society, Kuala Lumpur. 785 pp.Google Scholar
Cuevas, E. & Medina, E. 1988. Nutrient dynamics within Amazonian forests. II. Fine root growth, nutrient availability and leaf litter decomposition. Oecologia 76:222–235.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dale, W. L. 1963. Surface temperatures in Malaya. Journal of Tropical Geography 17:57–71.Google Scholar
Edwards, P. J. 1977. Studies of mineral cycling in a montane rain forest in New Guinea. II. The production and disappearance of litter. Journal of Ecology 65:971–992.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fong, F. W. 1977. Edaphic conditions under bertam (Eugeissona tristis Griff.) on seraya ridge forests. Tropical Ecology 18:60–70.Google Scholar
Fong, F. W. & Ng, S. M. 1985. Litterfall in a hill diptcrocarp forest. Journal of the Singapore National Academy of Science 14:192–198.Google Scholar
Foster, H. L. & Goh, H. S. 1977. Yield response of oil palm to fertilizers in West Malaysia III. Leaf nutrient levels. Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute Research Bulletin 5:56–73.Google Scholar
Gong, W. K. & Ong, J. E. 1983. Litter production and decomposition in a coastal hill dipterocarp forest. Pp. 275–285 in Sutton, S. L., Whitmore, T. C. & Chadwick, A. C. (eds). Tropical rain forest: ecology and management. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford, xiii + 498 pp.Google Scholar
Grubb, P. J. 1977. Control of forest growth and distribution on wet tropical mountainss: with special reference to mineral nutrition. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 8:83–107.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holttum, R. E. 1954. Adinandra belukar. Malayan Journal of Tropical Geography 3:27–32.Google Scholar
Ives, D. W. 1977. Soils of the Republic of Singapore. New Zealand Soil Survey Report 36. 15 pp.Google Scholar
Jenny, N., Gessel, S. P. & Bingham, F. T. 1949. Comparative studies of decomposition rates of organic matter in temperate and tropical regions. Soil Science 68:419–432.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marrs, R. H., Thompson, J., Scott, D. & Proctor, J. 1991. Nitrogen mineralization and nitrification in terra firme forest and savanna soils on Ilha de Maraca, Roraima, Brazil. Journal of Tropical Ecology 7:123–137.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Medina, E. & Cuevas, E. 1989. Patterns of nutrient accumulation and release in Amazonian forests of the upper Rio Negro basin. Pp. 217–240 in Proctor, J. (ed.). Mineral nutrients in tropical forest and savanna ecosystems. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford. 473 pp.Google Scholar
Melillo, J. M. & Aber, J. D. 1984. Nutrient immobilization in decaying litter: an example of carbon-nutrient interactions Pp. 193–215 in Cooley, J. H. & Golley, F. B. (eds). Trends in ecological research for the 1980s. Plenum Press, New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nieuwolt, S. 1965. Evaporation and water balances in Malaya. Journal of Tropical Geography 20:34–53.Google Scholar
Odum, H. T. 1970. Rain forest structure and mineral-cycling homeostasis. Pp. H3–52 in Odum, H. T. & Pigeon, R. F. (eds). A tropical rain forest. United States Atomic Energy Commission, Springfield, Virginia.Google Scholar
Ogawa, H. 1978. Litter production and carbon cycling in Pasoh forest. Malayan Nature Journal 30:367–373.Google Scholar
Popma, J., Bongers, F. & Werger, M. J. A. 1992. Gap dependence and leaf characteristics of trees in a lowland tropical rain forest in Mexico. Oikos 63:207–214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Proctor, J. 1984. Tropical forest litterfall. II. The data set. Pp. 83–113 in Sutton, S. L. & Chadwick, A. C. (eds). Tropical rain forest: the Leeds symposium. Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society, Leeds. xvi + 335 pp.Google Scholar
Proctor, J., Anderson, J. M., Chai, P. & Vallack, H. W. 1983. Ecological studies in four contrasting lowland rain forests in Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak. I. Forest environment, structure and floristics. Journal of Ecology 71:237–260.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pushparajah, E. & Tan, K. T. 1972. Factors influencing leaf nutrient levels in rubber. Pp. 140–154 in Rajarao, J. C. & Foo, K. Y. (eds). Proceedings of the Rubber Research Institute of Malaysia Planters' Conference 1972 Kuala Lumpur. 332 pp.Google Scholar
Riswan, S. 1989. Trend of soil nutrient movements in two different soil types after clear-cut with or without burning in Kalimantan, Indonesia. Pp. 261–270 in van der Heide, J. (ed.). Nutrient manaagement for food crop production in tropical fanning systems. Institute for Soil Fertility, Haren, Netherlands.Google Scholar
Sandrasegaran, K. 1971. Stocking and yield of Tiup-tiup (Adinandra dumosa Jack) in Johore, Malaysia. Research Pamphlet, Forest Research Institute, Kepong No. 60. 55 pp.Google Scholar
Shorrocks, V. M. 1962. Leaf analysis as a guide to the nutrition of Hevea brasiliensis II. Sampling technique with mature trees: variations in nutrient composition of the leaves with position on the tree. Journal of the Rubber Research Institute of Malaya 17:91–101.Google Scholar
Sim, J. W. S., Tan, H. T. W. & Turner, I. M. 1992. Adinandra belukar: an anthropogenic heath forest in Singapore. Vegetatio 102:125–137.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Swan, F. R. 1988. Tree distribution patterns in the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, Singapore. Gardens' Bulletin, Singapore 41:59–81.Google Scholar
Symington, C. F. 1943. Foresters' manual of dipterocarps. Malayan Forest Records No. 16. Reprinted by University of Malaya Press, Kuala Lumpur, 1974. xLiv + 244 pp + 114 plates.Google Scholar
Tanner, E. V. J. 1977. Four montane rain forests of Jamaica: a quantitative characterization of the floristics, the soils and the foliar mineral levels, and a discussion of the interrelations. Journal of Ecology 65:83–918.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tanner, E. V. J. 1981. The composition of leaf litter in Jamaican montane rain forests. Journal of Ecology 69:263–275.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thomas, G. S. P. 1991. Geology and geomorphology. Pp. 50–88 in Chia, L. S., Rahman, A. & Tay, D. B. H. (eds). The biophysical environment of Singapore. Singapore University Press, Singapore. xiv + 218 pp.Google Scholar
Turner, I. M., Brown, N. D. & Newton, A. C. 1993. The effect of fertilizer application on dipterocarp seedling growth and mycorrhizal infection. Forest Ecology and Management 57:329–337.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Turner, I. M., Chua, K. S. & Tan, H. T. W. 1990. A checklist of the native and naturalized vascular plant species of the Republic of Singapore. Journal of the Singapore National Academy of Science 18&19:58–88.Google Scholar
Turner, I. M. & Tan, H. T. W. 1991. Habitat-related variation in tree leaf form in four tropical forest types on Pulau Ubin, Singapore. Journal of Vegetation Science 2:691–698.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vitousek, P. M. 1984. Litterfall, nutrient cycling and nutrient limitation in tropical forests. Ecology 65:285–298.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vitousek, P. M. & Denslow, J. S. 1986. Nitrogen and phosphorus availability in treefall gaps of a lowland tropical rainforest. Journal of Ecology 74:1167–1178.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vitousek, P. M. & Sanford, R. L. 1986. Nutrient cycling in moist tropical forest. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematic 17:137–167.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Watts, I. E. M. 1955. Rainfall of Singapore Island. Journal of Tropical Geography 7:1–71.Google Scholar
Webb, L. J. 1959. A physiognomic classification of Australian rain forests. Journal of Ecology 47:551–570.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whitmore, T. C. 1984. Tropical rain forests of the Far East. (2nd edition). Clarendon Press, Oxford. xiii + 282 pp.Google Scholar
Wong, Y. K. 1987. Ecology of the trees of Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. Gardens' Bulletin, Singapore 40:45–76.Google Scholar
Wyatt-Smith, J. 1963. A manual of Malayan silviculture for inland forests. Malayan Forest Records 23. 428 pp.Google Scholar
Yoda, K. 1978. Organic carbon, nitrogen and mineral nutrients stock in the soil of Pasoh forest. Malayan Nature Journal 30:229–251.Google Scholar