FBS 10 LECTURE 1B - Diversity and Growth Forms in Tropical Rainforests

Tropical Lowland Evergreen Rainforest

Most luxuriant of all plant communities

Tropical Lowland Evergreen Rainforest

Tall, dense, evergreen forest to 45 meters

Tropical Lowland Evergreen Rainforest

It has three strata of canopy layers, top-emergent - Dipterocarpaceae; main stratum at about 24-36; smaller trees and saplings

Tropical Lowland Evergreen Rainforest

Occurs from coastal flats up to c. 900-1100 m altitude

Vegetation of Tropical Lowland Evergreen Rainforest

rich in tree flora with buttresses, cauliflory, ramiflory, pinnate leaves, lamina of mesophyl size, woody vines or lianas are frequent, and vascular epiphytes are occasional to frequent

Tropical Upper Montane Rainforest

Mossy forests - abundance of mosses and liverworts that cover the branches and trunks

Tropical Upper Montane Rainforest

Occurs on mountains above c. 1,000 m, with the upper limit varying depending on the locality, size, and height of the mountain

Tropical Upper Montane Rainforest

Topography is often rough with steep ridges and ravines

What type of forests are in Mt. Makiling Forest Reserve?

Tropical Lowland Evergreen and Tropical Upper Montane Rainforests

What type of forest is Malabayabas Forest?

Tropical Lowland Evergreen Rainforest

What type of Forest is located at Mt. Janagdan?

Tropical Upper Montane Rainforest

What type of Forest is located at Mt. Hamiguitan

Tropical Upper Montane Rainforests

Tropical Upper Montane Rainforests

Increase in cloudiness and climatic conditions are very moist and strong winds are frequent, hence, the mossy condition and dwarfed, crooked trees are characteristics of this formation

Tropical Upper Montane Rainforests

Trees irregularly shaped and often only 10 m tall or less, rarely 20 m, with gnarled, slender stems and dense, broccoli-like subcrowns composed of twigs with shot internodes.

Tropical Upper Montane Rainforests

Canopy more of less flat on the surface

Mt. Banahaw - Mossy forests

tallest tree reaches 14 m tall with many tending to lean downslope, identify type of rainforest formation

Mt. Makiling - Mossy forests

6-8 m tall with dense covering of moss, ferns and other epiphytes

Mt. Data - Mossy forests

only small patches of upper montane remains, many are converted to commercial vegetable farms

Tropical Subalpine Forest

includes pine type forest transition of upper montane to tropical subalpine is through a gradual ecotone, thus, no general qualitative differences in the physiognomy between these two formations

Tropical Subalpine Forest

Stature remains short or becomes shorter; forest canopy becomes more open, leaf sizes become smaller (nanophylls); bryophytes cover and epiphytes become more sparse

Mt. Halcom - subalpine

summit vegetation and floristic assemblages are similar to the subalpine vegetation of Mt Kinabalu and Mt Withelm, identify type of rainforest formation

Tropical Subalpine Forest

Tropical forest formation where the tallest tree is up to 6 m only

Tropical Subalpine Forest

Elements of this forest may be present in Mt. Pulag, Mt. Mantalingahan, and elsewhere in Mindanao

Forest over ultramafic

Home of Philippine Ironwoods

Forest over ultramafic

Habitat of metallophytes

Species of Philippine Ironwoods

Xanthothesmon

Five endemic Philippine Ironwoods

Mapilig, Sierra Madre Mangkono, Bagoadlau, Malapiga, Mangkono

Forest over limestone

short stunted trees on exposed vertical cliffs up to 35 m tall in gentle slopes

Forest over limestone

Molave type of forest are on limestone hills in region with seasonally dry climates

Forest over limestone

Forest is open, with few scattered large trees, usually with sprawling, climbing and small erect bamboos.

Forest over limestone

Dominant trees are short-boled, irregular in form, with wide-spreading, often deciduous crown

Beach Forest

forms a narrow strip of woodland along the sandy and gravelly beaches of the seacoast beyond the upper tidal limits.

Beach Forest

Bordered on its sides by limestones or other rocks, or merges with the mangrove formation.

Beach Forests

Species of this forest have fruits and seeds adapted for water dispersal

Mangrove Forest

Often referred to as the forest of the sea because it uniquely inhabits the tidal sea fringes, usually above the mean sea level in the intertidal zones of coastal marine environments and river estuaries.

Mangrove Forest

Trees have special adaptation that allows them to survive in the tidal wetland habitat

Mangrove Forests

Plants have adapted to have tolerance to saline, unstable, water-logged oxygen-poor soils

Mangrove Forest

Forest formation where buttresses, stilt or prop roots, knee roots, and pneumatophores for support and gas exchange are present

Mangrove Forests

Elaborate, large lenticels, Water-bouyant propagules can survive dispersal by brackish and seawater for many weeks and over long distance

Viviparous propagules

seeds germinated while attached to the parent tree

Cryptoviviparous

seeds germinated while still attached to the parent tree but covered with intact fruit wall

Nypa fruticans

plant in mangrove forests that occur on inland edge of mangrove and upper tidal limit of estuaries especially along water courses.

Peat

formed from waterlogged soils prevent dead leaves and wood from full decomposing, which over time builds up into a thick layer of blackish substrate

Peat swamp forest

occurs in areas where water table is higher than the surrounding areas, with peat often about 50 cm deep or more, acidic (pH<=4)

Peat swamp forests

Type of forest formation where the only incoming water is from rain and therefore has low nutrient uptake

Peat swamp forests

Type of forest formation with a concentric zonation of vegetation

Concentric zonation of vegetation

a sequence of forest subtypes from the edge of the formation to the center, representing succession in time, with the innermost peat layer thicker being the oldest formed

Peat swamp forests

Type of forest formation where the outermost zones have more diverse and bigger diameter trees, becoming less diverse and smaller towards the center

Concentric zonation of vegetation

This zonation mirrors the conditions of decreasing fertility towards the center.

Freshwater swamp forest

Regularly to occasionally inundated with mineral-rich freshwater (pH>=6) from rivers and streams with the water level fluctuating, allowing periodic drying of the soil surface.

Freshwater swamp forest

The flora and structure of this formation may vary from only palms and pandans (Pandanus sp.), to low scrub with scattered trees, to forest dominated by a single species, or mixed freshwater swamp forest resembling a low evergreen rain forest.

Freshwater swamp forest

Some tree species may have stilt roots or plank buttresses.

Sago Palm

common species in freshwater swamp forests

Known freshwater swamp forests

Leyte Sab-a Basin, Agusan Marsh, and Ligawasan Marsh