The
study was carried out in Hutan Simpan Tekam or Tekam Forest Reserve, which is
situated in the district of Jerantut, Pahang, Malaysia. Tekam Forest Reserve is
also part of the main range called Banjaran Titiwangsa that stretches in the
centre of Peninsular Malaysia. The study area, which covers an area of 10 x 10 km lies between 102o
32’ 24” E to 102o 37’ 48” E and 03o 57’ 36” N to 04o
03’ 00” N (Figure 1). It is accessible from a logging road and adjacent
oil palm plantation roads. The forest type of the area is defined as hill
dipterocarp, which is common at elevations between 300 to 750 m above sea level
and forms the bulk of the production forests in Peninsular Malaysia. Hill
dipterocarp forests are less commercially productive than lowland forests, but
are still rich in floristic composition. Many lowland forest species are also
found here but less frequently, while many species that occur here are not found
in the lowland dipterocarp forests.
The
topography of the area is undulating with steep and rugged slopes exceeding 45º.
The elevation ranges from 60 to 800 m. The area was selected because it is
adjacent to the Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM) research station. It
is accessible, as harvesting activities are still ongoing in the north of the
study area. The earliest logging
occurred in 1976 and the most recent in 1986. The total area covered by the
study is about 11 800 ha. There are 27 full compartments within the study area
covering about 8 015 ha. The remaining 3 790 ha consist of partial compartments
(Table 2).
