Between 1988 and 2000, changes in the
above-ground biomass (AGB) of trees in an East Kalimantan lowland
forest, damaged by fires in 1982-83 and 1998, were estimated using
allometric functions and an annual inventory of stem diameter. The
original vegetation of the study site was lowland dipterocarp forest
which has since been affected by selective logging and wild fires. The
1982-83 fire killed large trees of primary species and the opened
sites became dominated by a few pioneer species. Between 1988 to 1997,
a few pioneer tree species, namely Macaranga spp., dominated a heavily
disturbed stand (HDS). Primary tree species that survived the 1982-83
fire dominated a lightly disturbed stand (LDS). A moderately disturbed
stand (MDS) contained vegetation intermediate between the HDS and the
LDS. In 1997, there were 553, 499 and 356 trees ha-1 in the HDS, MDS
and LDS, respectively. Macaranga trees accounted for 70%, 40% and 11%
of the number of total trees in the HDS, MDS, and LDS, respectively.
In 1997, the AGB of trees in the HDS, MDS, and LDS was 117, 280, and
315 Mg ha-1, respectively. The proportion of biomass accounted for by
Macaranga trees for the HDS, MDS, and LDS was 34%, 8% and 1%,
respectively. The pioneer trees did not compensate for the loss of
aboveground biomass resulting from the death of large primary trees.
The fire in 1998 again decreased AGB of the stands. In 2000, the AGB
of trees in the HDS, MDS, and LDS was 27, 106, and 219 Mg ha-1,
respectively. The sites opened up by the 1998 fire were covered with
the pioneer seedlings and seemingly dominated by the pioneer trees
with more number of stems per ha, but lower biomass as compared to the
original forest (> 400 Mg ha-1).
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