Gap characteristics and natural regeneration in Mt. Makiling rainforest, the Philippines

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine the characteristics of gaps and natural regeneration of trees on Mt. Makiling, the Philippines. Canopy gaps in or around two 1-ha permanent plots and on 3-km line transects were investigated. Most of the gaps studied were formed or affected by Typhoon Milenyo, which hit the study site in September 2006. The most frequent mode of gap maker death was snap-off, whereas uprooting was relatively less important. The most frequent gap maker was balobo (Diplodiscus paniculatus) followed by magabuyo (Celtis luzonica) and katmon (Dillenia philippinensis). In contrast, the most frequent gap filler was magabuyo (C. luzonica). At the sapling layer, the most important species was magabuyo (C. luzonica), but there was a high proportion of lianas and palms. Most of the gaps had leaf area index (LAI) values between 3 and 5. A clear trend of a decrease in gap size and an increase in LAI was observed for 2 years from 2007 to 2009. New seedlings emerged very abundantly during the same time period. The rapid changes in the gaps were partially due to the excellent capability of tropical trees to resprout after the crown or stem was damaged by the typhoon. This study on gap dynamics may contribute to a better understanding of the natural regeneration process of trees in tropical rainforests.

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“…It was observed that Dipterocarp species have slowly diffused into the pure mahogany stand as dipterocarp seedlings can tolerate low light intensity and benefit from partial shade during establishment and subsequent growth [18,19,20,21]. Mahogany seedlings and other indigenous tree species encountered inside the plantation occurs in small gaps following natural disturbance (Typhoon Xansane in 2006) [22] which created conditions favorable for its growth [11,23,24].…”