Elevational patterns and distribution of ferns on mount Trus Madi

Mohd. Aminur Faiz Suis (2018) Elevational patterns and distribution of ferns on mount Trus Madi. Masters thesis, Universiti Malaysia Sabah.

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Abstract

This study examined the ferns species richness patterns along elevational gradient of Mount Trus Madi (2642 m a.s.l.), the second highest mountain in Malaysia. Sampling of ferns and environmental variables were carried out in 15 research plots (20 m x 20 m) along the northwestern slope of the mountain. A total of 58 species of ferns were recorded within the research plots: 11 species were recorded at 1000 m a.s.l., 18 at 1400 m a.s.l., 29 at 1800 m a.s.l., 23 at 2200 m a.s.l. and 14 at 2600 m a.s.l. Out of these, 35 species were categorized as epiphytes, 24 species as terrestrials and one species as facultative epiphyte. In addition, another 12 species were randomly collected outside the plots, and thus, excluded from any statistical analysis. Dendrogram derived from a cluster analysis of the 15 research plots indicated that there were two major clusters of ferns, defined as low- and high-elevation assemblages. Overall, the species accumulation curve has reached the asymptote. Based on the Locally Weighted Sum of Square (LOESS) and quadratic polynomial regression analysis, both categories (terrestrial and epiphyte) and epiphytic ferns showed pronounced and statistically significant hump-shaped pattern of species richness, maximized at 1800 m a.s.l and declining towards both ends of the mountain. Inversely, terrestrial ferns showed a statistically significant decreasing pattern of species richness. Permutation tests showed that the distributions of terrestrial and epiphytic ferns were significantly related to four environmental variables: elevation, forest canopy cover, temperature and relative humidity. The cumulative percentage of explained variance of species-environmental variables relationship for the first two Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) axes was 78.11% for epiphytes and 75.59% for terrestrials. These figures indicated that the two-dimensional CCA map is sufficient to analyze the multivariate relationship between ferns species and environmental variables. The outcome of this study had shed light on fern species richness pattern along elevational gradients of Mount Trus Madi. Furthermore, it could be incorporated in the conservation management of the Nuluhon Trusmadi Forest Reserve or other tropical mountain ecosystems.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Keyword:	Fern species richness, Elevational gradient, Mount trus madi, Epiphytic ferns, Terrestrial ferns, Environmental variables, Canopy cover
Subjects:	Q Science > QK Botany > QK1-989 Botany > QK1-474.5 General Including geographical distribution
Department:	INSTITUTE > Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation
Depositing User:	DG MASNIAH AHMAD -
Date Deposited:	25 Mar 2025 15:19
Last Modified:	25 Mar 2025 15:19
URI:	https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/43341

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