Ecological Archives A017-043-A3

Daniel F. R. Cleary, Timothy J. B. Boyle, Titiek Setyawati, Celina D. Anggraeni, E. Emiel Van Loon, and Steph B. J. Menken. 2007. Bird species and traits associated with logged and unlogged forest in Borneo. Ecological Applications 17:1184–1197.

Appendix C. Detailed description of the habitat/vegetation variables measured during the study.

Habitat structure

Habitat structure variables were recorded in six 200-m2 (10 × 20 m) subplots in each site using a systematic sampling design that comprised 4.0% of the total site area. Thirty-three habitat structure variables were assessed within each 200-m2 subplot. The variables were grouped into nine main categories and included:

Dead wood: Length and diameter at each end of all dead wood greater than 10-cm diameter was measured in order to calculate total volume. Each piece was allocated one of five decay states: (1) fresh; (2) wood sound, bark flaking; (3) wood sound, no bark; (4) wood rotting but firm; (5) wood rotten and soft. It was also noted whether dead wood was standing or had fallen.

Lianas: Abundance of non-woody lianas, small-woody lianas (stem diameter < 5cm), and large-woody lianas (stem diameter > 5cm) was estimated on a 4-point scale: 0 = absent; 1 = 1 or a few; 2 = moderately abundant; 3 = very abundant.

Epiphytes: abundance estimated as lianas.

Bryophytes: abundance estimated as lianas.

Ground cover: Proportion of area covered by seedlings, herbs, ferns and grasses was estimated using the Domin scale, a non-linear scale from 0–10 (Mueller- Dombois and Ellenberg 1974).

Litter: Leaf litter variables were recorded in four 1-m2 plots located randomly within each 200-m2 subplot. Proportion of area covered by small woody debris (dead wood less than 10 cm diameter) and leaf litter was noted. Leaf litter was divided into three size classes: mesophyll (-20000 mm2), notophyll (-4500 mm2), and microphyll (-2000 m2) and assessed following Vanclay et al. (1997).

Tree architecture: For all trees larger than 10-cm dbh (diameter at breast height), the dbh was measured using a standard tape measure in addition to total height, bifurcation index, and crown depth, which were measured with a spiegel relascope following standard instrumental procedures. The bifurcation index is the percentage of tree height below the first major branch, and crown depth is the distance from the lowest leaves to the total height. Additionally, crown radius was measured four times; once at each point of the compass and averaged.

Density of tree size classes: Densities of all saplings (<5 cm dbh), poles (5–10 cm dbh), and trees (>10 cm dbh) were estimated. These were divided into the following five classes: (a) short saplings < 5 m, (b) tall saplings > 5 m, (c) short poles < 10 m, (d) tall poles > 10 m, and (e) trees.

Canopy cover: Measured at the centre of each plot using a spherical densiometer, a tool that provides an estimate of canopy closure by counting the number of cells covered by vegetation in a concave mirror. Four readings were taken at each compass point and values were averaged.

LITERATURE CITED

Mueller-Dombois, D., and H. Ellenberg 1974. Aims and Methods of Vegetation Ecology. John Wiley and Sons. New York, New York, USA.

Vanclay, J. K., A. N. Gillison, and R. J. Keenan. 1997. Using plant functional attributes to quantify site productivity and growth patterns in mixed forests. Forest Ecology and Management 94:149–163.



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