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Species Composition and Environmental Factors, Including Human Impacts, on Coastal Sand-Dunes and Maritime Strand- Forests in Southern Thailand

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Species Composition and Environmental Factors, Including Human Impacts, on Coastal Sand-Dunes and Maritime Strand- Forests in Southern Thailand TROPICS Vol. 14 (3) Issued March 15, 2005 Species composition and environmental factors, including human impacts, on coastal sand-dunes and maritime strand- forests in Southern Thailand 1) 2) Daisuke HAYASAKA and Kazue FUJIWARA 1) Graduate School of Environment and Information Sciences, Yokohama National University, Hodogaya-ku, Tokiwadai 79-7, Yokohama, 240-8501 JAPAN E-mail: [email protected] 2) Faculty of Environment and Information Sciences, Yokohama National University, Hodogaya-ku, Tokiwadai 79-7, Yokohama, 240-8501 JAPAN ABSTRACT The relationship between species composition and environmental factors, including human activities, such as beach cleaning, mowing and trampling, in Southern Thailand’s maritime strand forests and sand dunes, -, was studied in order to assist in the development of a plan for the conservation of coastal plant species. Species composition at the study sites was studied using the phytosociological method (full-floristic inventory and total cover estimate of each species in quadrats). Quadrats are homogeneous representative samples of vegetation, varying from 9 to 100m2. The following environmental data were collected at the site: width of sand dune, beach type, beach management type (beach cleaning), seawater salinity, slope, aspect, micro-topography and the amount of discarded garbage. Based on these data, two results were found: 1. The species composition of the sites was shown to be similar by the Bray-Curtis method, based on phytosociological relevé samplings; and 2. The main factors determining species composition were wind speed, rainfall, soil texture, salinity and especially beach management practices, based on the CCA method. Most of the general coastal species use thalassochory (seed dispersal by sea currents) and are distributed from tropical to subtropical regions, including the Okinawa Islands of Japan. The diversity of coastal plants was sustained by beach management practices on abandoned beaches, such as garbage cleaning and mowing. There were many shrubs (microphanerophytes) and sub-canopy trees (mesophytes) as a result of burning and cutting. Regeneration of maritime strand-forest species could be seen in open areas that resulted from burning and cutting. The spectra of life forms (dormancy types) varied from site to site, due to varying environmental conditions and human activities. Key words: beach management, Bray-Curtis method, canonical correspondence analysis (CCA), coastal sand-dune, maritime strand-forest, similarity, species composition, southern Thailand INTRODUCTION Sites with water environmental conditions such as seacoasts, sand dunes, mangroves, swamps, marshes and rivers, and the organisms living in these habitats, are sensitive to environmental change (Omura et al., 1999). Coastal areas of Thailand are intensively exploited to sustain the current high level of economic activity of this country. Many researchers have investigated the distribution and classification of coastal sand-dune vegetation in temperate and boreal regions and in South America (Tatewaki & Ro, 1960; Chapman, 1964; Richmond & Muller-Dombois, 1972; Ohba et al., 1973; Morrison & Yarranton, 1974; Barbour et al., 1976; Moreno-Casasola & Espejel, 1986; Allen & Allen, 1988; Olff et al., 1993). The relationship between vegetation and micro-topography of sand dunes has been studied mainly by Nakanishi (1982), Nakanishi & Fukumoto (1987; 1993; 1994), Seelinger (1992), Olff et al. (1993), van der Veen et al. (1997) and Moreno- Casasola & Vazquez (1999). Although there were many conservation studies for river and marsh species (National Research Council, 1992; van der Valk et al., 1992; Koike et al., 2003), there are few studies for coastal sand-dune vegetation, especially in Southeast Asia. Although there are more species with a high extinction risk in marshes and the rivers than at the coast, coastal plant species are also sensitive to environmental changes. Hewett (1985) and Sasaki et al. (2002) reported that species diversity in sand dunes was influenced by grazing and soil compaction by mobile vehicles. In this paper we describe the relationship between species composition and environmental factors in Southern Thailand, along with human activities, such as beach cleaning, mowing and trampling. The goal of the study is to assist in the development of a plan to conserve coastal plant species. As the distance from the shoreline increases, the maritime influence lessens and the coastal sand-dune vegetation changes, depending on wind, salt spray and sand-dune creation. The important environmental factors of sand-dune vegetation are salt spray, depth of the water table, wave action and sand movement by wind (Randall, 1970; Nakanishi, 1982; Middleton & Schimpf, 1986; Moreno-Casasola, 1986; Nakanishi & Fukumoto, 1987; Barker et al., 1989; Martinez et al., 1997; Moreno-Casasola & Vazquez, 1999). These factors may act alone, or in combination with others, and impacts of each will vary according to local environmental conditions. Thus, differences in the community 246 Daisuke HAYASAKA and Kazue FUJIWARA and species composition of the sites relate to local variations in abiotic conditions, such as salt spray, sand movement, as well as human impacts. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study was carried out in the Phuket Islands and Songkhla Province (Figure 1). The Phuket Islands are located between 8°07’ and 7°53’ N latitude and between 98°19’ and 98°24’E longitude; they face the Andaman Sea. In Phuket, there are two national-park beaches (Nai Yan and Mai Khao Beach), and two resort beaches (Kamala and Karon Beach). Songkhla is located at 7°12’N latitude and 100°03’E longitude, and faces the South China Sea. In Songkhla, there are a resort beach (Sai Kaeo Beach) and two recreation beaches for Thai citizens only (Chalatat and Samila Beach). Climatic data (temperature, relative humidity, sunshine duration, wind speed, rainfall) and Kira’s (1977) Warmth Index are shown in Table 1. The two regions have similar climate conditions, except for rainfall, which is between 2317 to 2504mm in Phuket, but only 2035mm in Songkhla. The dry season is from October to April, and the wet season is from May to September. Japan China Thailand Myanmar Cambodia Phuket Islands Gulf of Thailand Nai Yan Beach Mai Khao Beach Karon Beach Songkhla Province Kamala Beach Chalatat Beach Andaman sea Samila Beach Sai Kaeo Beach Malaysia Fig. 1. Map of Thailand, South-east Asia, showing the study sites. Nai Yan and Mai Khao are in the northern Phuket Islands, Kamala is in central Phuket, and Karon is in southern Phuket. Samila, Chalatat and Sai Kaeo are in Songkhla Province. Table 1. Climatic characteristics of the study sites (data for the period 1961-1990). Phuket Phuket Airport Songkhla Latitude 7 53N 8 07N 7 12N Longitude 98 24E 98 19E 100 03E Temperature (°C) 28.1 27.4 27.9 Relative humidity (%) 75 80 77 Rainfall (mm) 2316.8 2503.6 2035.1 Warmth Index (WI) 277.6 268.7 274.9 ※ For Nai Yan and Mai Khao Beach, data are from Phuket Airport. For Kamala and Karon Beach, data are from Phuket. For Chalatat, Samila and Sai Kaeo Beach, data are from Songkhla. Species composition at the study sites was studied using the phytosociological method (Braun-Blanquet, 1964; Fujiwara, 1987), based on investigations between September 2003 and March 2004. The number of field relevés at the seven study sites was 338, ranging in size from 1 to 100m2. At the sites, the following data were collected: width of sand dune, distance from the shoreline, elevation, beach type, beach management type (e.g. beach cleaning), seawater salinity, slope, aspect, micro-topography and the amount of Species composition and environmental factors, including human impacts, on coastal sand-dunes and maritime strand-forests in Southern Thailand 247 discarded garbage (Table 1). Beach use types were established as follow: (1) natural-park beach, (2) recreation beach for natives and (3) resort beach for visitors. Rank variables for beach management activity, including cleaning seaweed and discarding garbage, and mowing, were as follows: (1) very little cleaning or no cleaning, (2) cleaning by manpower only, (3) cleaning by manpower and mowing, (4) beach cleaning by manpower, mowing and burning. A handheld refractometer (Bellingham＋Stanley Inc) was used to measure seawater salinity. Soil texture was classified as follows based on grain diameter: fine gravel, above 2.0mm in diameter; coarse sand from 2.0 to 0.2mm; fine sand, from 0.2 to 0.02mm; and silt, under 0.02mm. The amount of discarded garbage in each quadrat was classified as follows: (＋) under 1%, (1) under 5%, (2) under 25%, (3) under 50%, (4) under 75% and (5) above 75%. Species’ life forms were categorized into dormancy forms based on Raunkiaer (1934) and Numata (1947). Plants were classified as annuals (therophyte: Th), perennials (chamaephyte: Ch, hemicryptophyte: H, geophyte: G), dwarf shrubs (nanophanerophyte: N), shrubs (microphanerophyte: M), or sub-canopy trees (mesophyte: MM). The sites were shown to have similar species composition, based on the Bray-Curtis method (1957). To create a diagram we calculated the percentage of similarity of Sørensen (PS) and the percentage of distance (PD) and applied the equations to the Bray-Curtis method, where 2Σmin( xi, yi) PS = i Σ( xi+yi) i xi and yi represent the appearance ratio of each species (i) to the number of research quadrats on x and y study beaches; and PD = 100－PS The relationships between species composition and environmental factors, including human activities, were clarified using Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) (ter Braak, 1986, 1994, 1995). Before the CCA was carried out, we excluded the correlated factors in order to reduce co-linearity. The independent variable was the total cover estimate of each species on each quadrat, and dependent variables were site conditions and environmental factors, including human impacts. RESULTS Beach characteristics There are very few visitors in Nai Yan and especially in Mai Khao Beach, because of their inaccessibility so there is little beach management. On the other hand, many visitors come to Kamala Beach, and there are many structures, such as beach houses as well as beach chairs.
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