Post-Fire Impacts on Tree Diversity in Coastal Heath Forests of Brunei Darussalam
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Scientia Bruneiana, Vol. 19, No. 1 2020 Post-fire impacts on tree diversity in coastal heath forests of Brunei Darussalam Wardah Haji Tuah1, Kushan Udayanga Tennakoon2, Salwana Md. Jaafar1 and Rahayu Sukmaria Sukri1,3* 1Environmental and Life Sciences Programme, Faculty of Science, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Jalan Tungku Link, BE 1410, Brunei Darussalam 2School of Science, Psychology and Sport, Federation University Australia, Berwick Campus, No.100 Clyde Road, VIC 3806, Australia 3Institute for Biodiversity and Environmental Research, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Jalan Tungku Link, BE 1410, Brunei Darussalam *corresponding author email: [email protected] Abstract The adverse impacts of fires on the diversity of native plants in forest ecosystems are well documented. Tree diversity was studied in coastal heath (Kerangas) forests of Brunei Darussalam, Northwest Borneo after fire events. Eight 20 x 20 m plots were set up in once-burnt (3 plots), twice-burnt (3 plots) and unburnt heath forests (2 plots). All trees (live and dead) with stem diameter of 1 cm and above were censused, and percentage canopy openness and soil variables (pH, gravimetric water and organic matter content, and concentrations of total nitrogen and phosphorus) were measured. Soil pH, gravimetric water content and total nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations, and canopy openness were significantly higher in the burnt plots. Stem diameters were significantly higher in the unburnt heath forests than in the burnt plots. Tree species richness and diversity were significantly lower in the once-burnt plots than in unburnt, intact heath forest plots, indicating a substantial loss of native tree diversity in fire-affected habitats. Tree community compositions of the once-burnt plots were dominated by invasive Acacia mangium, which were abundant in these plots as smaller stems (<10 cm dbh). This study highlights the negative impact of fire on the native tree diversity, soil properties and canopy openness of these coastal Kerangas forests, and further provides preliminary evidence that fire events have facilitated the successful establishment of invasive Acacia species. Index Terms: Borneo, forest fire, disturbance, Kerangas forest, tree diversity, invasive species, Acacia mangium 1. Introduction changes by favouring the growth of one species Fire is a well-known agent of disturbance that (usually fire-adaptive) but suppressing the affects the composition of plant communities in growth of others.4,8 Native plant species often various ecosystems.1,2 Following fire, immediate exhibit low tolerance towards fire events.8,9 ecosystem changes occur, including nutrient Furthermore, fire reduces the ability of native upsurge from nutrient-rich ash formation,3 an plant species to recover as they fail to adapt to increase in light availability as pre-existing plants habitat changes.10-12 The subsequent post-fire in the area are removed or reduced, and the reduction in the plant canopy increases light shifting of hydrological, chemical and microbial penetration and alters the soil characteristics, properties of the soil from their initial states often resulting in unfavourable conditions which because of increased soil porosity and water can exacerbate the increased mortality of the retention.4-7 Consequently, the plant community native species.13-15 19 Scientia Bruneiana, Vol. 19, No. 1 2020 Deforestation, logging and agricultural land use hypothesized that forest fires would affect the changes have resulted in increasing incidences of soil pH, gravimetric water content and nutrient forest fires in Borneo, which are further concentrations within our study sites. aggravated by droughts during El Niño years.16,17 For example, intense droughts during the 1997- 2. Experimental approach 1998 El Niño period resulted in extensive forest fires,18 particularly in Indonesian Borneo.19 2.1 Study site Forest fires directly cause tree mortality,20,21 as Our study was conducted in coastal heath forests well as modifying the forest structure and near the Muara-Tutong Highway and significantly decreasing the plant species surrounding Universiti Brunei Darussalam composition.22 Repeated forest fires have been (4°58'21.89°N 114°53'38.43°E). In the study shown to limit regeneration of native plant area, remnant Kerangas forests and degraded species,20 eventually resulting in the conversion Kerangas forests co-occur as patches within of forest ecosystems into low-diversity urban and settlement areas, as well as Acacia- grasslands,23 often supporting invasive alien invaded habitats. species.9,24,25 Using chronosequences in Google Earth,32 we Although intact Bornean tropical forests are identified locations within the study area in typically protected from fires due to their high which fire events have occurred within a 12-year humidity and rainfall levels,1 high fuel loads period (2003-2014). In particular, we identified during droughts and dry periods are known to sites that were burnt only once (in 2009; increase their susceptibility to fires.26 Bornean henceforth referred to as “Once-burnt”), burnt heath (Kerangas) forests are especially twice (in 2009 and 2013; henceforth referred to vulnerable to fires during droughts and dry as “Twice-burnt”), and sites that did not periods due to their drier soils, more open canopy experience fires from 2003 to 2014 (henceforth and the higher concentrations of plant roots near referred to as “Control”). Within these three sites, the soil surface.27 Within the coastal Kerangas we randomly set up eight 20 x 20 m plots (Plots 1 forests in Brunei Darussalam, anthropogenic fires to 3 in Once-burnt, Plots 4 to 6 in Twice-burnt, occur almost yearly28,29 and these fire events and Plots 7 and 8 in Control; see Figure 1). intensify during El Niño years.30 Following these fire events, invasive Acacia species successfully 2.2 Environmental parameters and soil analysis spread into, and establish in, these disturbed, fire- At each plot, we measured the percentage (%) degraded heath areas, often forming almost canopy openness at the plot centre using a monospecific stands.28 Kerangas forests are high spherical densiometer (Model A, Pioneer Ave conservation value habitats with high plant Rapid City, SD, USA). Soil samples in replicates endemicity, and harbour unique plants such as of four were randomly collected from each plot carnivorous plants and myrmecophytes.29-31 using a soil auger at depths of 0-15 cm, and These heath forests account for less than 1% of bulked for each plot. Fresh samples were used to Brunei’s forests, and occur on nutrient-poor, determine the soil gravimetric water content and acidic sandy soils,31 but are increasingly pH,33 and the remaining fresh samples were air- becoming lost to intensive urbanisation.29 dried and ground, and sieved through a 0.25 mm sieve. We studied the effects of fire on the abundance and diversity of tree flora in coastal Kerangas Air-dried and sieved soil samples were used to forests in Brunei Darussalam. We hypothesized determine the total nitrogen (N) and total that forest fires would lower native Kerangas tree phosphorous (P) concentrations, and organic diversity and affect forest structure in our study matter content. The samples were digested using sites, through a decrease in tree abundance, stem 95-97% H2SO4 and Kjedahl tablets in a block diameter and canopy openness. We also digester (BD-46, LACHAT Instruments, 20 Scientia Bruneiana, Vol. 19, No. 1 2020 Colorado, USA) and the total N and P 2.4 Data analysis concentrations were measured a using Flow The software package R version 3.0.334 was used Injection Analyzer (FIA; Model FIAstar 5000, for all data analyses. One-way ANOVA was used Hoganas, Sweden). The organic matter content to determine between-habitat differences in the was determined using the loss-on-ignition environmental and soil parameters, the stem technique,33 with the samples kept in a 550°C diameters and the abundances of live and dead Gallenkamp furnace size 2 (Apeldoorn, trees. Species richness (defined as the number of Netherland) for two hours. species recorded per plot) and diversity indices (Shannon Index, evenness and Simpson’s Index) 2.3 Measurements of tree diversity were calculated using the vegan package in R All study plots were surveyed in October 2013 to (Version 2.0-10)35. Species richness and diversity February 2014 to assess tree diversity after fire indices were also subjected to one-way ANOVA incidences. Within each plot, all trees with a to determine between-plot differences in tree diameter at breast height (dbh) ≥ 1 cm were species richness and diversity. Assumptions of tagged and their stem diameters were measured. normality and equal variances were checked, and We censused both live and dead trees to assess log10 transformations were used when these were the effects of fire on the tree abundance and violated. Significant ANOVA results were diversity in these plots. Voucher specimens of all further subjected to a Tukey HSD’s test. The live tree species were collected, and identified at non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test was used for the Brunei National Herbarium (BRUN). data that could not be successfully transformed. Figure 1. Locations of the study sites consisting six plots in burnt sites (Plot 1-3 in once-burnt sites; Plots 4-6 in twice-burnt sites) and two controls (Plot 7 and 8) within the coastal heath (Kerangas) forests of Brunei Darussalam. 21 Scientia Bruneiana, Vol. 19, No. 1 2020 3. Results 3.2 Differences in stem diameters and abundance 3.1 Variation in soil parameters and canopy of live and dead trees openness Live trees in the Control plots recorded the The soil pH was highest in the Twice-burnt plots highest mean diameter (7.04 ± 0.47 cm) and the and lowest in the Control plots (p < 0.001; see mean diameter values were significantly different Table 1). The gravimetric water content was between the Once-burnt and Twice-burnt plots (p significantly higher in the Once-burnt than in the < 0.01) and between the Once-burnt and Control Control plots (p < 0.01), while the total N plots (p < 0.001; see Figure 2).