Reestablishment of rattans after forest fire in East Kalimantan, Borneo

Abstract

We quantified the reestablishment of rattans (climbing palms) after severe forest fires in 1997–1998 caused by the El Niño Southern Osci l lation event in Buki t Bangkirai , East Kalimantan, Borneo. We established a 1-ha study plot in unburned forest (K1) and two 1-ha plots in burned forest (LD2 and HD2, 200 and 800 m away from unburned forest, respectively). In 2006 the number of species and stem density of rattans including seedlings were 16 and 8 species ha–1 and 88 and 24 s tems ha –1 in LD2, and HD2, respectively. These values were lower than those in K1, where 23 species and 3321 stems were recorded. The dominant species in burned plots were Ceratolobus concolor, Korthalsia debilis, and Plectocomiopsis geminiflora, which were minor components in the unburned plot. Rattans likely recolonized burned forest sites by seeds transferred from neighboring unburned forest by birds and animals. The distance from unburned forest appeared to affect the speed of the recovery in the burned plots. Although recovery of the stem density of rattans was slower than that of trees in burned plots, it will likely increase gradually because the number of recruits consistently exceeded mortality during our study period (February 2006 to August 2007). However, it is not clear whether species composition and the density in burned forests recover to preburned levels.