Forest Resources Management

(WTE 157)
by
Nik Hazlan Nik Hashim
 CHAPTER 1 - Introduction
Summary of Content Learning Outcomes
• Definition of forest and Knowledge of:
forestry. • Define the terminology of
• Scope of forestry. forest and forestry.
• Tropical rain forest. • Explain the scope of
forestry.
• Describe the important of
tropical rain forest.
 Forest:
Is a biological community of plants and animals existing in
a complex interaction with the non-living environment,
which includes such factors as the soil, climate and
physiography. A forest is best defined as an ecosystem or
assemblage of ecosystems dominated by trees and other
woody vegetation.

Forestry:
Art and science of managing forests to produce various
products and benefits including timber, wildlife habitat,
clean water, biodiversity and recreation.
 Scope of forestry:
• Biological Science
• Plant morphology (Luaran)
• Plant physiology (Aktiviti)
• Plant taxonomy (Tatanama)
• Ecology (Persekitaran)
• Geology (Batuan)
• Hydrology (Air)
• Entomology & Pathology (Serangga & Penyakit)
• Silviculture
• Wood Anatomy (Dalaman)
 Scope of forestry cont.
• Physical Science
• Engineering
• Survey and Mensuration
• Statistics
• Research methods
• Social Sciences
• Economics
• Finance and Accountancy
• Marketing
• Law
• Work study
 Scope of forestry cont.
• Land- use
• Recreation
• Wildlife
• Landscape design
• Water supply
• Agro forestry
• Urban forestry
• Technology
• Logging
• Sawmilling
• Wood seasoning and preservation
• Fire control
• Forest road construction
 Tropical Broadleaf Evergreen Forest:
The Rainforest
• The tropical rainforest is earth's most complex
biome in terms of both structure and species
diversity.
• It occurs under optimal growing conditions:
abundant precipitation and year-round warmth.
• There is no annual rhythm to the forest; rather
each species has evolved its own flowering and
fruiting seasons.
• Sunlight is a major limiting factor.
 What is a Rainforest?
• Rainforests are very dense, warm, wet forests.
They are havens for millions of plants and
animals.
• Rainforests are extremely important in the
ecology of the Earth.
• The plants of the rainforest generate much of
the Earth's oxygen.
• These plants are also very important to people
in other ways; many are used in new drugs that
fight disease and illness.
 Where are Rainforests?
• Tropical rainforests are found in a
belt around the equator of the Earth.
• There are tropical rainforests across
South America, Central America,
Africa, Southeast Asia and Australia
(and nearby islands).
 Rainfall
• It is almost always raining in a rainforest.
Rainforests get over 2,540 mm of rain each
year.

• The rain is more evenly distributed

throughout the year in a tropical rainforest
(even though there is a little seasonality). In
a temperate rainforest, there are wet and
dry seasons.
 Temperature

The temperature in a rainforest never freezes and never gets

very hot. The range of temperature in a tropical rainforest is
usually between 75° F and 80° F (24-27°C). Temperate
rainforests rarely freeze or get over 80° F (27° C).
The Soil in a Rainforest

•The soil of a tropical rainforest is only about 3-4 inches

(7.8-10 cm) thick. Thick clay lies underneath the soil. Once
damaged, the soil of a tropical rainforest takes many years
to recover.
•Temperate rainforests have soil that is richer in nutrients,
relatively young and less prone to damage.
 The Importance of Rainforests
• Tropical rainforests cover about 7% of the Earth's surface and
are VERY important to the Earth's ecosystem. The rainforests
recycle and clean water.

• Tropical rainforest trees and plants also remove carbon dioxide

from the atmosphere and store it in their roots, stems, leaves,
and branches.

• Rainforests affect the greenhouse effect, which traps heat

inside the Earth's atmosphere.

• Some of the foods that were originally from rainforests around

the world include chestnut, bananas, pineapple, cucumber,
cocoa (chocolate), coffee, tea, avocado, papaya, guava, mango,
tapioca, sweet potato, cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg, mace,
ginger, pepper, oranges, grapefruit, lemons, limes, peanuts,
rice, sugar cane, and coconuts (mostly from coastal areas).
 People Living in Tropical Rainforests
• There are many indigenous groups of people who have
live in the tropical rainforests. Many of these groups,
like the Yanomamo tribe of the Amazon rainforests of
Brazil and southern Venezuela, have lived in scattered
villages in the rainforests for hundreds or thousands of
years. These tribes get their food, clothing, and
housing mainly from materials they obtain in the
forests.
• Forest people are mostly hunter-gatherers; they get
their food by hunting for meat (and fishing for fish) and
gathering edible plants, like starchy roots and fruit.
Many also have small gardens in cleared areas of the
forest. Since the soil in the rainforest is so poor, the
garden areas must be moved after just a few years, and
another part of the forest is cleared.
 Characteristic of tropical rainforest
1) There are layers or strata
Tropical rainforests have four layers:
a) Emergent (30-50m)
b) Main canopy (21-30m)
c) Understorey (15-21m)
d) Forest floor (Shrubs) (0-15m)
2) There are thick humus layer
3) Evergreen
4) Species richness
5) Old age
6) Unique adaptation
Tropical Rainforest Strata
Scientists divide the rainforest into strata (zones) based on the
living environment. Starting at the top, the strata are:

• EMERGENTS: Giant trees that are much

higher than the average canopy height. It
houses many birds and insects.

• CANOPY: The upper parts of the trees.

This leafy environment is full of life in a
tropical rainforest and includes: insects,
birds, reptiles, mammals, and more.

• UNDERSTORY: A dark, cool environment

under the leaves but over the ground.

• FOREST FLOOR: Teeming with animal life,

especially insects. The largest animals in
the rainforest generally live here.
Growth forms:
Various growth forms represent strategies to reach sunlight:

Epiphytes:
• The so-called air plants grow on
branches high in the trees, using the
limbs merely for support and
extracting moisture from the air and
trapping the constant leaf-fall and
wind-blown dust.
• Bromeliads (pineapple family) are
especially abundant in the
neotropics; the orchid family is
widely distributed in all three
formations of the tropical rainforest.
Growth forms cont.:
Various growth forms represent strategies to reach sunlight:

Lianas:
• Woody vines grow rapidly
up the tree trunks when
there is a temporary gap in
the canopy and flower and
fruit in the treetops of the A
and B layers. Many are
deciduous.
Growth forms cont.:
Various growth forms represent strategies to reach sunlight:

Climbers:
• Green-stemmed plants that
remain in the understory.
Many climbers, including
the ancestors of the
domesticated yams (Africa)
and sweet potatoes (South
America), store nutrients in
roots and tubers.
Growth forms cont.:
Various growth forms represent strategies to reach sunlight:

Stranglers:
• These plants begin life as
epiphytes in the canopy
and send their roots
downward to the forest
floor. The fig family is
well represented among
stranglers.
Heterotrophs:
Non-photosynthetic plants can live on the forest
floor.
• Parasites: derive their nutrients by tapping into
the roots or stems of photosynthetic species.
Rafflesia sp., a root parasite of a liana, has the
world's largest flower, more than three feet in
diameter. It produces an odor similar to rotting
flesh to attract pollinating insects.
• Saprophytes: derive their nutrients from
decaying organic matter. Some orchids employ
this strategy common to fungi and bacteria.
 Common characteristics of tropical trees
Tropical species frequently possess one or more of
the following attributes not seen in trees of higher
latitudes.

• Buttresses
• Large leaves
• Drip tips
 Other characteristics
• Exceptionally thin bark, often only 1-2 mm
thick. Usually very smooth, although
sometimes armed with spines or thorns.
• Cauliflory, the development of flowers (and
hence fruits) directly from the trunk, rather
than at the tips of branches.
• Large fleshy fruits attract birds, mammals,
and even fish as dispersal agents.