Authors:
Hjh Dulima Jali
Book:
Proceedings of the 14th International Peat Congress
Venue:
Stockholm
Keywords:
assisted-natural-regeneration, barriers, degraded-tropical-peatland, seedlings-establishment
Documentfile:
Jali 2012: Barriers to Seedling Regeneration in Fire-Damaged Tropical Peatland of Brunei Darussalam
Summary:
Theme IX. Tropical peatlands
SUMMARY
Identifying the barriers to seedling establishment is essential as such knowledge would be useful to assess and interpret the spatio-temporal variability in vegetation post-disturbance performance and to design effective rehabilitation strategies. In this study the growth of five planted timber species Shorea spp, Dryobalanops rappa, and Agathis alba and other naturally established peatland saplings were monitored for three years. The results show that several interacting factors impose barriers to the growth and survival of these seedlings and arrest their natural succession, namely, competition from ferns and grasses, lack of seed dispersal mechanisms and habitat physical conditions, particularly the hydrological regime. It also highlights the need for management intervention in restoring floristic diversity. Application of Assisted Natural Regeneration (ANR) offers a potential approach that can accelerate natural successional processes by removing or reducing barriers such as competition with weedy species, manipulation of tree stands and addressing the recurrence of fire.