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Heavy metals in emergent trees and pioneers from tropical forest with special reference to forest fires and local pollution sources in Sarawak, Malaysia

Breulman G, Markert B, Weckert V, Herpin U, Yoneda R, Ogino K

Sci Total Environ, 2002 Feb 21;285(1-3):107-15.
PMID: 11874033

Leaf samples of tropical trees, i.e. Dryobalanops lanceolata (Kapur paji), Dipterocarpaceae and Macaranga spp. (Mahang), Euphorbiaceae were analyzed for 21 chemical elements. The pioneer Macaranga spp. exhibited higher concentrations for the majority of elements compared to the emergent species of Dryobalanops lanceolata, which was attributed to the higher physiological activity of the fast growing pioneer species compared to emergent trees. Lead showed rather high concentrations in several samples from the Bakam re-forestation site. This is suggested to be caused by emissions through brick manufacturing and related activities in the vicinity. A comparison of Dryobalanops lanceolata samples collected in 1993, 1995 and 1997 in the Lambir Hills National Park revealed that certain heavy metals, i.e. Co, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb and Ti showed higher values in 1997 compared to the previous years, which could indicate an atmospheric input from the haze caused by the extensive forest fires raging in Borneo and other parts of Southeast Asia.

Matched MeSH terms: Forestry*
Climate change in Malaysia: Trends, contributors, impacts, mitigation and adaptations

Tang KHD

Sci Total Environ, 2019 Feb 10;650(Pt 2):1858-1871.
PMID: 30290336 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.09.316

PURPOSE: This paper reviews the past and future trends of climate change in Malaysia, the major contributors of greenhouse gases and the impacts of climate change to Malaysia. It also reviews the mitigation and adaptations undertaken, and future strategies to manage the impacts of regional climate change.
METHODOLOGY: The review encompasses historical climate data comprising mean daily temperature, precipitation, mean sea level and occurrences of extreme weather events. Future climate projections have also been reviewed in addition to scholarly papers and news articles related to impacts, contributors, mitigation and adaptations in relation to climate change.
FINDINGS: The review shows that annual mean temperature, occurrences of extreme weather events and mean sea level are rising while rainfall shows variability. Future projections point to continuous rise of temperature and mean sea level till the end of the 21st century, highly variable rainfall and increased frequency of extreme weather events. Climate change impacts particularly on agriculture, forestry, biodiversity, water resources, coastal and marine resources, public health and energy. The energy and waste management sectors are the major contributors to climate change. Mitigation of and adaptations to climate change in Malaysia revolve around policy setting, enactment of laws, formulation and implementation of plans and programmes, as well as global and regional collaborations, particularly for energy, water resources, agriculture and biodiversity. There are apparent shortcomings in continuous improvement and monitoring of the programmes as well as enforcement of the relevant laws.
ORIGINALITY/VALUE: This paper presents a comprehensive review of the major themes of climate change in Malaysia and recommends pertinent ways forward to fill the gaps of mitigation and adaptations already implemented.

Matched MeSH terms: Forestry
Fulltext Impact of long-term forest enrichment planting on the biological status of soil in a deforested dipterocarp forest in Perak, Malaysia

Karam DS, Arifin A, Radziah O, Shamshuddin J, Majid NM, Hazandy AH, et al.

ScientificWorldJournal, 2012;2012:641346.
PMID: 22606055 DOI: 10.1100/2012/641346

Deforestation leads to the deterioration of soil fertility which occurs rapidly under tropical climates. Forest rehabilitation is one of the approaches to restore soil fertility and increase the productivity of degraded areas. The objective of this study was to evaluate and compare soil biological properties under enrichment planting and secondary forests at Tapah Hill Forest Reserve, Perak after 42 years of planting. Both areas were excessively logged in the 1950s and left idle without any appropriate forest management until 1968 when rehabilitation program was initiated. Six subplots (20 m × 20 m) were established within each enrichment planting (F1) and secondary forest (F2) plots, after which soil was sampled at depths of 0-15 cm (topsoil) and 15-30 cm (subsoil). Results showed that total mean microbial enzymatic activity, as well as biomass C and N content, was significantly higher in F1 compared to F2. The results, despite sample variability, suggest that the rehabilitation program improves the soil biological activities where high rate of soil organic matter, organic C, N, suitable soil acidity range, and abundance of forest litter is believed to be the predisposing factor promoting higher population of microbial in F1 as compared to F2. In conclusion total microbial enzymatic activity, biomass C and biomass N evaluation were higher in enrichment planting plot compared to secondary forest. After 42 years of planting, rehabilitation or enrichment planting helps to restore the productivity of planted forest in terms of biological parameters.

Matched MeSH terms: Forestry/methods
Changes in abundance and behaviour of vector mosquitoes induced by land use during the development of an oil palm plantation in Sarawak

Chang MS, Hii J, Buttner P, Mansoor F

Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg, 1997 7 1;91(4):382-6.
PMID: 9373626

Surveys were conducted of adult and immature mosquitoes in an area undergoing oil palm development in north Sarawak. Point prevalence data from 2 sites were collected annually, coinciding with annual phases of forest clearing, burning/cultivation, and maintenance. Major habitat perturbation during the forest/clearing transition shifted the major mosquito faunal equilibrium in terms of species composition, relative density and occurrence. Analyses of variance showed that the mean numbers of 4 species of Anopheles decreased significantly after forest clearing. Relative densities of immature stages decreased after forest clearing, but A. letifer and Culex tritaeniorhynchus remained relatively unchanged after the second year. Comparisons with the pre-development forest stage showed that the reductions in person-biting rates, adult survival and combined entomological inoculation rates (EIR) of A. donaldi and A. letifer decreased the risk of malaria transmission by 90% over the 4 years period. Concomitant reductions in EIR and annual malaria incidence were also correlated. This study highlighted the 'law of unintended consequences', since 2 contrasting effects were observed: reduction of malaria vectors but concomitant increase of dengue vectors.

Matched MeSH terms: Forestry*
Fulltext Opportunities and Challenges of Economic Development in Malaysia’s Rural Areas

ELLFRELSTERN ANAK EDIRIN

Trends in Undergraduate Research, 2018;1(1):0-0.
MyJurnal

Rural areas play traditionally important role for our economy as well maintaining social stability. Most of the development is entirely dependent on natural resources in the area which is specialized in a limited number of industries such as agriculture, livestock, forestry, fisheries and local tourism. People that live in rural areas have fewer choices in the social and economic terms. They are facing many problems such as low income, unemployment, low quality of social services like education and healthcare. In addition, remoteness from major urban centres is also one of the problems which is implying the need for well-developed transport infrastructure to support economic development. As stated in the Eleventh Malaysia Plan, the Malaysian Government is committed to ensuring equitable opportunities for all segments of society.

Matched MeSH terms: Forestry
Oil palm: disinformation enables deforestation

Koh LP, Wilcove DS

Trends Ecol Evol, 2009 Feb;24(2):67-8.
PMID: 19100653 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2008.09.006
Matched MeSH terms: Forestry*
Artificial neural network modeling of the water quality index using land use areas as predictors

Gazzaz NM, Yusoff MK, Ramli MF, Juahir H, Aris AZ

Water Environ Res, 2015 Feb;87(2):99-112.
PMID: 25790513

This paper describes the design of an artificial neural network (ANN) model to predict the water quality index (WQI) using land use areas as predictors. Ten-year records of land use statistics and water quality data for Kinta River (Malaysia) were employed in the modeling process. The most accurate WQI predictions were obtained with the network architecture 7-23-1; the back propagation training algorithm; and a learning rate of 0.02. The WQI forecasts of this model had significant (p < 0.01), positive, very high correlation (ρs = 0.882) with the measured WQI values. Sensitivity analysis revealed that the relative importance of the land use classes to WQI predictions followed the order: mining > rubber > forest > logging > urban areas > agriculture > oil palm. These findings show that the ANNs are highly reliable means of relating water quality to land use, thus integrating land use development with river water quality management.

Matched MeSH terms: Forestry