Suitable habitats for the establishment of Shorea Curtisii seedlings in a primary hill forest in Malaysia

The availability of microsites suitable for the establishment of shorea curtisii seedlings mainly depends on the topography and distance from the mother tree. approximately 90% of seedlings are located within 30 m of the mother tree in a selectively logged forest. however,whether these results are also applicable to a primary forest remains unclear. since some s. curtisii seedlings have a considerably long survival time on the forest floor,some seedlings in a selectively logged forest may be derived from the trees that have already been cut down,which may affect statistical analysis. here,we investigated and statistically analysed the relationships between seedling density and topographic index,distance from the mother tree and angle of the slope in a primary forest. in the fitted model,distance from the mother tree and topographic index were significantly correlated with seedling density. we conclude that microsites suitable for the establishment of s. curtisii seedlings are limited by topography and distance from the mother tree not only in a selectively logged forest but also in a primary forest. © forest research institute malaysia.