Dipterocarpaceae Temporal range: | |
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Dipterocarpus retusus | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Malvales |
Family: | Dipterocarpaceae Blume (1825) [2] |
Genera | |
Dipterocarpaceae is a family of 16 genera and about 695 known species [3] of mainly tropical lowland rainforest trees. Their distribution is pantropical, from northern South America to Africa, the Seychelles, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines. [4] [5] The greatest diversity of Dipterocarpaceae occurs in Borneo. [6]
The largest genera are Shorea (196 species), Hopea (104 species), Dipterocarpus (70 species), and Vatica (65 species). [7] Many are large forest-emergent species, typically reaching heights of 40–70 m, some even over 80 m (in the genera Dryobalanops , [7] Hopea [8] and Shorea ), [8] with the tallest known living specimen ( Shorea faguetiana ) 93.0 m tall. [8] Name Menara, or tower in Malaysian, this specimen is a yellow meranti tree. It grows in Danum Valley in Sabah. [9]
The species of this family are of major importance in the timber trade. Some species are now endangered as a result of overcutting, extensive illegal logging, and habitat conversion. They provide valuable woods, aromatic essential oils, balsam, and resins, and are a source for plywood.
The family name comes from the type genus Dipterocarpus which is derived from Greek words διdi "two", πτερόνpteron "wing", and καρπόςkarpós "fruit"; the words combined refer to the two-winged fruit available from trees of that genus, other related genuses with winged fruits of more than two are included in the family as well. [10]
The dipterocarp family is generally divided into two subfamilies:
Phylogeny of the Dipterocarpaceae [6] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A recent genetic study found that the Asian dipterocarps share a common ancestor with the Sarcolaenaceae, a tree family endemic to Madagascar. [14] This suggests that ancestor of the dipterocarps originated in the southern supercontinent of Gondwana, and that the common ancestor of the Asian dipterocarps and the Sarcolaenaceae was found in the India-Madagascar-Seychelles land mass millions of years ago, and were carried northward by India, which later collided with Asia and allowed the dipterocarps to spread across Southeast Asia and Malaysia. Although associated with Southeast Asia in contemporary times, recent studies using fossil pollen and molecular data suggest an African origin in the mid-cretaceous. [15] Prior to this research, the first dipterocarp pollen was found in Myanmar (which at that time was part of the Indian plate) and it dates from the upper Oligocene. [16] The sample appears to slowly increase in terms of diversity and abundance across the region into the mid-Miocene. [16] Chemical traces of dipterocarp resins have been found dating back to the Eocene of India. The oldest fossil of the family are from the latest Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) aged Intertrappean Beds of India, assignable to the extant genus Dipterocarpus . [17]
Subfamily Pakaraimoideae containing the sole genus Pakaraimaea , formerly placed here and native to the Guaianan highlands of South America, is now found to be more closely related the Cistaceae and is placed there in the APG IV (2016). [18]
Some 52-million-year-old amber found in the Gujarat province, India, containing a large amount of fossilized arthropods, was identified as sap from the family Dipterocarpaceae. [19]
Dipterocarpaceae species can be either evergreen or deciduous. [20] Species occurring in Thailand grow from sea level to about 1300 m elevation. Environments in which the species of the family occur in Thailand include lowland dipterocarp forest 0–350 m, riparian fringe, limestone hills, and coastal hills.
The dipterocarps has dominated the Borneo lowland rain forests for millions of years. [21]
As the dominant tree in Southeast Asia, the Dipterocarp family has seen extensive study relating to its conservation status. They are a keystone species of the native forests of this region, and are essential to their function and structure.
One study by Pang et al. examined the impacts of climate change and land cover on the distribution of this important tree family in the Philippines. They used species distribution models (SDMs) for 19 species that were projected onto both current and future climate scenarios, with current land cover incorporated as well. They found that the current land cover alone reduced the species distributions by 67%, and 37% in protected areas. On the other hand, climate change reduced species distributions by 16-27% in both protected and unprotected areas. There was also an upward shift in elevation of species distribution as a result of climate change, as habitats changed. They concluded that there was a need to improve protected area planning as refuges for critical species, with SDMs proving to be a useful tool for providing projections that can then be incorporated into this planning process. [22]
Another paper by Shishir et al. also investigated the potential effects of climate change on a threatened Dipterocarp tree in Purbachal, Bangladesh. Using a model that incorporated nine different environmental variables such as climate, geography, and soil conditions, they looked at two climate scenarios. They found that precipitation and soil nitrogen were the largest determinants of distribution, and that suitable habitat for this species will decline by 21-28% relative to the present land area as a result of climate change. [23]
The Sarcolaenaceae are a family of flowering plants endemic to Madagascar. The family includes 79 species of mostly evergreen trees and shrubs in ten genera.
Shorea is a genus of about 196 species of mainly rainforest trees in the family Dipterocarpaceae. The genus is named after Sir John Shore, the governor-general of the British East India Company, 1793–1798. The timber of trees of the genus is sold under the common names lauan, luan, lawaan, meranti, seraya, balau, bangkirai, and Philippine mahogany.
Dipterocarpus is a genus of flowering plants and the type genus of family Dipterocarpaceae.
Hopea depressinerva is a tree in the family Dipterocarpaceae, native to Borneo. The specific epithet depressinerva means "sunken nerve", referring to the leaf veins.
Hopea mesuoides is a tree in the family Dipterocarpaceae, native to Borneo. The specific epithet mesuoides refers to the species' resemblance to the genus Mesua.
Hopea pedicellata is a tree in the family Dipterocarpaceae. The specific epithet pedicellata, refers to the species' prominent pedicel.
Hopea sangal is a tree in the family Dipterocarpaceae. It is native to tropical Asia.
Shorea leprosula is a species of tree in the family Dipterocarpaceae. It is native to Sumatra, Borneo, Peninsular Malaysia, Java, and Thailand.
Vatica harmandiana, also known by the synonym Vatica cinerea, is a species of plant in the family Dipterocarpaceae. It is a smallish tree native to Southeast Asia. It is the most common plant species in certain types of mature woodland habitat within its range and is furthermore common in disturbed secondary forests covering much of its range, nonetheless it was considered, along with most Dipterocarpaceae, to be endangered by the IUCN between 1998 and 2017. It is usually not commercially harvested except for local use.
Shorea crassa is a species of plant in the family Dipterocarpaceae. It is endemic to Borneo. The species name is derived from Latin and refers to thick leaf blade.
Dipterocarpus condorensis is a species of plant in the evergreen or semi-evergreen family Dipterocarpaceae.
The Borneo lowland rain forests is an ecoregion, within the tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests biome, of the large island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. It supports approximately 15,000 plant species, 380 bird species and several mammal species. The Borneo lowland rain forests is diminishing due to logging, hunting and conversion to commercial land use.
Pakaraimaea is a genus of trees in the family Cistaceae. The genus contains a single species, Pakaraimaea dipterocarpacea, from South America. It was formerly placed in subfamily Pakaraimoideae of the family Dipterocarpaceae. The species is found in the western highlands of Guyana and in adjacent Bolivar State in Venezuela. It maintains strong ectomycorrhizal associations with a wide variety of fungal species. The trees can sometimes be seen forming large stands in the western Guyanas.
Dipterocarpus dyeri (Khmer: rôyiëng, chhë tiël pruhs, chhë tiël th'nô:r, local name Kompong Thom: chhieutiel chgor, name used for commercial timber and the group of trees harvested for such: keruing, Vietnamese: Dầu Song Nàng, is a species of tree in the family Dipterocarpaceae found in Myanmar, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, and northwestern Borneo. The tree is found in rain forest and lowland semi-evergreen dipterocarp forests, an alternative habitat description is mixed dense forests of the plains, mainly among rivers and valleys. The tree is a climax or late successional species, which in some secondary forests forms relatively young pure colonies. The conservation status is based on rates of habitat loss, the major threat to the taxa, though in Vietnam it is cited as having a less threatened conservation status of Vulnerable.
Dipterocarpus intricatus is a species of tree in the family Dipterocarpaceae found in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.
Ulu Telupid Forest Reserve is a protected forest reserve in Tongod District of Sandakan Division, Sabah, Malaysia. First established in 1972, it was designated as a Class 1 Protection Forest by the Sabah Forestry Department in 1984. Its area is 6,460 hectares (64.6 km2), down from its former size of 7,508 hectares (75.08 km2). Prior to being established as a forest reserve, the area was used for logging and palm oil plantations. The reserve is mostly mountainous, consisting mainly of mixed dipterocarp forest. The land surrounding the reserve includes a town, oil palm plantations, rubber plantations, and rice paddies. It is threatened by fires and illegal logging. In some areas agricultural activities have encroached into the protected area. Since 2000 there has been a net loss of just under 2% of the reserve's forested area. There is a small level of ecotourism activity in the reserve, consisting of guided tours from a nearby village, which provides livelihood alternatives to logging and poaching.
Gomantong Forest Reserve is a protected forest reserve in Sandakan and Kinabatangan Districts of Sandakan Division, Sabah, Malaysia. It was designated as a Class 1 Protection Forest by the Sabah Forestry Department in 1984. Its area is 3,297 hectares (32.97 km2). The Gomantong Caves are within the reserve. Gomantong's terrain consists of low to moderate hills and flat areas with swamps. The forest is a mixture of dipterocarp and swamp forest.
Botitian Forest Reserve is a protected forest reserve in Beluran District of Sandakan Division, Sabah, Malaysia. It was designated as a Class 1 Protection Forest by the Sabah Forestry Department in 1992. Its area is 2,145 hectares (21.45 km2). Botitian's terrain is mountainous in the reserve's centre, to low hills and flat land in the western and eastern sections. The forest is mainly secondary with pioneer species. Canopy trees are mainly dipterocarp.
Geoffrey Howorth Spencer Wood was an English botanist. He obtained an MA in botany and forestry from Oxford University in 1952. In 1954 he became Curator at the Sandakan Herbarium in present-day Sabah. His main area of interest was trees in the family Dipterocarpaceae. He died in 1957 from injuries suffered in a fuel explosion on a botanical expedition in the Andulau Hills of Brunei.
Shorea parvistipulata, locally known as kawang daun merah, is a species of tree in the family Dipterocarpaceae. It is endemic to Borneo, where it is widespread in lowland and hill rain forests.