Diversity of plant community at Gunung Ledang, Malaysia

Abstract

Gunung Ledang National Park (GLNP) is one of national parks in Peninsular Malaysia. The forest in GLNP is rich in biodiversity which harboring various species as well as important for upstream water regulation and subsequent climate change mitigation. A rapid assessment of plant communities and diversity at the park was carried out in June 2014. Five sampling sites were identified based on elevation gradient. Overall, 68 plant species representing 58 genera and 35 families were recorded for all study sites. In each site, the plant species ranged from 15 to 32 species. The plant families with largest number of species in the studied sites were Euphorbiaceae (12 species) and Myrtaceae (5 species). The plant diversity in each site ranged from 2.7 to 3.5 based on Shannon diversity index. Three plant communities of the park separated out: lower (L1 and L2), middle (L3 and L6) and upper (L10) plant communities. Some exotic invasive species had been recorded and they were rated as natural vegetation. It is important to consider them as invasive species because of the obvious negative impacts on local biodiversity and ecosystem functioning of the pristine GLNP; and some actions are needed to remove them.