Vascular epiphytes (epiphyte) are plants that grow on other plants (hosts). They are one of the major components in tropical rain forests, both in terms of diversity and abundance, and significantly contribute to arboreal biodiversity. Clarifying the distribution pattern of epiphytes is important for understanding their ecology.
The epiphyte distribution is known to be influenced by several factors such as host tree size and host tree species. However, in the Oriental tropics, how such factors affect epiphyte distribution is still poorly understood.
In this study, we aimed to clarify the effect of size and taxonomic factors of host individuals on the species richness and abundance of epiphytes in a primary lowland dipterocarp forest in Borneo island. Ropework techniques and canopy facilities enabled us to record 124 species and 2096 individuals of epiphytes from 432 individuals of host trees composing shrub to emergent layer.
As a result, epiphytes in lowland Borneo showed to distribute quite unevenly, many species and individuals of epiphytes concentrated to large-sized and specific species of dipterocarp trees as habitats. And epiphytes occurring on small-sized trees were observed to be very rare.