Edaphic Relationships among Tree Species in the National Park at Merapoh, Pahang, Malaysia

A study was conducted in the National Park at Merapoh, Pahang in Peninsular Malaysia to examine the relationships between tree communities and its soil characteristics. Tree species inventory and soil samplings were carried out in 18 subplots of 10 m x 10 m within a 2-ha permanent plot. The measured soil variables include pH; organic matter (OM) content; available Mg, P and K; total inorganic-N; and content of clay and silt. A total of 251 trees were enumerated comprising of 150 species from 83 genera and 39 families. The most important species based on the highest importance value (IVi) was Knema furfuracea with an IVi, of 3.96%. Soils of the study site were acidic and showed clay texture, while available nutrients were of low to medium concentrations. A floristic compositional pattern was observed among all surveyed subplots which were correlated to the edaphic variables as revealed by canonical correspondence analysis. Soil pH, inorganic-N and phosphorus appear to be the principal environmental determinants of tree communities in the study plots.