Malaysian Rainforest

Major forest types in Malaysia are lowland dipterocarp forest, hill dipterocarp forest, upper hill dipterocarp forest, oak-laurel forest, montane ericaceous forest, peat swamp forest and mangrove forest. In addition, there also smaller areas of freshwater swamp forest, heath forest, forest on limestone and forest on quartz ridges.

The forests in Malaysia are mostly dominated by trees from the Dipterocarpaceae family, hence the term ‘dipterocarp forests’. The dipterocarp forest occurs on dry land just above sea level to an altitude of about 900 metres.

The term ‘dipterocarp’ specifically refers to the fact that most of the largest trees in this forest belong to one plant family known as Dipterocarpaceae. It was so called because their fruits have seeds with two wings (di = two; ptero = wing; carp = seed).

This type of forest can be classified according to altitude into lowland dipterocarp forest (LDF), up to 300m above sea level, and hill dipterocarp forest (HDF) found in elevation of between 300m and 750m above sea level, and the upper dipterocarp forests, from 750m to 1,200m above sea level. However in Sarawak both the lowland and hill dipterocap forests are known as mixed-dipterocarp forest (MDF).

The Peninsular Malaysian Rain Forests ecoregion, with 195 mammal species, has the second most mammal species in the Indo-Pacific, behind the Borneo Lowland Rain Forests. Yet most of the wide-ranging or top carnivore species lead a tenuous existence in these biologically outstanding forests. The tiger, Asian elephant, Sumatran rhinoceros, Malayan tapir, gaur, and clouded leopard all fall into this category. As in many other tropical forests in this region, habitat loss and poaching are the two primary reasons for the decline in these and other species.

Location and General Description

Taman Negara National Park, Malaysia

This ecoregion is made up of the lowland moist forests of peninsular Malaysia and the extreme southern part of Thailand. There are no clear seasons in peninsular Malaysia, and rainfall is plentiful year-round. Two monsoons punctuate the region. From October to March a northeastern monsoon brings extra rain to the eastern side of peninsular Malaysia. The southwest monsoon, which is more powerful, bathe the western side of peninsular Malaysia with rain from April to August. Based on the Köppen climate zone system, this ecoregion falls in the tropical wet climate zone.