Tree health of mixed species in urban forest of Taman Rimba Alam, Putrajaya, Malaysia
Taman Rimba Alam (TRA) is a hidden gem located in Malaysia’s administrative capital, Putrajaya. It was initially conceptualised as an urban forestry showcase that is a combination of a sustainable tropical forest ecosystem and a metropolitan recreational park. This homogenous, man– made forest w...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2017
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| Online Access: | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/70912/1/FH%202017%2014%20-%20IR.pdf http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/70912/ |
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| Summary: | Taman Rimba Alam (TRA) is a hidden gem located in Malaysia’s
administrative capital, Putrajaya. It was initially conceptualised as an urban
forestry showcase that is a combination of a sustainable tropical forest
ecosystem and a metropolitan recreational park. This homogenous, man–
made forest was created with the intention to reap the same benefits as that
of a natural forest especially for communities in urban areas. However, the
status of the trees planted in TRA is unknown. Hence, in order to ensure TRA
realises its functional capacity to the fullest, the health status of its trees is one
major element that must be monitored. This study explores the status of
planted trees in TRA, and has two underlying objectives; to assess the health
of the trees using physical appearance evaluation and to evaluate the growth
performance as well as the mortality rate of the planted trees in the urban
forest of TRA, Putrajaya. Subsequent to this, 644 individual trees from various
species and sizes were selected and assessed. The tree health inspections
were conducted using modified Visual Tree Assessment (VTA) method that
was previously established by the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA).
In order to obtain tree growth performance, the tree increment rate was
determined. This was done by measuring the diameter breast height (DBH)
and height on trees that have been planted for nine years. Mortality rate was
measured by counting the number of dead trees in an established sample plot
(20 x 50m). The assessment of tree health, conducted using the modified VTA
method, showed that 92.78% of all the trees were healthy, i.e. they are in good
condition and live normally without problems. The remaining 7.22% were
found to be problematic; ranging from minor to extremely problematic. The
assessment on mortality recorded a low mortality rate with 6.8% of total
mortality happening in the nine-year period and 0.8% mortality occurring
annually. TRA growth performance yielded good results with average tree mean annual increment (MAI) of DBH 0.98cm (10.07%) annually and MAI of
height of 0.73m (9.1%) annually. The tree DBH and height increment recorded
a fast increment growth with 90.7% and 81.9% increment rate after nine years.
Thus, the high percentage of trees in good condition with low mortality rates,
and the success in tree growth performance shows that the health status of
planted trees in TRA is classified as “good”. To enhance positive TRA health
and to control tree health problems, the TRA planted trees should be
continuously and comprehensively monitored. |
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