Lambir Hills National Park, National park with dipterocarp forest in Sarawak, Malaysia
Lambir Hills National Park covers 6,952 hectares of mixed dipterocarp forest with patches of kerangas heath forest, between 150 and 465 metres above sea level. A 52-hectare forest dynamics plot holds 1,175 tree species, among them tapang trees over 80 metres tall and nearly 80 fig species. Trails range from short flat walks to the steep climb up Bukit Lambir, the park's highest point.
In 1991 the Sarawak Forest Department, Harvard's Center for Tropical Forest Science and Osaka City University's Plant Ecology Laboratory set up the 52-hectare Lambir Hills Forest Dynamics Plot, where every tree over 1.5 cm in diameter was measured, mapped and identified. A full census recorded 1,175 tree species. The park is the last intact patch of lowland dipterocarp forest in Sarawak.
The park's name comes from Bukit Lambir, the hill at its centre. Since 1991 the Sarawak Forest Department, Harvard's Center for Tropical Forest Science and Osaka City University have run a 52-hectare forest dynamics plot here, where every tree over 1.5 cm in diameter is tagged, mapped and re-censused every few years; the first census counted 1,175 species. Visitors pass tagged trunks and research towers on the trails.
The park lies in Miri Division, about 30 km from Miri city, and is reached by road; weekend day-trippers from Miri are common, and chalets can be booked for longer stays. Trails range from short, fairly flat walks to the long, sometimes steep trek to the summit of Bukit Lambir, the park's highest point at 465 m. Leeches are rare, but hikers have needed rescue after injuries and strandings, so carry water and tell someone your route.
The Lambir Hills Forest Dynamics Plot, a 52-hectare grid set up in 1991 with Harvard and Osaka City University, holds 1,175 tree species, possibly the highest tree diversity of any Old World forest. The park also shelters Nepenthes hispida, a pitcher plant found only here and in the surrounding area.
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