e-flora of Sabah and Sarawak Introduction

 Introduction

BACKGROUND TO THE TREE FLORA
OF SABAH AND SARAWAK PROJECT


E. Soepadmo

Forest Reseach Institute Malaysia,
Kepong, Malaysia


Why a Tree Flora of Sabah and Sarawak?

Borneo, the third largest island in the world, of which Sabah and Sarawak are parts, has been frequently acknowledged as one of the most important centres of plant diversity in the world. The island, which occupies a total land area of approximately 740,000 sq. km, is conservatively estimated to harbour 10,000–12,000 species of flowering plants, representing about 5–6% of the world total (Merrill 1950; van Steenis 1950; Kiew 1984; Mat-Salleh et al. 1992). Of these, 40–50% are endemic to the island, and
up to 80% of the endemic species in Borneo occur in Sabah and Sarawak.

In certain localities in Sabah and Sarawak, where botanical exploration has been carried out more intensively, the species diversity is indeed extremely high. Beaman & Beaman (1990), for instance, have found that the flora of the Mt Kinabalu Park, Sabah, encompassing an area of about 700 sq. km, contains not less than 4,000 species of vascular plants in 180 families and 980 genera.

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