Palynological Characterisation of Depositional Environment: Lowland and Hill

The dry lowland and hill area which forms the hinterland to the coastal swamps supports a dipterocarp forest, presently the most widespread and richest vegetation type in Borneo.

The dipterocarp vegetation type is palynologically characterised by genera of Dipterocarpus and Dryobalanops, and the families Alangiaceae (Alangium), Leguminosae (Caesalpinia, Crudia), Olacaceae (Anacolosa), Sapotaceae, Steruliaceae (Pterospermum) and a number of palm genera (e.g. Eugeissonia) that appear in this environment. A variant, the Kerangas forest, developed on leached, poor soils, produces large quantities of Dacrydium and Casuarina pollen and Lycopodium cernuum spores. Kerangas forests occur also along the coast (Figure 1.3).

Back to Palynological Characterisation of Depositional Environment