ERCELAWN*, AYESHA, JAMES V. LA FRANKIE**, SHAWN K.Y. LUM**, AND SING KONG LEE*. *School of Science, National Institute of Education, Singapore 259756, **Center for Tropical Forest Science, Asia Program, c/o National Institute of Education, Singapore 259756. - Short-term recruitment of trees in a forest fragment in Singapore.
The Bukit Timah Nature Reserve is an isolated forest of roughly
100-hectares in the center of the tropical city-state of Singapore. In
an attempt to determine whether this tiny forest was able to sustain
itself, we censused all trees >= 1 cm dbh in a 2-hectare permanent
plot in 1993 and again in 1995. We then analyzed patterns of
recruitment into the 1 cm dbh class to see if the diversity amongst
recruits differed from that of the previously censused trees. We
classified tree species by abundance class, floral form, dispersal
agent, stature class and successional status in an effort to see if
there were any disproportionate patterns of recruitment. Results
suggest that the 2-hectare plot is not experiencing a loss of tree
diversity, at least over the short term. The only species that may be
experiencing difficulties in establishment and recruitment are those
whose seeds were dispersed by animals no longer found in Singapore.
Key words: dynamics, recruitment, tropical forest