A Phytosociological Study of the Mangrove Vegetation in the Malay Peninsula. Special Reference to the Micro-topography and Mangrove Deposit.

The phytosociological data of the mangrove forests in the Malay Peninsula were collected from 216 releves, and so they were phytosociologically divided into 6 community types as follows: (1) the Sonneratia alba/Avicennia alba community, (2) the Rhizophora apiculata community, (3) the Rhizophora apiculata/Bruguiera spp. community, (4) the Ceriops tagal/Xylocarpus spp. community, (5) the Lumnitzera littorea community and (6) the Excoecaria agallocha community. These 6 community types distributed from the marginal lower part to inner of the upper part and were well correlated to the level of tidal zone and the sediment types. Furthermore 13 transects were examined, our investigations were able to clarify the relationships between the floristic composition, the mangrove zonation, sediments type, major land use and location in the tidal range of the mangrove ecosystem in estuary and delta types.