ASSESSMENT ON GROWTH AND MORTALITY

RATES OF RAFFLESIA KERRI MEIJER

(RAFFLESIACEAE) IN LOJING HIGHLANDS,

KELANTAN, PENINSULAR MALAYSIA.

WAN NORQAYYUM NADIA BINTI WAN ARIFIN

MASTER OF SCIENCE

2015

Assessment on Growth and Mortality Rates of Rafflesia

kerri Meijer (Rafflesiaceae) in Lojing Highlands,

Kelantan, Peninsular Malaysia.

by

Wan Norqayyum Nadia binti Wan Arifin

A thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Master of Science

Faculty of Earth Sciences

UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA KELANTAN

2015

i

THESIS DECLARATION

I hereby certify that the work embodied in this thesis is the result of the original

research and has not been submitted for a higher degree to any other University or

Institution.

OPEN ACCESS I agree that my thesis is to be made immediately available

as hardcopy or on-line open access (full text).

EMBARGOES I agree that my thesis is to be made available as hardcopy

or on-line open access (full text) for a period approved by

the Post Graduate Committee.

CONFIDENTIAL (Contains confidential information under the Official

Secret Act 1972)*

RESTRICTED (Contains restricted information as specified by the

organization where research was done)*

I acknowledge that Universiti Malaysia Kelantan reserves the right as follows.

1. The thesis is the property of University Malaysia Kelantan.

2. The library of Universiti Malaysia Kelantan has the right to make copies for the

purpose of research only.

3. The library has the right to make copies of the thesis for academic exchange.

SIGNATURE SIGNATURE OF SUPERVISOR

I/C NO: 880104-29-5084

Date: Date:

ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Though only my name appears on the cover of this dissertation, a great many people

have contributed to its production. I owe my gratitude to all those people who have

made this dissertation possible. My deepest gratitude is to my supervisor, En.

Zulhazman Hamzah. I have been amazingly fortunate to have an advisor who gave me

the guidance to recover when my step faltered. His patience and support helped me

overcome many tough situations and finish this dissertation. My co-supervisor, Pn. Siti

Munirah Mat Yunus from Forest Research Institute Malaysia, has been always there to

listen and give advice. I am deeply grateful to her for the long discussion that helped me

sort out technical details of my work. I am also thankful to her for encouraging the use

of correct grammar and consistent notation in my writing either thesis or paper. My

sincere thanks also goes to Prof. Dr. Razak Wahab for his encouragement and practical

advice. I am thankful to him for helping me understand and enrich my ideas. Beside my

advisor, I would like to thank Dr. Fatimah Kayat for her encouragement, insightful

comments and hard questions during the time of her take over my advisor’s place to

continue his PhD study. I am also indebted to my fellow friends: Aishatul Izzah,

Norzielawati, Nik Nur Fazlina, Nasihah Mokhtar and all my friends. They helped me

stay sane through these difficult years. Their support and care helped me overcome

setbacks and stay focused on my master study. They also accompanied me to take data

during the sampling. I greatly value their friendship and deeply appreciate their belief in

me. I am also thankful to UMK and FRIM staff whom I have interacted during the

study. Particularly, I would like to acknowledge En. Arham Muchktar for the many

valuable discussion on GIS software. I appreciate his kindness to use computer and

software in GIS laboratory. I am also grateful to the following former or current staff;

Tn. Hj. Abdul Rahman and his staff at Pejabat Tanah dan Jajahan in Lojing Sub-district

for their various forms of support during my study. They also allowed me to stay in

their guest house during the study period. Special thanks also goes to En. Tengku Abu

Bakar and his staff from Setiausaha Kerajaan (SUK) Negeri Kelantan for their

encouragement and moral support. Most importantly, none of this would have been

possible without the love and patience of my family. My family, to whom this

dissertation is dedicated to, has been a constant source of love, concern, support and

strength all these years. I warmly appreciate the generosity and understanding of my

research. Finally, I appreciate the financial support from Skim Geran Jangka Pendek

(SGJP) and MyMaster scholarship that funded parts of the research discussed in this

dissertation.

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE

THESIS DECLARATION i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iii

LIST OF TABLES vii

LIST OF FIGURES viii

LIST OF SYMBOLS xi

ABSTRAK xii

ABSTRACT xiii

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 General Background 1

1.2 Problem Statement 5

1.3 Objective of the Study 7

1.4 Limitation of the Study 8

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Study Site 9

2.2 The Discovery of Rafflesia 14

2.3 Geographical Distribution of Rafflesia in Malaysia 25

2.4 Diversity Species of Rafflesia in Peninsular Malaysia 27

2.4.1 Rafflesia cantleyi Solms-Laubach 28

2.4.2 Rafflesia kerri Meijer 30

2.4.3 Rafflesia azlanii Wong & Latiff 31

iv

2.4.4 Rafflesia su-meiae Wong, Nais & Gan 32

2.4.5 Rafflesia sharifah-hapsahiae Adam, Mohamed, Aizat-Juhari & Wan 33

2.5 Biology of Rafflesia 33

2.5.1 Ecological and Adaptation 33

2.5.2 Morphological of Rafflesia 35

i) Perigone Lobes 37

ii) Aperture and Diaphragm 40

iii) indow 41

iv) Ramenta 42

v) Disc and Processes 44

2.6 Life Cycle of Rafflesia 44

2.6.1 Bud Development 45

2.6.2 Bud Death and Its Causes 47

2.6.3 Flowering Phenology 48

2.7 Host Plant of Rafflesia 49

2.8 Conservation of Rafflesia 51

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY

3.1 Description of Study Area 54

3.2 Materials 56

3.2.1 Global Positioning System (GPS) 56

3.2.2 Population Mapping 58

3.2.3 Tagging 58

3.2.4 Chemical 59

3.2.5 Others Equipment 60

v

3.3 Methods 61

3.3.1 Plot Setting-up 61

3.3.2 Data Collection 62

3.3.3 Morphology Measurement 63

3.3.4 Assessment on Growth Development 63

3.3.5 Assessment on Mortality 70

3.3.6 Assessment on Phenology and Sex-ratio 71

CHAPTER 4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

4.1 General Description on Ecology of R. kerri Population 73

4.2 Morphology of Rafflesia 78

4.2.1 Morphological Study 78

i) Diameter of the Flower 79

ii) Perigone Lobes 83

iii) Diaphragm 87

iv) Window 91

v) Ramenta 92

vi) Disc and Processes 93

vii) Column 97

4.2.2 Species Description 99

4.3 Population Description of Rafflesia in Lojing 100

4.3.1 Growth Development of Rafflesia kerri 102

4.3.2 Mortality of R. kerri in Lojing Highlands 108

4.3.3 Flowering Phenology 119

CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 126

vi

REFERENCES 129

APPENDIX A 138

APPENDIX

B

155

APPENDIX

C

156

APPENDIX

D

183

APPENDIX

E

185

vii

LIST OF TABLES

NO. PAGE

2.1 List of currently known species of Rafflesia 23

2.2 The list of Rafflesia distributed in Malaysia 26

2.3 Presently recorded of host species 51

3.1 Measurements process of bud diameter in each stage 69

of R. kerri development

4.1 Diameter size of R. kerri flower in each population 81

4.2 Statistics of R. kerri perigone lobes observed in Lojing 86

4.3 The number of ring, diaphragm and aperture of R. kerri in Lojing. 90

4.4 The diameter of disk and total number of processes of R. kerri 96

flower

4.5 Dynamics of Rafflesia kerri population in Lojing from 102

May 2011- November 2012

4.6 Total number of additional new bud of R. kerri grows 104

on the host plant according to population

4.7 New bud of R. kerri found according to the month visited 105

4.8 The results of mortality in Lojing 109

4.9 Number of survival bud, died bud and percentage of mortality 113

of R. kerri during the study period

4.10 Total number of rotten flower and successfully reached anthesis 121

of R. kerri in Lojing Highlands

4.11 The sex of R. kerri in each population in Lojing Highlands 125

viii

LIST OF FIGURES

NO. PAGE

2.1 The geographical of Gua Musang district 11

2.2 The distribution of Rafflesia in Southeast Asia 22

2.3 The vertical section of Rafflesia 37

2.4 Pattern of warts on perigone lobes of R. azlanii 38

2.5 Pattern of white blotch on R. cantleyi flower. 39

2.6 A female flower of R. azlanii, had ten perigone lobes 39

2.7 Smallest aperture of R. microphylora. 40

2.8 Open flower dimension of R. manillana with the widest aperture 41

but small diaphragm.

2.9 White blotch referring to the window of Rafflesia 42

2.10 Ramenta structure in the inner part of diaphragm 43

2.11 Various ramenta types of different species 43

2.12 Life cycle of Rafflesia 46

3.1 The signboard of Population 1 of R. kerri that has been placed 57

in the study area

3.2 Tagging for R. kerri population 59

3.3 Pattern of tagging R. kerri population 65

3.4 Estimating the diameter of bud by measuring circumference 67

of the bud and cross-section of bud

3.5 Method to determine a stage of a bud 68

3.6 Close-up view of anther and fine bristles found 72

underneath of the disk

4.1 Location of Rafflesia kerri’s population in Lojing 75

ix

4.2 The five perigone lobes of R. kerri in Lojing 78

4.3 The six perigone lobes of R. kerri in Lojing 79

4.4 The fresh flower of R. kerri bloomed in between of two trees 83

4.5 The width of perigone lobes. 84

4.6 The length of perigone lobes. 85

4.7 Pattern of warts on the perigone lobes. 85

4.8 Close-up view of warts. 87

4.9 The diameter of diaphragm of R. kerri flower shows the central 88

part of disc crowned by processes.

4.10 The aperture of the flower. 89

4.11 The pattern of blots on the upper surface of diaphragm 89

4.12 White bots refer to ‘window’ underneath of the diaphragm 91

4.13 The detailed morphology of R. kerri in Lojing Highlands 92

4.14 Ramenta structure underneath the diaphragm in Population 6 93

4.15 The disc of R. kerri flower which is armed with the spiky 95

processes.

4.16 Cross-section of the disc. 98

4.17 The underside of the disc showing the anther which consist 98

of sticky pollen.

4.18 The bud growth for R. kerri from I10P6 with 95% of 107

confident interval

4.19 The bud growth for R. kerri from K11P6 with 95% 108

of confident interval

4.20 The bud mortality of R. kerri based on populations 111

from May 2011 to November 201

4.21 The bud mortality of R. kerri according to the bud diameter 112

x

4.22 Causes of mortality on R. kerri buds 115

4.23 Impact and damage of R. kerri habitat due to trampling 115

by visitors

4.24 Land used around Kg. Jedip 117

4.25 Bud mortality caused by termites infestion 118

4.26 Bud died due to unhealthy host. 118

4.27 Damaged of R. kerri predated by rats 119

4.28 Number of R. kerri bud reached anthesis according 122

to the month visited

4.29 Percentage of R. kerri bud successful bloomed according 123

to month

4.30 The flower of R. kerri bloomed in Lojing Highlands 125

during the study period

xi

LIST OF SYMBOLS

C Circumference of a circle

Constant value (=3.14)

d Diameter of a circle

cu Cupule stage

b Bract stage

p Perigone stage

B/R Bud rotten

F/R(M) Male flower of rotten

F/R(F) Female flower of rotten

ha hectare

xii

Penilaian Terhadap Kadar Pertumbuhan dan Kematian Rafflesia kerri Meijer

(Rafflesiaceae) di Lojing Highlands, Kelantan, Semenanjung Malaysia.

ABSTRAK

Kajian mendalam tentang Rafflesia kerri (Rafflesiaceae) ini adalah penting

untuk membangunkan strategi bagi pemuliharaan tumbuhan unik ini di Lojing

Highlands. Oleh itu, kajian ke atas kadar pertumbuhan dan kematian R. kerri di Lojing

Highlands telah dijalankan. Pemerhatian terhadap pertumbuhan kudup Rafflesia, kadar

kematian dan sebab-sebab kematian, fenologi dan nisbah jantina R. kerri dikaji. Kaedah

yang digunakan adalah pemetaan secara berkelompok dimana populasi Rafflesia

dibahagi berdasarkan perumah yang ada. Setiap kudup yang dijumpai dalam setiap

populasi ditandakan. Kawasan kajian dilawati setiap bulan bermula Mei 2011 hingga

November 2012 untuk mengukur pertumbuhan dan diameter kudup dan bunga R. kerri.

Punca-punca kerosakan kudup juga dicatat. Data ekologi di populasi yang mempunyai

sampel bunga dikumpulkan dan dibandingkan dengan spesimen yang terdapat di

Herbarium FRIM dan UKM. Purata saiz diameter bunga Rafflesia di Lojing adalah

antara 48 cm hingga 90 cm. Tujuh belas populasi telah direkodkan di sekitar Sg.

Dekong yang berada pada altitud 800 m - 1500 m atas paras laut. Populasi ini dipantau

dan data kajian diambil selama 19 bulan. Sejumlah 476 kudup R. kerri dari 17 populasi

telah dikenalpasti dengan perumah yang paling produktif; Tetrastigma hookeri dan T.

Rafflesia (Vitaceae) berdiameter antara 5.0 cm hingga 15.0 cm. Pertumbuhan kudup

tertinggi adalah di Populasi 6 dengan catatan 42.7% atau 129 kudup didapati tumbuh.

Manakala tiada pertumbuhan kudup dicatatkan di Populasi 12. Selepas pemantauan,

jumlah kudup yang tertinggi direkodkan pada bulan Februari 2012; 14.6% atau 46

kudup. Jumlah kudup yang rendah direkodkan pada bulan November 2012 iaitu 2.5%

atau lapan kudup. Sepanjang pemantauan, pertumbuhan kudup dilaporkan semakin

cepat dengan perkembangan kudup bermula dari Fasa III. Purata kudup R. kerri yang

reput di setiap populasi adalah sebanyak 18 kudup. Kadar kematian kudup adalah tinggi

di Populasi 2 dan 12 di mana 100% daripada kudup telah reput. Kadar kematian

tertinggi ialah pada bulan Februari 2012 dengan catatan sebanyak 21.8% atau 42 kudup

telah reput. Namun begitu, bulan Oktober 2012 hanya terdapat 2.4% atau lima kudup

ditemui reput. Sebanyak 49.2% atau 127 kudup dikenalpasti telah reput atau rosak

disebabkan oleh anai-anai. R. kerri di Lojing Highlands didapati berbunga setiap bulan

dengan jumlah kudup yang berjaya mekar adalah tertinggi pada bulan Februari 2012;

13.9% atau 27 kudup berjaya mekar. Status populasi R. kerri di Lojing Highlands

dianggap terancam kerana kebanyakan populasi Rafflesia ini tumbuh di luar kawasan

perlindungan.

xiii

Assessment on Growth and Mortality Rate of Rafflesia kerri Meijer (Rafflesiaceae)

in Lojing Highlands, Kelantan, Peninsular Malaysia.

ABSTRACT

Comprehensive study on Rafflesia kerri (Rafflesiaceae) is vital to develop

strategies for the conservation of this unique plant in Lojing Highlands. Thus, the study

on growth and mortality rates of R. kerri in Lojing Highlands was carried out. An

observation on the growth of the bud, mortality rates and its causes, flowering

phenology and sex ratio of R. kerri were investigated. The method used was cluster

mapping where the study area was divided into Rafflesia populations based on the

available host plant. Each bud in every population was tagged. The sites were visited in

every month started from May 2011 until November 2012 to measure the growth and

diameter of R. kerri buds and flowers. The causes of bud damages were also recorded.

Ecological data were collected from the populations that had flower and compared with

the available specimen in Herbarium at FRIM and UKM. An average diameter size of

the flower was ranged between 48 cm to 90 cm. Seventeen populations were recorded in

Sungai Dekong at 800 m – 1500 m a.s.l. These populations were monitored and their

buds were measured for 19 months. A total of 476 buds of R. kerri from 17 populations

have been recorded with the most productive hosts; Tetrastigma hookeri and T. rafflesia

(Vitaceae) ranged between 5.0 cm to 15.0 cm. The highest number of bud growth was

recorded in Population 6 with 42.7% or 129 buds. Meanwhile, no bud growth was

observed in Population 12. After conducting the study, the highest number of buds was

recorded in February 2012; 14.6% or 46 buds. The lowest number of bud was recorded

in November 2012; 2.5% or eight buds. During the study period, it was reported that the

bud growth rates became faster as its development started from Phase III. An average of

18 buds of R. kerri died in each site. The mortality rates were higher at Population 2 and

Population 12 where 100% of buds were damaged. The highest mortality rates were

recorded in February 2012 with 21.8% or 42 buds died. While in October 2012, there

were only 2.4% or five buds were found died. A total of 49.2% or 127 buds were noted

died caused by termites. Flowering of R. kerri in Lojing Highlands followed aseasonal

pattern with the highest anthesis was in February 2012; 13.9% or 27 buds managed to

bloom. The status of R. kerri population in Lojing Highlands is considered as

endangered because it occur mainly just outside of protected areas.

1

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 General Background

Malaysia is one of the richest centres of biodiversity in the world,

possessing 80% of the earth’s biodiversity including of 185,000 species of fauna

and 15,000 species of flora (Anon 1993a). Most of the remaining forests are still

intact in Sarawak, Sabah and Titiwangsa Range in Peninsular Malaysia.

Unfortunately, its forest has been undergoing rapid degradation since the last

few years. According to Anon (2011d), the deforestation in Malaysia is about

70% of its primary forest where their flora and fauna continue to face threats.

The main reasons for this rapid increase are land used for construction of

buildings, access roads and agriculture development.

Malaysia is located near the equator from the latitude of 2 º to 7 º North

and longitude of 100 ° to 119 ° East. From a total of 33.03 million ha of land

cover in Malaysia, 18.23 million ha (55.19 %) are forested areas (Ibrahim &

Maryati 2008). A total forest cover in Peninsular Malaysia is 5.84 million ha,

Sabah is 4.32 million ha and Sarawak is 8.07 million ha. Malaysia also has a

Permanent Forest Reserve (PFR) about 15.34 million ha covering 4.74 million

ha of Peninsular Malaysia, 3.60 million ha in Sabah and 7.00 million ha in

2

Sarawak. From the total, the category of protection forest area is 2.77 million ha

and production forest area is 12.57 million ha.

A total of 1,502,200 ha of Kelantan state cover approximately 862,196

ha of forested land and 638,183 ha of non-forested land. A recent statistics on 31

December 2012 noted that forested land are covered by Permanent Reserve

Forest, 623,849 ha, State Land Forest, 137,086 ha, State Park Forest, 103 082 ha

and Forest Plantation, 69,696 ha (Anon 2012e).

The Lojing Sub-District is located at the Titiwangsa Range and it is

believed rich with biodiversity of flora and fauna and yet to be sampled due to

its inaccessibility. The forest formations in Lojing is ranged from hill

dipterocarp to montane forests. There are several peaks in Lojing and the highest

is Gunung Warpu (1800 m). The total extent of Permanent Reserved Forest

(PFR) in Lojing is 16,235 ha.

One of the most attractive and amazing flora in Lojing is Rafflesia kerri

(Ibrahim 2010). It is so-called an icon of Lojing. R. kerri is the second largest

flower in the world. In Malaysia, this species is only found at the borders of

Kelantan, Pahang, Perak and Kedah in Bintang Range (Wong & Latiff 1994;

Wong & Gan 2003). An average of 15 to 30 tourists came to Lojing every day to

enjoy and appreciate this gigantic flower.

Rafflesia is a parasitic plant native to the Asia tropics including

Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines. Rafflesia is a parasite plants

living only in relation to the host vine; Tetrastigma Planch. This vine provides

all the necessary elements to the Rafflesia. Therefore, its life cycle and growth

3

absolutely depend on the host plant. The life cycle of Rafflesia involves

sequences of stages from seed in the present generation to blooming. Rafflesia

needs 12-18 months started from bud’s emergence to reach anthesis (Hidayati et

al. 2000). During this visible part of life cycle, about more than 50% of the buds

die before anthesis (Nais 2001). Most of the buds rot before they attain maturity

and successful bloom. As a result, it has been difficult to find a fresh blooming

of Rafflesia flowers.

Extensive reports on the presence of R. kerri in Lojing have been

published (Mat-Salleh 2005; Zulhazman 2010). A total of 26 populations of R.

kerri had been surveyed throughout Lojing. The location of these populations is

divided into three different sites in Kg. Cedau, Kg. Kuala Rengi and Kg. Jedip

(Zulhazman et al. 2010). All the Rafflesia populations in Lojing are situated in

the state lands (Mat-Salleh et al. 2005). It is unfortunate that several known

localities are undergoing extinction process and constant pressures from tourism

and farmland activities. It is expected that more localities will be discovered, if

more surveys and research are carried out in Lojing.

The degradation of forests in Lojing leads to increasingly fragmented

habitats and populations of flora and fauna. The fragmented forests, particularly

along the Simpang Pulai- Gua Musang create many isolated and small forest

remnant from the previously continuous forest formation. Each forest remnant is

separated by different land use types, which can be considered as ecological

barriers for pollinators and species migration. When Rafflesia do manage to

bloom, Rafflesia flowers emit an odour of rotting matter to attract flies

4

especially the bluebottle and carrion flies for pollination process (Mat-Salleh

2007). Therefore, the effects of forest fragmentations are disappearance of a

particular habitat and subpopulation, decreasing the population of native species,

and will effect pollination and reproduction processes among individuals within

population especially Rafflesia.

The effect of forest fragmentation is based on the size of forest remnant

and the degree of contrasts between forest remnant and its surrounding

environments. It will generate unstable environments in a small remnant

(Primack 1993; Meffe & Carroll 1994). Unstable environments can lead to the

high mortality rates of Rafflesia buds also states in Nais (2001).

Rafflesia is also in the verge of extinct because Rafflesia at its ‘cabbage

head’ stage is collected by the indigenous people for traditional medicine. The

traditional uses include a post natal tonic for women and an aphrodisiac for men

(Wong et al. 1990). On the contrary, the buds and flowers have a high content of

tannin and phenols which can be toxic when taken in large quantities. Besides

that, Rafflesia buds suffer from extermination due to trampling by visitors (Mat-

Salleh 2007). In Sabah, Malaysia, it was considered a flower of spirits or a taboo

flower because of its foul smell and gigantic appearance. In Thailand, the

flowers are believed to have mystical powers helping one attain nirvana.

5

1.2 Problem Statement

Generally, Rafflesia species are found vulnerable and easily to extinct at

many sites due to improper efforts were initiated to conserve them. Ex-situ

conservation efforts have not shown any positive results (Meijer 1997). Mat-

Salleh (1996) proposed that the best approach of conservation is to preserve

Rafflesia in it’s own habitats.

Among the factors of extinction are tourism activities and the expansion

of the agriculture farms. Tourism is a major service and thriving nowadays.

Moreover, it’s brought high profits in the form of foreign exchange and also

introduces Malaysia to the world especially in the tourism sector. Malaysia is the

third largest number of countries receiving tourists in East Asia after China and

Hong Kong. Regarding of the presence of this rare plant, it can introduce

Malaysia to the world besides of generates economic of Malaysia especially in

the tourism activities. Improper plan in tourism activities will caused the

decrease of Rafflesia population. The flower is naturally rare; tourists trying to

get close to the flower for photographs will easily trample the host plant or

young buds. The locals also collect buds and sell to outsiders for medical

purposes. A concoction of cooked buds or flowers is used as a general tonic to

treat for fever or backache or even as a sexual stimulant. However, no scientific

evidence to prove that Rafflesia has medicinal values.

Furthermore, urban development in Lojing has often been blamed for the

plethora of environmental problems. The constructions of houses and

6

commercial centers in some parts of the highlands have been in poorly planned

in terms of location, density and architecture. There is a lack of clear policy as to

where urban development may be permitted on the highlands (Anon 2002b).

Disturbance or environmental changes can influence the population and

growth of the Rafflesia species. The study was conducted due to the current

situation on land use development in Lojing Highlands which is influencing the

survival of R. kerri. Each year, the area is getting smaller and fragmented due to

expansion of agriculture lands. The impact from landuse change will increase

the mortality rate of R. kerri buds. It was reported that the population of R. kerri

in Lojing is getting treated where a lot of areas have been cleared for agricultural

activities. Thus, it will cause the decreasing of R. kerri population.

The mortality rates of R. tuan-mudae, R. pricei and R. keithii are 80%,

90% and 75% respectively (Nais 2001; 2004). Most of the mature buds survived

and mortality are confined to small buds of less than 3 cm in diameter. Previous

study done by Meijer (1958) showed that two-thirds of the buds of R. arnoldii

die before reaching maturity. Thus, needless to say, the study of growth and

mortality rates of R. kerri in Lojing is necessity in order to obtain the accurate

baseline data for management and conservation of R. kerri in Lojing. The rapid

expension of landuse in Lojing converted to agricultural area will influence the

survival of R. kerri population.

7

1.3 Objective of the Study

This study is designed to understand the growth and mortality rates of R.

kerri in Lojing Highlands, Gua Musang, Kelantan. The studies of certain aspects

of growth are focused on total number of buds found in research site during the

study period, diameter of bud develop and species interactions between Rafflesia

and the host. Meanwhile the mortality studies are emphasized on the causes

contributes to the bud rotten or died. The specific objectives of the study are:

i. To identify and examine the morphology of R. kerri in Lojing Highlands

ii. To evaluate the mortality rates of R. kerri buds and the causes of

mortality

iii. To determine the flowering phenology and sex ratio of R. kerri

8

1.4 Limitation of the Study

There are several limitations in this research that may be considered.

This study was primarily limited by its small sample size. The data are taken at

17 populations in the study area. Each population is consisted an average a total

of 476 number of buds. The populations are covered an estimated area of 0.196

ha.

The sample size could have been expended if more surveys are carried

out, thus more localities will be discovered. Even thought, the duration of data

collection is 19 months but it was taken only once in a month. Thus, a few

important parameters might be overlooked for examples the prime time of

flower bloom period and good weather condition. The plants are not always

obvious in their non-blooming stages. The plant blooms rarely and with no clear

schedule determining bloom time.

During the rainy season, field work cannot be conducted due to

accessibility and increasing of river water level. Its might be slippery and

dangerous. Furthermore, dissatisfaction between the Orang Asli group and

tourist guide in term of service charge on tourist also influencing the data

collection. Few cases happened when several buds of R. kerri and their host

plants were chopped. Until to date, there is no proper guideline on how to

monitor and manage a daily basic of tourists’ activities in Lojing. Lots of small

buds were found dangered caused by human trampling.

9

CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Study Site

Lojing is located between latitude 4˚32’ to 4˚47 N and longitude 101˚20’

to 101˚34’ E (Zulhazman et al. 2010). It is ranged on the Titiwangsa Range and

it is believed that a lot of species yet to be identified due to its inaccessibility

(Ibrahim 2010). For example, Lojing housed for the famous Rafflesia kerri that

becomes the main attraction to the local and international tourists. Thus, the

public must know and understand the importance of conserving Lojing

Highlands.

Forest cover for Kelantan is approximately 862,196 ha which is

contributed about 57% of the total area of Kelantan. Lojing with the total area of

181,700 ha is situated on the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia in northern part

of Kelantan state sharing the border with Perak and Pahang. According to Anon

(2012e), ¼ area of Gua Musang is Lojing Sub-District (Figure 2.1).

The total extent of Permanent Forest Reserved in Lojing as of 2011 is

16,235 ha (Anon 2011d). An average of 8000 ha of lands in Lojing is under

private land category. There are about 242.3 ha area were opened for agriculture

activities in 2010. Mostly the vegetables farm was opened and operated by non-

local people. The owner of those farms usually hired the local Temiar ethnic

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group in Lojing as workers. So, working as a laborer is the main job especially

for the local Temiar ethnic group teenagers (Zakaria et al. 2010).

A total of three sites of critical importance has been proposed for the

gazzettement and they are Kg. Tuel stateland (1,445 ha), Rafflesia Conservation

Area (639 ha) and the Gunung Ayam Conglomerate Hills (757 ha). To date,

there are about 400 ha area were approved to gazette for Rafflesia Preservation

Area (Anon 2013f).

The place used to have cool climate with a temperature under 20˚C but

nowadays the temperature seems to be increasing and almost the same with the

temperature in Kota Bharu due to several contributing factors. Lojing also give

the local and native people the main water resources from several rivers that

came down from it such as Sungai Berok, Sungai Nenggiri, Sungai Mering,

Sungai Mengrod, Sungai Dekong, Sungai Jelai, Sungai Belatop, Sungai Pelaur,

Sungai Chenderoh, Sungai Betis and Sungai Rengit.

Lojing is also riched of other diversed plant species like mosses, ferns,

wild orchids, gingers, pitcher plants, wild flower, bamboo and ethnobotany. So,

there is need to conserve these wonders of Lojing for our future generation to

enjoy and see the diversity of fauna. This spectacular ambience provides

potential for Lojing as a tourist destination and perhaps for film making as well.

Large variations for ferns in the morphology of these ferns make them one of the

forest plants which can be cultivated into luxurious ornamental plants (Ibrahim

& Maryati 2008).