Since the late 1960s the Indonesian state of East Kalimantan has witnessed a marked increase in the impact of human activities chiefly commercial logging and agricultural exploitation. Located on the island of Borneo, East Kalimantan also was subjected to prolonged droughts and extensive wildfires in 1982-83 and 1997-98 that were linked to the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon. The changes in the rainforest ecosystem in East Kalimantan during this 15-year cycle of severe ENSO events are the subject of this book. With an eye toward development of rehabilitation techniques for sustainable forest management, the authors examine possible interactive effects of drought, fire, and human impacts on the flora and fauna of the area.

The book describes the changes in the rainforest ecosystem in East Kalimantan during this 15-year cycle of severe ENSO events

1: Introduction.- 1 Description of Forests and Forestry in East Kalimantan.- 2 Climate in Bukit Soeharto, East Kalimantan.- 3 Effects of Droughts and Forest Fires on Dipterocarp Forest in East Kalimantan.- 2: Soil Characteristics and Human Impacts.- 4 Are Soils in Degraded Dipterocarp Forest Ecosystems Deteriorated? A Comparison of Imperata Grasslands, Degraded Secondary Forests, and Primary Forests.- 5 Vertical Transportation of Chemical Elements Through Water Movement in Different Vegetation.- 6 Changes in Soil Nutrient Status After Abandonment of Swidden Agriculture at Benuaq Dayak Village.- 7 Serpentine Soils on Catena in the Southern Part of East Kalimantan, Indonesia.- 8 Characteristics of Soils Developed on Volcanic Parent Materials in the Barong Tongkok Area.- 3: Drought and Fire Impacts on Forest Ecosystems.- 9 Tree Species Composition of a Burned Lowland Dipterocarp Forest in Bukit Soeharto, East Kalimantan.- 10 Dynamics of Burned Lowland Dipterocarp Forest Stands in Bukit Soeharto, East Kalimantan.- 11 Flowering and Fruiting Phenologies of Dipterocarps in a Rainforest in Bukit Soeharto, East Kalimantan.- 12 Leaf Gas Exchange and Canopy Structure in Wet and Drought Years in Macaranga conifera, a Tropical Pioneer Tree.- 13 Responses of Dipterocarp Seedlings to Drought Stress.- 14 The Effect of Droughts and Fires on Coleopteran Insects in Lowland Dipterocarp Forests in Bukit Soeharto, East Kalimantan.- 4: Human Impacts on Forest Ecosystems.- 15 Mecha-nism of Changes in the Kenyah' s Swidden System: Explanation in Terms of Agricultural Intensification Theory.- 16 Tropical Secondary Forest and Its Succession Following Traditional Slash-and-Burn Agriculture in Mencimai, East Kalimantan.- 17 The Role of Slash-and-Burn Agriculture in Transforming Dipterocarp Forestinto Imperata Grassland.- 18 Impact of Different Intensities of Selective Logging on a Low-Hill Dipterocarp Forest in Pasir, East Kalimantan.- 19 A Case Study of Second Felling in a Logged-Over Dipterocarp Forest.- 20 Effects of Forest Fragmentation on the Behavior of Bornean Gibbons.- 5: Rehabilitation Techniques and Constraints on Sustainable Forest Management.- 21 Treatment to Develop Mycorrhiza Formation on Dipterocarp Seedlings.- 22 A Convenient Method for Inoculating Dipterocarp Seedlings with the Ectomycorrhizal Fungus, Scleroderma columnare.- 23 Photographic Estimation of Light Environments on Forest Floors and Effects of Light on the Growth of Dipterocarp Seedlings.- 24 In Situ Study of the Effects of Elevated Temperature on Photoinhibition in Climax and Pioneer Species.- 25 Growth of Ulin (Eusideroxylon zwageri) Seedlings in Relation to Environmental Factors in the Forest Understory.- 26 Diseases of Dipterocarp Saplings Planted in Buldt Soeharto Education Forest, East Kalimantan.- 27 Participatory Forest Management.- 28 Overview of the Changing Forest Ecosystems in East Kalimantan.- Species Index.