A NOTE ON A KERANGAS (HEATH) FOREST AT SEBULU, EAST KALIMANTAN*)

&60;br /&62;Kerangas (heath) forest, that forms islands within the lowland&60;br /&62;dipterocarp forest, occurred at Sebulu, East Kalimantan. Part of the&60;br /&62;two of the islands and the transition area between them were investigated.&60;br /&62;Phytosociologically three communities could be identified, i.e. the Crato-&60;br /&62;xylum glaucum-Dactylocladus stenostachys, Eugenia palembanica-Ilex&60;br /&62;hypoglauca, and Shorea ovalis-Eugenia acuminatissima communities. They&60;br /&62;occurred on sandstone flat, sandstone slope and swampy depression res-&60;br /&62;pectively. Only Cratoxylum glaucum-Dactylocladus stenostachys commu-&60;br /&62;nity can be considered kerangas forest proper, whereas the Eugenia&60;br /&62;palembanica-Ilex hypoglauca community the transition and the Shorea&60;br /&62;ovalis-Eugenia acuminatissima community a variant of the lowland&60;br /&62;dipterocarp forest. The soils under these communities were peaty, very&60;br /&62;acid and low in nutrient contents. The economic value of kerangas forest&60;br /&62;in terms of timber is very low, hence, it would be better to preserve all&60;br /&62;kerangas forest as conservation areas and utilize them for research,&60;br /&62;educational and recreational purposes.