Vegetation of Southeast Asia Studies of Forest Types 1963-1965

According to Raunkiaer, leaves can be classified according to size,
shape, venation, mode of development and other criteria.
Burtt Davy (1938), confronted with the difficult problem of
establishing a preliminary classification of tropical vegetation;
where detailed surveys and complete floristic inventories are unavailable,
revised Schimper's and Warming's physiognomic systems,
the method proposed by Tansley and Chipp (1926), .and that addpted
by Champion (1936) for India, Burtt Davy's system on the 'Classification
of Tropical Woody Vegetation Types' was later modified and
simplified by Richards, Tansley and Watt (1939).
Beard (19^1), i-.i his treatment of "The Natural Vegetation of the
Windward and Leeward Islands', deals with the classification of
plant communities on a regional basis, and considers the natural
distribution of plant communities, regionally constant characters of
physiognomy and composition and life-forms as important criteria.
Barbour (19^2) discusses the primary forest types of tropical
America, in an attempt to clarify their nomenclature, and to indicate
their distribution and economic importance.
Kuchler (19U, 19^9), inspired by climatologies! classifications,
especially Koppen's (19^3), was led to formulate a syste-j, in which
he uses a series of symbols which coild be combined to show the most
important features of any vegetation type. The symbolism proposed
is essentially aimed at small-seal^ mapping. Therefore, it applies
to an overall description of regional vegetation rather than to a
detailed characterization of individual plant communities.
Holdrid^e (19^7) constructed a chart which differentiates the
vegetation of dry land areas of the world into 100 closely equivalent
formations separated by temperature, precipitation and evaporation
lines of equal value. The chart is designed to make broad divisions
and to show actual relations between climatic vegetation formations.
The comprehensive treatment of the 'Tropical Rain Forest 1 by
Richards (1952) contains a detailed discussion of associations and
consociations and other phases of the climax Rain forest and other
forest types.
Dansereau (1953) maintains tl.at quantitative representation is
the important criterion in the description of vegetation, and that
a long list of species, ar.a a complete enumeration of the flora, are
of little value. Instead, the dominant and other characteristic
species must, be recognized, because of. their physiognomic prominence
and their indicator value. A knowledge of tne flora provides a
classification of species into floristic elements of common origin.
Information on the vegetation, on the other hand, permits an entirely
different classification based on ecological requirements and the
usual role of the.plants in the landscape. Dansereau proposed a
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