ON THE NEIGHBORHOOD RELATIONSHIPS OF 2 COMMON UNDERSTOREY TREES OF A SHOREA-ROBUSTA COMMUNITY

The two common understorey tree species, Mallotus phillppensis and Hol arrhena antidysenterica of a Shorea-dominated forest showed significan t differences in their near neighbours. The spatial pattern of the und erstorey community has been discussed in relation to the form and grow th features of co-occurring species. The observations suggest that in a common physical environment, the local organization of a community i s conditioned by mutual architectural adjustment of neighbouring speci es. Species which are ubiquitous in the community generally show plast ic architecture.