Montane forests

Walking up the dipterocarp forest from the lowlands up into the hill ranges, at a certain point one notices a fairly sharp change in the vegetation marking the boundary into montane forest. The exact altitude varies from place to place: from as low as 600 metres on the smaller isolated mountains to above 1,200 metres on the massive mountain ranges of western Sabah. At these points, very large trees and large lianas cease to exist, and there are very few or no dipterocarps and legumes. Climbers ascending Mount Kinabalu will encounter sub-alpine and alpine vegetation.

The lower montane forest, or the oak-laurel forest, is distinguished by the predominance of trees belonging to the oak (Fagaceae) and laurel (Lauraceae) species. Also common at this altitude are tree ferns conifers and members of the tea, magnolia, oil-fruit and root-parasite balaphora families.

The upper montane forest begins at altitudes of 1,700 metres and above. Here, one finds Rhododendron and Vaccinium of the Ericaceae family. Their branches are gnarled and covered with mosses, liverworts, lichens and other epiphytes. Due to the enveloping blanket of cloud and mist, the forest appears perpetually damp.

Exclusive to Mount Kinabalu, Malaysian subalphine vegetation comprises a windswept, shrubby forest intermixed with open, grassy, waterlogged vegetation.

Further up the mountain, at 3350 metres, one encounters alphine vegetation where the forest suddenly becomes quiet with the cessation of the sounds of birds and insects. With the mist, visibility drops to less than 10 metres.