Native to Malaysia but restricted to a few locations in Sabah and Sarawak where the main threat is from selective logging.
Distribution
Borneo: Sabah (Mt. Kinabalu and vicinity), one locality in Sarawak known (not shown on map). This species is rare and has a scattered distribution. There may be more trees in other localities yet not discovered.
Habitat and Ecology
Dacrydium gracile is a tree occurring scattered in lower montane rainforest. It is usually associated with the conifers Agathis borneeensis, Podocarpus laubenfelsii, Sundacarpus amarus, Falcatifolium falciforme, Nageia wallichiana, and Dacrycarpus imbricatus on soils poor in nutrients ('kerangas' forest); in Sarawak it occurs in low canopy 'heath' forest on sandstone.
Human Uses
No uses have been recorded for this species; it is assumed to be of value for its timber like other species in the genus that grow into tall forest trees. Its protected status within Mt. Kinabalu National Park makes exploitation at least of these trees unlikely but outside this protected area it may be logged.
Conservation Status
Global status
Near Threatened (EN B2ab(iii and/or v)
Global rationale
Dacrydium gracile is a large tree with a distribution which appears to be highly localized within a narrow altitudinal range on Mt. Kinabalu, the Crocker range and adjacent parts of Sarawak. It is an integral part of the lower montane oak-laurel forest. Trees are hard to distinguish from other Dacrydium species and so are likely to be cut wherever accessible for construction timber. Populations on Mt. Kinabalu are almost entirely contained within the national park and so are relatively well protected. The proportion of the total population within the protected area is uncertain. Outside of the national park it occurs in forest types that have been or are vulnerable to logging but the impact on the number of individuals and area of occupancy is uncertain. Although the known area of occupancy is well within the thresholds for Endangered under criterion B, uncertainty about the number of locations and the extent of decline indicate an assessment of Near Threatened (it almost qualifies for a threatened listing under criterion B2ab(iii and/or v) rather than Endangered.
Global Threats
This species is quite rare and occurs as individual trees in primary forest. Most herbarium collections are from Mt. Kinabalu and vicinity (partly in Mt. Kinabalu National Park) and the disjunct locality in Sarawak (in a different habitat) could indicate that it is more widespread than currently known. With the present knowledge its area of occupancy (AOO) is certainly less than 20 km² but the total number of mature individuals is unknown. Outside of the protected areas it is probably vulnerable to logging.
Conservation Actions
A substantial part of the population is located within Mount Kinabalu National Park.
References and further reading
Beaman, J.H. & Beaman, R.S. (1998). The plants of Mount Kinabalu 3. Gymnosperms and non-orchid monocotyledons. Natural History Publications (Borneo) in association with RBG Kew.
Beaman, R.S. & Beaman, J.H. (1993). The Gymnosperms of Mt Kinabalu. Contributions from the University of Michigan Herbarium 19: 307-341.
de Laubenfels, D.J. (1988). Coniferales. Flora Malesiana series I - spermatophyta, flowering plants 10(3).
Farjon, A. (2010). A Handbook of the World's Conifers. Koninklijke Brill, Leiden.
Farjon, A. 2013. Dacrydium gracile. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2015.2. . Downloaded on 07 September 2013
