Sustainable urban development is a major issue in developing countries, namely in environmental and social aspects. Urban forests have the potential to address these issues. Thus, it is not surprising that urban forest research is slowly gaining traction in these regions. However, there have been limited urban forest research reviews focusing on developing countries, especially tropical countries in the global south. Research reviews are vital in identifying the distribution of research themes, hence revealing research gaps and needs. Therefore, this review paper aims to provide a deep insight into the development of urban forest research in Malaysia in the past 20 years. The core purpose of this review is to analyze the distribution of research themes in Malaysia, thus identifying research gaps and needs in developing countries. A total of 43 articles were selected for this review, using the PRISMA framework. The distribution of research articles showed a continuous increase over time, especially for the past five years (2016 to 2021). The reviewed articles were categorized according to five emerging research themes in urban forestry. More than 41% of the reviewed articles fell under Theme 1 (the physicality of urban forests), with the majority being on biodiversity (n = 10). Theme 5 (the governance of urban forest) had the lowest research output (n = 3). Urban forestry research is slowly gaining prominence globally including the global south; however, there are obvious preferences in research focus, causing some research questions to be neglected. These research gaps are especially evident in four areas—soil science, ecophysiology, valuation (economics), and environmental justice. These research gaps should be addressed by the scientific community to ensure a thorough and complete research growth pertaining to urban forestry.

Species checklists enlist the species existing within a distinct geographical biome and assist as an indispensable input for evolving conservation and administration strategies. The arenas of conservation ecology and biology face the challenge of exaggerated biodiversity, accredited to the non-recognition of taxonomic inconsistencies. The study’s goals are to organize all scattered taxonomic information regarding bivalve molluscs from Malaysian Borneo, i.e. Sarawak and Sabah, under one umbrella. Available literature regarding Malaysian Borneo was reviewed. The published taxonomic data on bivalve species, conservation status, inconsistencies, habitats (marine, fresh, and brackish), research aspects, threats, and conservation strategies are presented. A critical review of the checklists and distributional records of the class Bivalvia from Malaysian Borneo and subsequent validation of species names with the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) database revealed that currently 76 bivalve species from 12 orders and other entities, 18 superfamilies, and 27 families have been recorded from the area. Twenty-six inconsistencies with WoRMS were found, and the corrected names are presented. The study indicates most of the enlisted bivalve species have not been evaluated by the IUCN Red List authority and have ‘Least Concern’ or ‘Data Deficient’ status for Malaysian Borneo. To date, published documents on conservation decision strategies and guidelines for future research are not good enough. Nevertheless, potential threats and their remedies for bivalves in the enriched Malaysian Borneo ecosystems are discussed herein.

Macrofaunal diversity and composition are essential to understanding the ecosystem structures and functions of mangroves in any dynamic estuarine coast. To understand the temporal distribution of macrofaunal community structures and diversity on the surface sediment in the intertidal mangrove forest next to the seagrass beds, this study was conducted at Punang-Sari-River estuary, Lawas, Sarawak (Malaysian Borneo), South China Sea. Sampling was done during post-monsoon, intermediate-September, pre-monsoon, and monsoon from July 2019 to February 2020. The mean macrofauna abundance was higher pre-monsoon, while Gastropoda Optediceros breviculum (L. Pfeiffer, 1855) was the most abundant (RA = 0.704). Important Species Index (ISI = 70.36) and percentage of contribution (64.97%) were also higher for this species than any other records from the site. The ANOSIM (Analysis of Similarity), Jaccard index and SIMPER (Similarity Percentage Analysis) analysis suggested that the highest species abundance similarity was observed between pre-monsoon and monsoon, while the highest dissimilarity was observed between intermediate-September and pre-monsoon (74.67%). Seasonal PCA, nMDS, and cluster analysis revealed that pre-monsoon and monsoon were comparable in species and individual abundance. The dominance (0.85) was found significantly higher (P < 0.0001) in intermediate-September, while Simpson (0.734), Shannon (1.56) and Evenness indices (0.528) were found higher in monsoon, followed by the higher Margalef richness indices (3.21) in post-monsoon. It was observed that the seasonal ecological parameters were found to be significantly (P < 0.05) different, including the temperature, salinity, rainfall, pore water nitrogenous compounds (NO2, NO3 and NH3-N), phosphorus compound (PO4) and micro minerals. The Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) results suggested that ecological factors influenced several species. Considering the few studies on mangrove macrofauna in Malaysian Borneo, further research on their trophic structures and food web interactions is very important to disclose their overall characteristics and ecosystem functions.

Rivers are important ecosystems for maintaining rich biodiversity, including aquatic life and plants that could help human livelihoods and support ecosystem services. The public is only concerned about rivers when it focuses on less water quantity and poor water quality. River health determines the river's value and refers to a condition in which the natural structure and function of the ecosystem are maintained. This study aims to i) evaluate the level of river health awareness among small and medium industries in the Kidurong Industrial Park (KINDA, Bintulu) and ii) investigate the efforts of small and medium industries in KINDA, Bintulu toward enhancing Sungai Plan river health. Generally, 34 companies alongside the Sungai Plan in the KINDA area were assessed via online Google form and face-to-face survey. The analysis refers to the four variables which are awareness of river health, responsibility towards river health, practice, and involvement, participation, and commitment. Findings revealed, the level of awareness among small and medium industries was high, and there was no significant difference between the companies. Most companies fell into highly aware categories, showing that small and medium industries around Sungai Plan were familiar with the concept and their role in river health. For the open-ended question concerning the company's role in helping to enhance river health, 66.7 % stated that waste management was the highest role performed by the companies followed by community awareness and environmental approach. These companies suggested activities such as systematic drainage, effective waste management, and regular cleaning of company areas in efforts to improve river health of Sg. Plan