All the montane forests surveyed are located within designated SSSI areas. As all the montane forest sites are remote and located at high altitude (> 600 m above sea level), the habitats were found to be intact and free from human disturbance. The habitats, in general, were structurally complex and supported high species diversity (12 ) and abundance (see Table G2 of Annex G for details). A number of rare and protected plant species, including Amentotaxus argotaenia, Machelia maudiae, Illicium angustisepalum, and several species of orchid and Camellia were observed in some of the surveyed patches of Lantau Peak and Sunset Peak (Sites 9a, 10a and 10b). Rare species of Lithocarpus haipinii, Machilus grijsii , Rhododendron simsii and Rhododendron farrerae were recorded from Ma On Shan (Sites 12a and c). Camellia oleifer was observed in Tai Mo Shan (Site 11c).

The habitat was considered as sufficiently studied as most of the identified montane forest sites have been surveyed and their existing locations confirmed and ecological value assessed (except for those patches which are of limited accessibility). All the identified montane forests are of high ecological value and no adjustment due to habitat degradation has occurred.

(12) The term "species diversity" here refers to the number of species observed and not to any specific index of diversity. The higher the number of species observed, the higher the species diversity and vice versa.