Borneo lowland rain forest

Last updated
Map of the Borneo lowland rainforest ecoregion, on the island of Borneo. Ecoregion IM0102.svg
Map of the Borneo lowland rainforest ecoregion, on the island of Borneo.

The Borneo lowland rainforest is an ecoregion, within the tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests biome, of the large island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. [1] It supports approximately 15,000 plant species, 380 bird species and several mammal species. The Borneo lowland rain forest is diminishing due to logging, hunting and conversion to commercial land use. The Borneo lowland rain forest is widely considered the second-oldest rainforest in the world after the Daintree Rainforest in Australia. [2]

Contents

Location and description

The World Wildlife Fund has divided Borneo into seven ecoregions: five areas of lowland forest; the central Borneo montane rainforests; and the Kinabalu montane alpine meadows. The lowlands are distinguished by climate (as the eastern side of the island is drier) or separated by the large Kapuas River and Barito River, which prevent animals and reptiles from spreading freely around the island.

The other lowland ecoregions, in addition to the Borneo lowland rain forests, are:

The Borneo lowland rain forests described in this article consist of all lowland areas not clearly in one of the above categories. They cover an area of about 165,100 square miles (427,500 km2), parts of which lie in all the political territories of the island: Kalimantan (Indonesia), Sarawak and Sabah (Malaysia) and Brunei.

Lowland Borneo has a stable climate, with monthly rainfall exceeding 8 inches throughout the year and a temperature range of more than 18 °C.

Ecology

During the Pleistocene glacial epoch, all of Borneo, Java, Sumatra, and mainland Indochina were part of the same landmass. This allowed plants and animals to migrate from one region to the next. Now Borneo is separated from the Malay Peninsula and the other islands, but still shares much of the same plant and animal diversity, while less of the Borneo wildlife is to be found further east in Sulawesi.

Flora

The lowlands of Borneo are home to the richest rainforest in the world. The climate provides an ideal growing environment for approximately 10,000 species of plant (more than in the whole continent of Africa). Among these are some 2,000 orchids and 3,000 trees, including 267 [Dipterocarpaceae] tropical rainforest trees, of which 155 are endemic to Borneo. This makes the island the center of the world's diversity for dipterocarps. Plants include five species of the strong-smelling parasite [Rafflesia], one of which, Rafflesia arnoldii , has flowers over a metre wide, making it the world's largest flower. The limestone uplands of the [Sangkulirang Peninsula] and Sarawak support their own particular plant communities, as do the [Labi Hills] on the Brunei-Sarawak border.

Fauna

The wildlife of this ecoregion consists of a large number of forest animals ranging from the world's smallest squirrel, the least pygmy squirrel, to the largest land mammal in Asia, the Asian elephant. It includes the critically endangered Sumatran rhinoceros, the endangered and iconic Bornean orangutan, twelve other species of primate, Bornean bearded pigs and Bornean yellow muntjac deer. The primates of Borneo are: three apes (Bornean orangutan, Müller's Bornean gibbon and Bornean white-bearded gibbon), five langurs, the southern pig-tailed macaque, the long-tailed macaque, Horsfield's tarsier (Tarsius bancanus), the Sunda slow loris (Nycticebus coucang) and the endangered proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus). There are no tigers on Borneo; carnivores include the endangered Sunda clouded leopard (Neofelis diardi), the sun bear (Helarctos malayanus), the otter civet (Cynogale bennettii), and several other mustelids and viverrids.

The 380 species of birds include eight hornbills, eighteen woodpeckers and thirteen pittas. There are nine near-endemic and two endemic birds; the black-browed babbler (Malacocincla perspicillata) and the white-rumped shama (Copsychus stricklandii). Among the rich variety of reptiles and amphibians are crocodiles and the earless monitor lizard (Lanthanotus borneensis). The sounds of the forest vary from day to night as different combinations of these birds and animals emerge to roam and feed.

Threats and preservation

Logging and conversion of natural forests to rubber, oil palm and industrial timber plantations and for small-scale farming have given rise to significant deforestation in recent decades. In 1982–83 and again in 1997–98, forest fires in Kalimantan cleared around 25,000 km2 each time for oil palm planting. Further threats in Sabah come from exploration for oil and coal in the Maliau Basin and the draining of the wetlands on the Klias Peninsula. In 2001, the World Wildlife Foundation forecast that "If the current trend of habitat destruction continues, there will be no remaining lowland forests in Borneo by 2010." [1] Although this forecast has not been fulfilled, in 2008 the IUCN Red List reported a 2005 prediction that "forest cover on the island of Borneo, if current deforestation rates continue, is projected to decline from 50% to less than one-third by 2020". [3]

Large nature reserves in Borneo include:

See also

Related Research Articles

Borneo island

Borneo is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and east of Sumatra. The island was named after the nation of Brunei.

Sumatra Island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands

Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is entirely governed by Indonesia and the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2.

Mount Kinabalu mountain in Sabah, Malaysia

Mountain Kinabalu is a mountain located at the West Coast Division of Sabah, Malaysia. It is protected as Kinabalu Park, a World Heritage Site. Kinabalu is the highest peak in Borneo's Crocker Range and is the highest mountain in the Malay Archipelago as well as the highest mountain in Malaysia. Mount Kinabalu is also the 20th most prominent mountain in the world by topographic prominence.

Bay cat Small wild cat

The bay cat, also known as Borneo bay cat and Bornean bay cat, is a wild cat endemic to the island of Borneo that appears to be relatively rare compared to sympatric wild cats, based on the paucity of historical, as well as recent records. Since 2002, it has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List because it is estimated that fewer than 2,500 mature individuals exist, and that the population declined in the past. The bay cat has been recorded as rare and seems to occur at relatively low density, even in pristine habitat.

Otter civet species of mammal

The otter civet is a semiaquatic civet native to Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei. It is listed as Endangered because of a serious ongoing population decline, estimated to be more than 50% over the past three generations, inferred from direct habitat destruction, and indirect inferred declines due to pollutants.

Tabin Wildlife Reserve wildlife reserve

The Tabin Wildlife Reserve is a nature preserve in Sabah, Malaysia. It was created in 1984 to preserve Sabah's disappearing wild animals. Occupying a large part of the peninsula forming the northern headland of Darvel Bay, it is located 48 kilometres east of Lahad Datu.

Danum Valley Conservation Area protected area

Danum Valley Conservation Area is a 438 square kilometres tract of relatively undisturbed lowland dipterocarp forest in Sabah, Malaysia. It has an extensive diversity of tropical flora and fauna, including such species as the rare East Sumatran rhinoceros, Bornean orangutans, gibbons, mousedeer, clouded leopards and over 270 bird species. Activities offered are jungle treks, river swimming, bird watching, night jungle tours and excursions to nearby logging sites and timber mills.

Borneo peat swamp forests

The Borneo peat swamp forests ecoregion, within the tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests biome, are on the island of Borneo, which is divided between Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Bornean orangutan great ape

The Bornean orangutan is a species of orangutan native to the island of Borneo. Together with the Sumatran orangutan and Tapanuli orangutan, it belongs to the only genus of great apes native to Asia. Like the other great apes, orangutans are highly intelligent, displaying tool use and distinct cultural patterns in the wild. Orangutans share approximately 97% of their DNA with humans.

Fauna of Borneo native animals of Borneo

Borneo is the third largest island in the world. In prehistoric times it was connected to the Asian mainland due to geological and climate changes. During the recent ice ages of the Pleistocene and the Holocene separation from the mainland caused extinctions and speciation of fauna on the island.

Fauna of Indonesia native animals of Indonesia

The fauna of Indonesia is characterised by high levels of biodiversity and endemicity due to its distribution over a vast tropical archipelago. Indonesia divides into two ecological regions; western Indonesia which is more influenced by Asian fauna, and the east which is more influenced by Australasian species.

Wildlife of Malaysia

The wildlife of Malaysia is diverse, with Malaysia being a megadiverse country. Most of the country is covered in rainforest, which hosts a huge diversity of plant and animal species. There are approximately 361 mammal species, 694 bird species, 250 reptile species and 150 frog species found in Malaysia. Its large marine territory also holds a great diversity of life, with the country's coastal waters comprising part of the Coral Triangle.

<i>Koompassia excelsa</i> species of plant

Koompassia excelsa is an emergent tropical rainforest tree species in the family Fabaceae. It is found in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand. It is one of the tallest tropical tree species: the tallest measured specimen is 85.8 m or 88 m(281 or 289 ft) tall.

Betung Kerihun National Park National park in Borneo, Indonesia

Betung Kerihun National Park is a national park in the province of West Kalimantan on the island of Borneo, Indonesia. It is located inland, along the Malaysian border. The park was established in 1995, and has a total area of 8,000 km2 (3,100 sq mi) or about 5.5 percent of West Kalimantan Province area. Together with the 2,000 km2 (800 sq mi) Lanjak Entimau Wildlife Sanctuary in Malaysia, it has been proposed to form a World Heritage Site named the "Transborder Rainforest Heritage of Borneo".

Tanjung Puting National Park in Indonesia

Tanjung Puting National Park is a national park in Indonesia located in the southeast part of West Kotawaringin Regency in the Indonesian province of Central Kalimantan. The nearest main town is the capital of the Regency, Pangkalan Bun. The park is famous for its orangutan conservation.

Environment of Malaysia Megadiverse ecology with rainforests and ocean

The environment of Malaysia refers to the biotas and geologies that constitute the natural environment of this Southeast Asian nation. Malaysia's ecology is megadiverse, with a biodiverse range of flora and fauna found in various ecoregions throughout the country. Tropical rainforests encompass between 59% to 70% of Malaysia's total land area, of which 11.6% is pristine. Malaysia has the world's fifth largest mangrove area, which totals over a half a million hectares.

Deforestation in Borneo Deforestation

Deforestation in Borneo has taken place on an industrial scale since the 1960s. Borneo, the third largest island in the world, divided between Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei, was once covered by dense tropical and subtropical rainforests.

The Borneo montane rainforests are an ecoregion, of cloud forest, within the tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests biome, of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia.

The Borneo is located in Sunda Shelf which is an extensive region in Southeast Asia of immense importance in terms of biodiversity, biogeography and phylogeography of fauna and flora that had attracted AR Wallace and biologists all over the world.

References

  1. 1 2 "Borneo lowland rain forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
  2. ↑ http://www.oldest.org/geography/forests/
  3. ↑ Hearn, A.; Sanderson, J.; Ross, J.; Wilting, A. & Sunarto, S. (2008). "Pardofelis badia". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . IUCN. 2008.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.