By: Aireen (16/03/2008)
BERAKAS FOREST RESERVE (venue)
BERAKAS FOREST RESERVE (venue)
Area 149 ha, a forest research reserve under the Forestry Department
(Trails to be explored are Denai Ruranang, Denai Nibung and Denai Sinduk-Sinduk).
(Trails to be explored are Denai Ruranang, Denai Nibung and Denai Sinduk-Sinduk).
a) Rain forests in the tropics exist as different formations.
· Type of soil in the area
· Whether the soil is well drained
· Whether the water table is high
· The distance inland and
· The elevation.
b) In Brunei seven major forest formations are easily recognised:
1. Beach forest
2. Mangal (Mangrove) forest
3. Peatswamp forest
4. Riparian forest
5. Mixed Dipterocarp forest
6. Heath (Kerangas) forest
7. Secondary forests (belukar)
c) Type of rainforest here at the Berakas Forest Reserve: Beach forest and Heath forest
Beach forest - consisting of 4 forest formations- according to site and successional stage:
1. Ru laut (Casuarina equisetifolia) - a narrow belt fringing the shore;
2. Mixed Beach Forest - on dry soils behind the shore line;
3. Nibung (Oncosperma) Forest – on unconsolidated, moist sites and
4. Beach Scrub - on rocky outcrops.
d) Beach vegetation in Brunei:
Typically includes an association of the sandy beach and a narrow belt of trees and shrubs.
Most predominant trees are the Ru (Casuarina equisetifolia), the bintangor laut (Callophyllum inophyllum) and the coppery-leafed nyatoh laut (Planchonella obovata).
The shrubby taccada or Malayan rice-paper plant (Scaevola sericea), with thick, pale green leaves and small white flowers, each in the form of a tube slit down one side, frequently forms a fringe along the landward margin of the beach (Denai Ruranang)
This vegetation has adapted to the salt spray from the sea exposure to the sun and the wind and waves, the nutrient –poor substrate, wide variations in temperature and humidity – a naturally hostile environment for plant growth.
The Ru, is able to grow in such hostile environment because they are able to get additional nitrogen through bacterial associations in its root nodules (Mutualism).
Beach forests that once occurred along much of the coastline of Brunei.
But they have been much disturbed or replaced by human settlements and very few good patches remain (the coastline between Muara and Tutong and only further west towards Kuala Belait).
e) Note:
Denai Nibung: the Nibung is a type of palm, immediately recognizable by it spiny trunk and leaves. The rowing point (umbut) are eaten
Denai Sinduk-Sinduk: a large palm with big fronds (leaves); stilt roots; fungi (bracket mushroom) growing on rotting tree trunks; termite mound/nest - important insects for nutrient cycling and decomposition processes.
Denai Ruranang: lianas or woody climbers (akar); thick, rope-like stems twisting and winding their way up into the forest canopy, sun-loving plants, establish themselves in the bright forest gaps created by tree fall where they grow together with other trees and are raised to the forest canopy, has an important ecological role in large forest gaps - helps to provide a partly sheltered environment where seedlings and young trees intolerant of full light can establish themselves; some lianas hang across from one tree to another and may hang down to forest floor- these connections between trees serve as bridges for small mammals such as rodents in the forest; medicinal properties- stems are used for treating skin ailments and after childbirth, malaria, bacterial abcessses and high blood pressure; short lengths of stems yield potable water often taken by forest dwellers; and good ropes from the stem fibres.
f) The importance of rain forests:
§ Soil and nutrient conservation function- action of microbes in rain forest ecosystem breaks down organic matter from the remains of plants and animals and helps to release nutrients back into the system, making them available again for use by plant roots.
§ Hydrological balance- through living mass of plants and organic matter in forests, to hold large amounts of water which are slowly released to sustain streams and rivers.
§ Forest also acts as a ‘sink’ for atmospheric carbon dioxide. Photosynthesis prevents accumulation of carbon dioxide and other gases such as methane. Without forest, the accumulated gases intensify the greenhouse effect (which prevents radiation bouncing off the earth’s surface from penetrating through and leaving our atmosphere, causing world temperatures to increase, and so affecting the climatic system of the earth.
§ Economic values- rattans, bamboo, fruits, vegetables, medicinal plants, aromatic compounds, cordage, twine, resins, beeswax and meat. Many relatives of theses species, still found wild in the forest (some have yet to be discovered) can be important species for breeding.
g) Fauna – birds, termites, leaf litter and soil invertebrates, cicadas, etc.
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