REP126 Ecology and Biodiversity of upper Tabalong,J Payne,Ap

SOUTH and CENTRAL KALIMANTAN PRODUCTION FOREST PROJECT Jalan A. Yani, No. 37 (km35), Banjarbaru 70711, Indonesia

Tel. (62) 0511 781 975 – 979, Fax: (62) 0511 781 613

EUROPEAN COMMISSION – INDONESIA FOREST PROGRAMME

Ecology and Biodiversity of Upper Tabalong, South Kalimantan

Report No. 126

April 2002

Ecology and Biodiversity of Upper Tabalong, South Kalimantan Report No. 126 – April 2002

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PREFACE The South and Central Kalimantan Production Forest Project (SCKPFP) is a technical co-operation project jointly funded, in terms of the financing memorandum ALA/95/18, by the European Commission and by the Government of the Republic of Indonesia through the Ministry of Forestry and Estate Crops (MoFEC).

This report has been completed in accordance with the project Phase I Overall Work Plan (OWP) and

in part fulfilment of Activities 6.1 “To undertake environmental assessments”, 6.2 “To strengthen the capacity to implement and maintain environmental integrity in production forestry”, and 6.4 “To recommend any improvement to increase the capacity of forest protection”

to achieve Result 6 “The forest ecosystem and associated ecosystems within the project sites managed to maintain viability and diversity”,

to realise the three-year project Phase I purpose, which is “SFM model developed that incorporates the ITTO guidelines and principles developed and implemented in the forestry operation of Aya Yayang and a central Kalimantan pilot concession.”

This report has been prepared with financial assistance from the Commission of the European Communities. The opinions, views and recommendations expressed are those of the author(s) and in no way reflect the official opinion of the Commission. The report has been prepared by:

• Dr Junaidi Payne (Ecologist, SCKPFP)

Edited by Ir. Alfan Subekti, M.Sc (Environmental Specialist, SCKPFP)

The report is acknowledged and approved for circulation by the Project Co-Directors when duly signed below.

Banjarbaru, April 2002

Dr. John Tew

International Co-Director

Dr. Silver Hutabarat

National Co-Director


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thanks go to the staff of PT AYI (especially the field staff of the Research and Development section), the various specialist experts who conducted botanical and zoological field work for SCKPFP, and the people of upper Tabalong.

Front cover :

(left) Hill dipterocarp forest, lightly logged, showing good regeneration of a diverse undergrowth and a Shorea (meranti merah) tree (east of PT AYI main road, km 59, 2001)

(right) Maintenance of a thick layer of decaying leaves represents a key factor in conserving soil condition and retaining potential for damaged forest to regenerate with a floral composition similar to that of the original forest. The seedling is a two-year old Durio lanceolata (east of PT AYI main road, km 59, 2001)


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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report covers three aspects of the ecology and biodiversity the upper Tabalong area in South Kalimantan. Firstly, the habitats, flora and fauna of this area are described (sections 3, 4 and 5). The report represents the first detailed investigation of biodiversity of any forest site in South Kalimantan province. Secondly, the various issues relevant to conservation of biodiversity and ecological processes in upper Tabalong are discussed, at the levels of habitat and species (sections 6 and 7). Thirdly, a study of possible means for biological monitoring of production forests is described and conclusions drawn. This was conducted as part of the process of investigating biodiversity in the PT. Aya Yayang Indonesia production forest concession in upper Tabalong.

The information used to compile the report is based mainly on surveys by the SCKPFP Ecologist and various specialists.

The taxonomic groups of plants and animals chosen for investigation by specialists are those initially believed to possess characteristics that might render them suitable for biological monitoring of forest condition.

All taxonomic experts engaged by SCKPFP made scientific collections. For plants collected in upper Tabalong, permanent specimens are retained at Wanariset Samboja herbarium, East Kalimantan (a division under Balai Penelitian Kehutanan, Samarinda, and / or Herbarium Bogoriense (the Indonesian national herbarium, a division of Litbang Biologi, LIPI, in Bogor). For animals, invertebrate and fish specimens are retained at Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense (the national zoological museum at Cibinong) while amphibian and reptile specimens are retained at the biology museum of Fakultas Matematika dan Ilmu Pengetahuan Alam, Institut Teknologi Bandung.

The natural vegetation of all land in upper Tabalong is forest, containing a diverse array of plant and animal species. Overall, the remaining forests of upper Tabalong are ecologically and biologically typical of hill dipterocarp forests in Kalimantan.

Almost 400 trees species were recorded in upper Tabalong. In general, the upper Tabalong area appears to be relatively poor in dipterocarp diversity (with about 37 species recorded to date) compared to low-altitude hill ranges in many other parts of Borneo island.

The following ecological vegetation types present in upper Tabalong are described :


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Forest Type Key features Hill dipterocarp Commonest forest type, mainly logged. Variable in tree

composition. Lowland & valley bottom dipterocarp

Relatively species poor, but with some tree species rare elsewhere (e.g. ulin Eusideroxylon zwageri). Important for wildlife.

Biwan Areas where biwan (Endertia spectabilis) trees are dominant, and commercial trees rare or absent.

Dipterocarp-poor (a) old secondary, & (b) South & Central Kalimantan border

(a) Land cultivated or settled more than 50 years ago; recognised by preponderance of edible fruit trees, legumes, strangling figs and sungkai (b) Western volcanic hills; most large trees are not dipterocarps.

Riverine Along banks of rivers and larger streams; few or no dipterocarps present.

Limestone : lower slopes & scree

Distinctive tree flora, rather species poor, but variable from site-to-site.

Limestone : cliffs & ridges

Gunung Tanggur, and upper Ayu & Pasuang Rivers. Suspectible to drought and fire.

Secondary growth - Secondary forest on alluvium - Secondary forest on other soils - Roadside growth - “Jungle rubber” - Scrub & alang-alang

Perhaps the most notable feature is the existence of biwan forest, which has not been recorded elsewhere. To date, no “new” plant species have been identified in upper Tabalong, but several rare tree species occur.

Caves exist in the Gunung Tanggur and upper Ayu – Pasuang River limestone areas and some are inhabited by edible nest swiftlets and bats. The potential archaeological value of these sites merits attention. Some of the oldest known human artifacts in Kalimantan have been found in Gua Babi cave, also in upper Tabalong.

One new genus of termite was discovered. In general, diversity and abundance of soil and leaf litter invertebrates appears to be positively correlated with a thick, moist leaf litter

Ten previously undescribed, “new” fish species were collected in the upper Tabalong River in June 2001. Due to lack of scientific collecting of freshwater fish in forest areas of south-eastern Kalimantan, and lack of information on the occurrence of damaging fishing methods in more remote areas, it is unknown whether these “new” species can be considered threatened.

Amphibian diversity and density is typical of that for Borneo dipterocarp forests.

Population densities of mammals and birds appear to be lower than is usual in Borneo forests, probably due to a combination of naturally low biological productivity, a long history of logging and hunting, drought and fire (1982-83 and 1997-98), and loss of lowland forest.


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Gibbons (small apes) can be easily found and hunted due to their loud calls, yet they are common. This suggests that the low abundance of other mammals in upper Tabalong may be primarily a function of the low productivity of certain animal foods in these forests (notably young leaves, seeds and insects) rather than hunting.

A very small population of banteng (wild cattle; Bos javanicus) exists in upper Tabalong. Other rare large mammals are sun bear, clouded leopard and proboscis monkeys. Orang-utan (Pongo pygmaeus) is absent from upper Tabalong, probably naturally so, because of insufficient wild fruit production through the year. Even if hunting could be prevented, it is very unlikely that upper Tabalong could support a breeding population of orang-utans if this species were to be introduced from elsewhere.

Efforts to conserve ecological processes and biodiversity can be directed at habitats or at individual species, but the most important means to conserve wild species is to maintain large samples of original forest and habitat types in good condition.

The near total loss of lowland forest in upper Tabalong has reduced the biological value of the overall forest area, because lowland areas tend to be more productive of biomass that serves as food for animal life; also, some plant and animal species normally breed only in lowlands.

The difference between conservation areas (mainly protection forest in the context of upper Tabalong) and production forest is largely academic because, under prevailing circumstances all accessible forests are being logged and some converted to non-forest use.

If properly managed for commercial wood production, industrial tree plantations can help to sustain populations of some wild species, but all plantations support very few species in comparison to natural forests, and cannot support naturally rare and sensitive species.

According to the Forestry Law (41/1999), forest is classified as one of conservation, protection or production. Conservation forest (hutan konservasi) has not been designated in upper Tabalong, and in view of the practical problems involved in following the necessary administrative and legal procedures for changing forest function, it is considered best not to propose conservation forest in this area, but to use the categories of protection and production only.

Protection forest (= hutan lindung, which is a category of protection area – kawasan lindung – on the RTRW mapping system) is allocated on land above 45% slope and land with lesser slopes that has sensitive soils and high rainfall. Several significant problems associated with allocation of protection forest status in this way are discussed in the report. In upper Tabalong, significant land areas classified as protection and production forest on the official land use plans (RTRW) are non forest land, including villages and industrial tree plantation areas.

It is necessary that RTRW be revised to (a) (in general, for all areas including deforested land) reflect a practical combination of actual existing land use and an optimum goal for the future and (b) (for remaining forest land) definitively determine the long term allocation of protection forest, so that management plans can be developed for the remaining production forest.


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In addition to allocation of protection forest, it will be necessary (and administratively easier) to designate protection zones within production (and limited production) forest, in the context of long term sustainable forest management plans and 5 year logging work plans.

Issues relating to production forestry and biological conservation are discussed in the report. Overall, by maintaining a strong element of the original forest structure, the full complement of native species and ecological processes can survive in production forests. The most important factors contributing to survival of sensitive species and to good regeneration of disturbed forest are retention of some tall, mature trees throughout the forest and maintenance of a thick organic layer on the soil surface.

The single most beneficial way in which production forestry can be improved to favour maintenance of ecological processes and survival of sensitive and rare species, is to minimize damage to the original mature forest structure, by any and all means possible, during logging operations.

The implications of illegal logging, fire and ladang enroachment are discussed.

Use of electric shocks and poisons for catching fish for consumption is widespread and frequent in upper Tabalong.

“Protected” (by law) and “endangered, rare or threatened” (according to international listings) species must be given attention, because certain national and international institutions demand this. The relevant species which occur in upper Tabalong are identified. However, the significance of such lists must be placed in perspective of habitat conservation. The significance of hunting, harvesting and collecting wild birds in upper Tabalong is outlined. Generally, direct attention to conserving rare species is needed only in the case of local endemic species that are intensively hunted or harvested.

Issues associated with monitoring biodiversity, forest condition and ecological functions are discussed.

Attention to such issues as preparation and implementation of sustainable forest management plans, improved road making and harvesting procedures, and law enforcement is needed more than monitoring. In particular, illegal logging and encroachment by farmers need to be tackled in preference to relatively minor adjustments to legal logging practices that might be revealed by any monitoring programme.

Despite these problems, forest concession-holders that wish to obtain internationally recognised certification of sustainable management are expected to provide evidence that conservation of biodiversity, forest condition and / or ecological functions are being addressed with the aid of monitoring programmes.

Unless one knows fairly precisely what is being monitored by indicators and if data recording is done to a consistent standard, then it is doubtful if the monitoring is worthwhile.

For any chosen parameter or biological taxon, there is typically a wide range of variation in space and time in a large forest concession. A poorly managed


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concession may contain patches of good quality forest, whereas a well-managed forest inevitably contains many damaged areas.

Criteria for choice of organisms suitable for monitoring are discussed in the report. It is concluded that none of the selected plant and animal groups investigated in the PT AYI area 1999 – 2001 are suitable, because of the need for specialist expertise and long periods for sampling and identification. The same will apply to all other groups.

A proposal to monitor forest condition through pioneer plants was investigated in the PT AYI area, as these plants are easily seen and identified, and their abundance is inversely related to original forest condition.

Based on field checks, however, it was found that use of pioneer plants to monitor changes over time in forest quality could yield misleading results.

Mature dry land forests in Kalimantan are characterised by the presence of many large trees rather than by any other feature. Probably the most practical means to monitor forest condition that could be used by concession staff, that does not require specialist knowledge or skills, is to monitor density per hectare of large trees (e.g. > 60 cm dbh).

A logged forest can contain more species than an undisturbed forest, due to influx of non-forest and forest-edge specialists. Thus, merely collecting lists of species in accessible sites will not reveal much about “biodiversity” in a particular area.

The majority of plant and animal species which occur in any particular area of dipterocarp forest also occur in many other areas of Borneo island or even South-east Asia. It is not so much the total numbers of species that reflect the biological significance of a particular area, as the presence of breeding populations of locally endemic, rare, threatened and endangered species.

In order to support conservation of biodiversity in production forests, therefore, it is best to place emphasis on identifying sensitive, endemic, rare, threatened and endangered taxa within a particular area and on seeking means to help conserve them in situ.


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RINGKASAN (INDONESIAN SUMMARY) Laporan ini melingkup 3 aspek ekologi dan keragaman hayati di kawasan Hulu Tabalong Kalimantan Selatan. Pertama, habitat, flora dan fauna di kawasan ini sebagaimana diuraikan pada bab 3, 4 dan 5. Laporan ini merupakan penelitian pertama di Kalimantan Selatan yang mengurai keragaman hayati secara rinci pada berbagai tapak hutan. Kedua, berbagai permasalahan yang terkait dengan upaya konservasi keragaman hayati dan ekologi di Hulu Tabalong juga didiskusikan pada tingkat habitat dan jenis (bab 6 dan 7). Ketiga, laporan ini juga menguraikan serta menyimpulkan satu studi terhadap pengertian-pengertian yang paling mungkin untuk pemantauan biologis hutan produksi. Semua ini dilakukan sebagai bagian dari proses penelitian keragaman hayati di HPH PT Aya Yayang Indonesia di Hulu Tabalong.

Informasi yang digunakan untuk menyatukan laporan ini utamanya berdasarkan pada survei yang dilakukan oleh Ahli Ekologi SCKPFP dan beberapa tenaga ahli proyek lainnya.

Kelompok tanaman dan hewan yang dipilih untuk penelitian oleh tenaga ahli, semuanya awalnya dipercaya untuk mengelompokkan karakteristik yang mungkin membuatnya sesuai untuk pemantauan biologis kondisi hutan.

Semua tenaga ahli taxonomi yang bekerjasama dengan SCKPFP telah membuat koleksi ilmiah. Untuk tumbuhan yang dikumpulkan di Hulu Tabalong, specimen permanen disimpan di Herbarium Wanariset Samboja, Kalimantan Timur (dibawah Balai Penelitian Kehutanan Samarinda) dan atau ke Herbarium Bogoriense (Herbarium Nasional dibawah PUSLITBANG Biologi LIPI,di Bogor). Untuk specimen hewan, invertebrata, dan ikan disimpan di Museum Zoologi Bogoriense, Bogor. Sementara specimen katak dan reptil disimpan di museum biologi Fakultas Matematika dan Ilmu Pengetahuan Alam, Institut Teknologi Bandung.

Hutan merupakan vegetasi alami dari semua lahan di Hulu Tabalong, yang berisi berbagai jenis tanaman dan hewan. Secara keseluruhan, hutan-hutan yang tersisa di Hulu Tabalong, secara ekologis dan biologis merupakan tipe hutan dipterocarp pegunungan di Kalimantan.

Hampir 400 jenis pohon yang tercatat di Hulu Tabalong. Umumnya, kawasan di Hulu Tabalong merupakan kawasan dimana keragaman dipterocarp-nya relatif miskin (hanya 37 jenis yang tercatat hingga kini) dibandingkan dengan sebaran pegunungan yang berketinggian rendah di beberapa daerah di pulau Kalimantan.

Tipe-tipe vegetasi ekologi berikut terdapat di Hulu Tabalong:

Tipe Hutan Gambaran kunci Dipterocarp pegunungan

Tipe hutan yang paling banyak, umumnya sudah ditebang. Komposisi pohon sangat beragam.

Dipterocarp dataran rendah dan dasar lembah

Jenisnya relatif miskin, namun beberapa jenis pohon jarang terdapat di tempat lain (misalnya ulin Eusideroxylon zwageri). Penting untuk kehidupan liar.

Biwan Daerah dimana pohon-pohon biwan (Endertia spectabilis) dominan dan pohon-pohon komersial sangat jarang bahkan tidak ada.


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Tipe Hutan Gambaran kunci Dipterocarp yang miskin (a) sekunder tua, & (b) perbata-san Kalsel-Kalteng

(a) Lahan yang ditanamai atau didiami lebih dari 50 th yang lalu; dihuni oleh pohon buah-buahan yang berlimpah; legum, sungkai dan tumbuhan pencekik. (b) Pegunungan vulkanik dibagian barat; umumnya pohon-pohon besar non dipterocarp

Tepi sungai Sepanjang tepi sungai dan aliran yang lebih besar, beberapa atau tidak ada dipterocarp

Bukit kapur: lereng lebih rendah dan landai

Flora pohon yang khas, namun miskin jenis, tetapi beragam dari satu tapak ke tapak yang lainnya.

Batu kapur: karang terjal dan punggung bukit

Gunung Tanggur, dan Hulu Ayu dan Pasuang. Mudah terbakar dan mengalami kekeringan.

Hutan sekunder - Hutan sekunder pada tanah aluvial - Hutan sekunder pada jenis tanah yang lain - Tepi jalan - “Rimba karet” - Alang-alang dan semak belukar

Kemungkinan gambaran yang paling penting adalah keberadaan hutan biwan, yang tidak pernah tercatat di manapun. Hingga saat ini, tidak ada jenis tumbuhan baru yang telah diidentifikasi di Hulu Tabalong, namun ada beberapa jenis pohon yang tergolong langka.

Gua-gua yang terdapat di Gunung Tanggur dan di kawasan batu kapur di Hulu Sungai Ayu dan Pasuang merupakan habitat burung penghasil sarang yang bernilai ekonomi tinggi serta habitat berbagai jenis kelelawar. Nilai arkeologi yang potensial dari kawasan ini perlu mendapatkan perhatian. Beberapa artefak kuno manusia yang paling tua di Kalimantan ditemukan di Gua Babi, di Hulu Tabalong.

Satu marga baru rayap telah ditemukan. Secara umum, keragaman dan kelimpahan invertebrata tanah dan serasah daun tampaknya berkorelasi positif dengan ketebalan dan kelembaban serasah daun.

Sepuluh jenis ikan baru yang sebelumnya tidak pernah diuraikan telah dikumpulkan di Hulu Tabalong pada Juni 2001. Karena kurangnya pengumpulan ilmiah terhadap ikan air tawar di kawasan hutan di Kalimantan bagian tenggara dan kurangnya informasi terhadap keberadaan metode penangkapan ikan yang merusak di beberapa daerah terpencil, hal ini mengakibatkan apakah jenis-jenis baru tersebut merupakan jenis yang terancam punah.

Keragaman dan kerapatan amfibi adalah merupakan cirri dari hutan dipterocarp Borneo.

Kepadatan populasi mamalia dan burung yang tampak lebih rendah dari umumnya di hutan Borneo, mungkin akibat kombinasi dari produktifitas biologis yang rendah secara alami, sejarah panjang pembalakan dan perburuan, kemarau dan kebakaran hutan (1982-1983 dan 1997-1998) serta hilangnya hutan dataran rendah.

Owa-owa (ekor pendek) dapat ditemukan dengan mudah dan diburu karena suaranya yang keras serta umum. Hal ini menunjukkan bahwa rendahnya jenis mamalia di Hulu Tabalong mungkin lebih disebabkan oleh fungsi produktifitas


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yang rendah terhadap produksi makanan untuk jenis hewan tertentu di hutan-hutan tersebut (daun-daun muda, biji, dan serangga) daripada perburuan.

Di Hulu Tabalong juga terdapat banteng (Bos Javanicus, liar) dalam populasi yang sangat kecil. Jenis mamalia besar yang juga sudah jarang ditemukan adalah beruang matahari, macan dahan, dan bekantan. Orang utan (Pongo pygmaeus) tidak terdapat di Hulu Tabalong, kemungkinan secara alami akibat ketidakcukupan produksi buah liar dalam setahun. Sekalipun jika perburuan dapat dicegah, tampaknya hal ini tidak mungkin dapat mendukung pembiakan populasi orang utan jika jenis ini dicoba dilepaskan dari daerah lain.

Upaya-upaya untuk melindungi proses ekologi dan keragaman hayati dapat diarahkan pada habitat atau jenis individu. Namun modal yang paling penting untuk melindungi jenis-jenis liar adalah dengan memelihara percontohan yang luas dari hutan yang masih asli dan tipe habitat pada kondisi hutan yang masih baik.

Hampir seluruh total kehilangan hutan dataran rendah di Hulu Tabalong telah mengurangi nilai biologis dan kawasan hutan yang ada, karena kawasan dataran rendah lebih memproduksi biomasa yang menyediakan makanan bagi kehidupan hewani, serta beberapa jenis tanaman dan hewan umumnya berkembang biak hanya pada dataran rendah.

Perbedaan antara kawasan konservasi (terutama hutan lindung dalam konteks Hulu Tabalong) dan hutan produksi secara akademis sangat luas karena kondisi saat ini, semua hutan yang dapat dijangkau telah ditebang dan sisanya telah dikonversi menjadi penggunaan non hutan.

Jika dikelola dengan lebih baik untuk produksi kayu komersial, hutan tanaman indsutri dapat membantu melestarikan populasi beberapa jenis liar, namun semua hutan tanaman hanya mendukung beberapa jenis dibandingkan hutan alam, dan tidak dapat mendukung jenis-jenis yang mulai jarang serta jenis sensitif.

Menurut UU Kehutanan No. 41/1999, hutan dibagi menjadi konservasi, lindung dan produksi. Hutan konservasi tidak terdapat di Hulu Tabalong, dan dalam hal permasalahan praktis yang terlibat berikut prosedur hukum dan administratif untuk merubah fungsi hutan, sangat baik untuk tidak mengusulkan hutan konservasi pada daerah ini tetapi hanya menggunakan kategori lindung dan produksi.

Hutan lindung yang merupakan bagian dari kawasan lindung (sesuai dengan sistem pemetaan RTRW) dialokasikan pada lahan dengan kelerengan lebih dari 45% dan atau berkelerengan kurang namun memiliki jenis tanah yang sensitive dan curah hujan yang tinggi. Beberapa permasalahan penting yang terkait dengan alokasi status hutan lindung juga dibahas dalam laporan ini. Di hulu Tabalong, kawasan penting yang digolongkan sebagai hutan lindung dan produksi pada RTRW adalah bukan kawasan hutan, termasuk desa-desa dan kawasan HTI.

Adalah sangat perlu untuk merevisi RTRW dengan alasan (a) (secara umum, semua kawasan termasuk lahan terdeforestasi) mencerminkan kombinasi praktis dari penggunaan lahan saat ini yang aktual dan tujuan yang optimal untuk masa mendatang, dan (b) (terhadap kawasan hutan yang tersisa) secara definitif menentukan alokasi jangka panjang hutan produksi, sehingga rencana pengelolaan dapat dikembangkan bagi hutan produksi yang masih tersisa.


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Terhadap alokasi hutan produksi, akan sangat perlu (dan secara administratif lebih mudah) untuk merancang kawasan lindung dalam hutan produksi (dan hutan produksi terbatas), dalam konteks rencana pengelolaan hutan jangka panjang serta rencana karya lima tahunan.

Permasalahan terkait dengan hutan produksi dan konservasi biologi juga dibahas dalam laporan ini. Secara umum, dengan memelihara elemen yang kuat terhadap struktur hutan yang asli, keseimbangan terhadap jenis asli dan proses ekologi dapat bertahan di hutan produksi. Faktor-faktor yang paling penting berkontribusi terhadap daya tahan jenis-jenis yang sensitif dan regenerasi yang baik dari hutan yang telah terganggu adalah perlindungan beberapa pohon masak tebang dan tinggi dan memelihara lapisan organik yang tebal pada permukaan tanah.

Satu-satunya cara yang paling menguntungkan hutan produksi agar dapat disempurnakan dengan pemeliharaan yang lebih baik terhadap proses ekologi dan daya tahan jenis-jenis yang sensitif dan jarang, adalah dengan meminimasi kerusakan terhadap struktur hutan masak tebang yang masih asli , dengan beberapa dan semua sumberdaya yang mungkin, selama kegiatan pembalakan berlangsung.

Juga dibahas implikasi dari penebangan ilegal, kebakaran dan pembukaan ladang.

Penangkapan ikan untuk konsumsi dengan menggunakan racun dan listrik tersebar luas dan merata di Hulu Tabalong.

Jenis-jenis yang “dilindungi” (oleh undang-undang) dan “terancam, jarang dan hampir punah” (menurut daftar international) harus diperhatikan karena lembaga nasional dan internasional tertentu menekankan hal tersebut. Jenis-jenis terkait yang terdapat di Hulu Tabalong perlu diidentifikasi. Namun, perlunya daftar-daftar tersebut di atas harus ditempatkan pada perspektif konservasi habitat. Perlu juga untuk memperhatikan perburuan, pemanenan dan penangkapan burung-burung kicauan yang ada di hulu Tabalong. Secara umum, perhatian langsung terhadap perlindungan jenis-jenis yang semakin jarang hanya diperlukan pada kasus dimana perburuan dan pemanenan jenis-jenis setempat dilakukan secara intensif.

Permasalahan yang berkaitan dengan pemantauan keragaman hayati, kondisi hutan dan fungsi ekologi juga diuraikan.

Perhatian pada beberapa permasalahan seperti persiapan dan pelaksanaan rencana pengelolaan hutan lestari, penyempurnaan prosedur pembuatan jalan dan pemanenan, serta penegakkan hukum dirasakan lebih penting ketimbang pemantauan. Secara khusus, penebangan illegal dan perambahan oleh petani perlu dihambat untuk memulai perubahan minor relatif terhadap praktek penebangan illegal yang mungkin dapat diketahui melalui program pemantauan.

Dalam permasalah tersebut, para pemegang HPH yang berharap untuk mendapatkan sertifikasi internasional terhadap pengelolaan hutan yang lestari diharapkan untuk membuktikan bahwa konservasi keragaman hayati, kondisi hutan dan atau fungsi ekologi telah diperhatikan melalui program pemantauan.

Pemantauan tersebut menjadi sangat meragukan kegunaannya jika pencacahan data dilakukan sesuai dengan standar yang konsisten. Kecuali ada yang mengetahui secara tepat apa yang dipantau melalui indikator-indikator yang ada.


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Untuk paramater atau tata nama biologi yang dipilih, terdapat jarak yang lebar terhadap variasi dalam ruang dan waktu pada HPH yang luas. HPH yang dikelola dengan tidak baik akan memiliki kelompok-kelompok hutan yang berkualitas baik, sedangkan hutan yang dikelola lebih baik justru memiliki banyak kawasan yang rusak.

Kriteria untuk memilih organisme yang sesuai untuk pemantauan juga diuraikan dalam laporan ini. Disimpulkan bahwa tidak ada satupun kelompok tumbuhan dan hewan terpilih yang diteliti selama kurung 1999-2001 di PT AYI yang sesuai, karena kebutuhan akan tenaga ahli dan periode pengamatan dan identifikasi yang panjang. Hal ini juga berlaku terhadap semua kelompok lainnya.

Usulan untuk memantau kondisi hutan melalui jenis tumbuhan pioneer telah diteliti di kawasan PT AYI, karena jenis ini sangat mudah dilihat dan diidentifikasi, dan kelimpahannya merupakan hubungan yang terbalik dengan kondisi hutan yang asli.

Sesuai dengan pemeriksaan lapangan, bagaimanapun, telah ditemukan bahwa penggunaan tumbuhan pioneer untuk memantau perubahan yang terjadi setiap waktu terhadap kualitas hutan dapat membuahkan hasil yang membingungkan.

Hutan kering di Kalimantan dicirikan dengan hadirnya banyak pohon-pohon besar dibandingkan yang lainnya. Kemungkinan cara yang sangat praktis untuk memantau kondisi hutan yang dapat digunakan oleh staf HPH dan tidak memerlukan pengetahuan atau keahlian tertentu adalah dengan memantau kerapatan per hektar dari pohon-pohon besar (misalnya dbh > 60 cm).

Hutan bekas tebangan berisikan lebih banyak jenis yang terdapat pada daerah tertentu hutan dipterocarp, juga terdapat di daerah lainnya di pulau Borneo bahkan di Asia Tenggara. Total jumlah jenis yang menggambarkan pentingya biologis daerah tertentu tidaklah terlalu besar, akibat adanya pembiakan populasi jenis-jenis endemis lokal, serta jenis-jenis yang jarang, terancam dan langka.

Untuk mendukung konservasi keragaman hayati di hutan produksi, maka kemudian sangat baik menekankan pada identifikasi jenis-jenis yang peka, endemis, jarang, terancam dan langka dalam kawasan tertentu dan membantu melindungi mereka secara in situ.


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ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

AMDAL Analysis Mengenai Dampak Lingkungan (= Environmental Impact Analysis, equivalent

to Environmental Impact Assessment) AYI Aya Yayang Indonesia BBTHB Balai Benihan Tanaman Hutan Banjarbaru (forest planting seed source agency) CITES Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora Dbh diameter at breast height FSC Forest Stewardship Council Ha hectare(s) HTI Hutan Tanaman Industri (industrial tree plantation) IDR Indonesian rupiah ITTO International Tropical Timber Organization IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature & Natural Resources Kg kilogram(s) KPPN Kawasan Pelestarian Plasma Nutfah (germ plasma conservation area) LEI Lembaga Ekolabel Indonesia NTFP non timber forest product RTRW government land use planning maps SPAS satuan pemantauan arus sungai (River flow monitoring site) UNLAM Universitas Lambung Mangkurat (Banjarbaru)


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Table of Contents

PREFACE i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................................................................................ii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...................................................................................................................................................iii RINGKASAN (Indonesian Summary)...............................................................................................................................viii 1 Introduction......................................................................................................................................................1 1.1 Scope of “biodiversity” in this report.................................................................................................................1 1.2 Geographical coverage.......................................................................................................................................1 2 Methods.............................................................................................................................................................2 2.1 Examination of published materials on Kalimantan flora and fauna..................................................................2 2.2 Examination of unpublished materials on Kalimantan flora and fauna..............................................................2 2.3 Ecologist field surveys .......................................................................................................................................3 2.4 Specialist flora and fauna surveys ......................................................................................................................3 3 Forest types and other natural habitats .........................................................................................................4 3.1 Ecological forest types in upper Tabalong .........................................................................................................4 3.1.1 Hill dipterocarp forest ........................................................................................................................................5 3.1.2 Lowland and valley bottom dipterocarp forest...................................................................................................7 3.1.3 Biwan forest .......................................................................................................................................................7 3.1.4 Dipterocarp-poor hill forest................................................................................................................................8 3.1.5 Riverine forest....................................................................................................................................................9 3.1.6 Forest on limestone : lower slopes and scree .....................................................................................................9 3.1.7 Forest on limestone : cliffs and ridges..............................................................................................................10 3.2 Secondary growth.............................................................................................................................................10 3.3 Rivers and streams ...........................................................................................................................................12 3.4 Ponds................................................................................................................................................................12 3.5 Caves................................................................................................................................................................12 3.6 Biomass of vegetation ......................................................................................................................................12 4 Flora ................................................................................................................................................................14 4.1 Overview..........................................................................................................................................................14 4.2 Lichens.............................................................................................................................................................14 4.3 Bryophytes (mosses and liverworts) ................................................................................................................14 4.4 Ferns.................................................................................................................................................................14 4.5 Grasses and bamboos .......................................................................................................................................15 4.6 Pandans and similar plants ...............................................................................................................................15 4.7 Gingers and ginger relatives (order Zingiberales)............................................................................................15 4.8 Other herbaceous plants and shrubs .................................................................................................................16 4.9 Other epiphytes ................................................................................................................................................16 4.10 Creeping & scrambling plants..........................................................................................................................16 4.11 Lianas ...............................................................................................................................................................17 4.12 Rattans..............................................................................................................................................................17 4.13 Other palms ......................................................................................................................................................17 4.14 Small trees........................................................................................................................................................18 4.15 Trees.................................................................................................................................................................18 4.16 Non-native plants in the forest .........................................................................................................................20


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5 Fauna...............................................................................................................................................................21 5.1 Overview..........................................................................................................................................................21 5.2 Soil invertebrates..............................................................................................................................................21 5.3 Termites ...........................................................................................................................................................21 5.4 Cave invertebrates............................................................................................................................................22 5.5 Molluscs on limestone......................................................................................................................................22 5.6 Leeches.............................................................................................................................................................23 5.7 Freshwater fish .................................................................................................................................................23 5.8 Amphibians ......................................................................................................................................................23 5.9 Reptiles.............................................................................................................................................................23 5.10 Birds.................................................................................................................................................................23 5.11 Mammals..........................................................................................................................................................23 5.12 Factors limiting vertebrate populations............................................................................................................27 6 Conservation of ecological processes and biodiversity in upper Tabalong ...............................................28 6.1 General .............................................................................................................................................................28 6.2 Extent of forest.................................................................................................................................................28 6.2.1 Lowland forests................................................................................................................................................28 6.2.2 Tree plantations................................................................................................................................................28 6.3 Protection and conservation forest ...................................................................................................................30 6.3.1 Legal basis........................................................................................................................................................30 6.3.2 Problems...........................................................................................................................................................30 6.3.3 Needs................................................................................................................................................................31 6.4 Production forest ..............................................................................................................................................31 6.4.1 Current legal provisions ...................................................................................................................................31 6.4.2 Road and skid trail alignment...........................................................................................................................32 6.4.3 Lianas ...............................................................................................................................................................32 6.4.4 Production forestry and conservation...............................................................................................................32 6.5 Illegal logging ..................................................................................................................................................33 6.6 Fire ...................................................................................................................................................................34 6.7 Ladang encroachment ......................................................................................................................................35 6.8 Rivers & streams (freshwater life) ...................................................................................................................35 6.8.1 Damaging fishing methods...............................................................................................................................35 6.8.2 Mercury from illegal gold mining ....................................................................................................................35 6.8.3 Excessive suspended solids..............................................................................................................................35 6.9 Caves................................................................................................................................................................36 7 Species conservation issues in upper Tabalong ...........................................................................................37 7.1 General .............................................................................................................................................................37 7.2 Protected species ..............................................................................................................................................37 7.3 IUCN Red List species.....................................................................................................................................37 7.4 Endangered, rare an threatened species............................................................................................................38 7.5 Non timber plant harvesting.............................................................................................................................39 7.6 Hunting & animal product harvesting ..............................................................................................................39 7.6.1 Wild meat species ............................................................................................................................................39 7.6.2 Large animals ...................................................................................................................................................40 7.6.3 Edible bird nests...............................................................................................................................................40 7.6.4 Song birds ........................................................................................................................................................40 7.7 Non ERT species..............................................................................................................................................41 8 Monitoring biodiversity, forest condition and ecological functions ...........................................................42 8.1 General background .........................................................................................................................................42 8.1.1 Monitoring tropical production forests – Why and What?...............................................................................42


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8.1.2 What can field studies and monitoring reveal? ................................................................................................42 8.1.3 Theory and practice..........................................................................................................................................43 8.2 Some key issues ...............................................................................................................................................43 8.2.1 Indicators of what?...........................................................................................................................................43 8.2.2 Who conducts monitoring? ..............................................................................................................................43 8.2.3 Variation through a forest concession ..............................................................................................................44 8.2.4 Criteria for choice of organisms suitable for monitoring ................................................................................44 8.2.5 Organisms proposed, rejected and tested for suitability...................................................................................45 8.2.6 Possible approaches to designing a forest condition monitoring programme ..................................................47 8.3 Does the presence and abundance of pioneer plants reflect forest condition? .................................................48 8.3.1 Concept ............................................................................................................................................................48 8.3.2 Field checks......................................................................................................................................................48 8.4 Conclusions......................................................................................................................................................49 8.4.1 Biodiversity versus endangered, rare and threatened species...........................................................................49 8.4.2 Forest condition and ecological functions........................................................................................................50 9 References .......................................................................................................................................................51

List of Appendices

Appendix 1 Major guide books to the tree flora and vertebrate fauna of Borneo / Kalimantan ............................................55 Appendix 2 Ecologist field surveys in upper Tabalong .........................................................................................................57 Appendix 3 Specialist surveys of flora and fauna in upper Tabalong ...................................................................................62 Appendix 4 Examples of habitats in upper Tabalong ............................................................................................................64

List of Tables

Table 1 : Estimates of above-ground plant biomass of various vegetation types in south-eastern Kalimantan......................12 Table 2 : Some significant tree species in upper Tabalong.....................................................................................................18 Table 3 : Molluscs from Tanggur limestone...........................................................................................................................22 Table 4 : Mammals in upper Tabalong ...................................................................................................................................24 Table 5 : Endangered, rare and threatened species in upper Tabalong ...................................................................................38 Table 6. Criteria for choice of indicator organisms suitable for monitoring...........................................................................44 Table 7. Animal and plant groups investigated as possible indicators of forest condition .....................................................46 Table 8 : Pioneer plants of upper Tabalong that indicate poor forest or non-forest................................................................48

List of Figures

Figure 1. Some significant issues in ecological and biodiversity conservation ......................................................................29 Figure 2. A patch of hill dipterocarp forest remaining in the HTI “Murni” of PT. AYI about 2 km east of Panaan village

(2001).............................................................................................................................................................................65 Figure 3. Hill dipterocarp forest logged two years previously, showing prolific growth of pioneer plants such as Macaranga

and Melastoma (PT. AYI 1998-99 felling block; 2000) ................................................................................................65 Figure 4. Lowland dipterocarp forest showing a good example of the rare tree Canarium decumanum with its pale smooth

bark (Arberetum; 2000) .................................................................................................................................................65 Figure 5. Valley bottom dipterocarp forest, showing numerous small and medium-sized trees, lush undergrowth and

remains of a Shorea johorensis tree (right of centre), felled by gold miners for the buttresses (used to make pans); between Gunung Tanggur and Missim River (1999).....................................................................................................66

Figure 6. Lowland dipterocarp forest, showing Gunung Tanggur limestone in the background (west of Upper Tutui River; 1999) ..............................................................................................................................................................................66

Figure 7. Biwan (Endertia spectabilis) forest, with typical features of coppicing from the tree trunk, and moist, rocky soils (north side of Sinangoh River; 2001 ..............................................................................................................................66


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Figure 8. Canopy of a biwan tree with unripe fruits (November 2001)..................................................................................66 Figure 9. Dipterocarp-poor hill forest: this is old secondary forest (with charecteristic strangling fig and sungkai Peronema

canescens tree) in the Upper Tutui River, presumably site of a Lawangan settlement about a century ago (1999) ......67 Figure 10. Dipterocarp-poor hill forest, typical of that on the South and Central Kalimantan border hills, here showing

Octomeles sumatrana (2000) .........................................................................................................................................67 Figure 11. Riverine forest at junction of the Sinangoh and Tutui Rivers; ulin wood harvesters trail is visible on right (1999).67 Figure 12. The rare and beautiful Ficus albipila tree (superficially similar to Koompassia excelsa), previously recorded in

Borneo only from Banjarmasin (19th century record) and eastern Sabah; the species occurs along the Missim and Ayu-Pasuang Rivers.......................................................................................................................................................67

Figure 13. Forest on the lower slopes of Gunung Tanggur limestone (1999).........................................................................68 Figure 14. Secondary forest on non-alluvial soil, dominated by the Borneo endemic tree Macaranga glandibracteolata (Km

83, PT. AYI road; 2000) ................................................................................................................................................68 Figure 15. Secondary forest on moist alluvial soil (Missim) showing lush growth of small trees and herbs (1999) .............68 Figure 16. Forest on the Upper part of Gunung Tanggur limestone, showing absence of large trees (1999).........................68 Figure 17. Roadside growth At km 56, PT. AYI road, showing a young Dillenia reticulata tree, with secondary forest

burned by ladang makers behind (2001). .......................................................................................................................69 Figure 18. Roadside growth at km 76, PT. AYI road, showing good regrowth of various pioneer trees near the road, and a

remnant Shorea laevis (bangkirai) tree (top right) in the logged hill dipterocarp forest behind (2001).........................69 Figure 19. Jungle rubber” near Binjai, Ayu River, with a Durio kutejensis (pampakin) tree in the foreground ....................69 Figure 20. Scrub and alang-alang grass landscape South of Amparibura, the typical vegetation over much of the land

between Tanjung and Panaan, which contributes nothing to species conservation or to the economy or welfare of local people (2001) .................................................................................................................................................................69

Figure 21. A typical stream within hill dipterocarp forest in Upper Tabalong, with exposed rock and coarse gravel as the main substrate ( Arboretum; 2001) ................................................................................................................................70

Figure 22. Upper Missim above the Pasuang junction, with limestone and alluvium forming the riverbanks (1999) ...........70 Figure 23. One of many patches of burned forest scattered over the Upper Tabalong far from any road or human habitation,

ranging in extent from less than 1 hectare to saveral hectares. This one is half way between the Upper Tutui River and Gunung tanggur limestone. ............................................................................................................................................70

Figure 24. Entrance to cave in the Gunung Tanggur limestone..............................................................................................70 Figure 25. Vatica javanica scaphifolia (Dipterocarpaceae) a tree recorded only from the Balikpapan-Samarinda area and

the PT. AYI Arboretum. ................................................................................................................................................71 Figure 26. An infant honey bear (Helarctos malyanus), one of the few threatened mammal species found in Upper

Tabalong ........................................................................................................................................................................71 Figure 27. A natural concentrated mineral source (probably rich in magnesium) on the bank of the Upper Tutui River (at 10

32’ 50” S, 1150 29’ 16” E), visited by mammals, pigeons and large flying insects. ......................................................71


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1 Introduction This report covers three aspects of the ecology and biodiversity the upper Tabalong area in South Kalimantan. Firstly, the habitats, flora and fauna of this area are described (sections 3, 4 and 5). The report represents the first detailed investigation of biodiversity of any forest site in South Kalimantan province. Secondly, the various issues relevant to conservation of biodiversity and ecological processes in upper Tabalong are discussed, at the levels of habitat and species (sections 6 and 7). Thirdly, a study of possible means for biological monitoring of production forests is described and conclusions drawn. This was conducted as part of the process of investigating biodiversity in the PT. Aya Yayang Indonesia production forest concession in upper Tabalong. The main purpose is to provide information, analyses and recommendations which can assist land use policy-makers, forest managers and others to play a role in supporting biodiversity conservation in upper Tabalong.

1.1 Scope of “biodiversity” in this report

The term “biodiversity” is used in the report to refer to flora, fauna and the habitats in which they occur. The levels of biodiversity discussed in this report are species and habitats; genetic diversity is not addressed.

This report does not provide a comprehensive listing of the species present in upper Tabalong, an endeavour which would require very many years of intensive work by many taxonomic specialists. Instead, the emphasis is on those groups of plants and animals which (a) are well-known in other areas of Borneo, thus allowing comparison, (b) typically include rare and endangered species, and (c) are likely to be sensitive to forest disturbance.

1.2 Geographical coverage

The term “upper Tabalong” is an approximation of the area covered in this report. The surveys done are not comprehensive for the upper Tabalong River catchment. For example, the highest altitudes of Gunung Luang (more than 1,000 metres above sea leve) were not covered. Some surveys done during the course of gathering information in the field entered the catchments of the Kenarem River which flows into the Karau River in Central Kalimantan, and the Pemaraian River which flows into the Rongan River in East Kalimantan.


2

2 Methods Unless indicated otherwise, all species referred to in this report have been observed or collected in the upper Tabalong area and identified either by using published books, or by reference to herbarium specimens, or by specialist experts. Information of uncertain origin or reliability is not included in this report.

2.1 Examination of published materials on Kalimantan flora and fauna

Published materials were obtained and examined. The most significant readily-available sources are published books relating to trees, orchids and vertebrate fauna of Borneo in general or particular regions of Borneo (Appendix 1). These books provided important means to identify trees and vertebrates. An interactive key to the tree genera of Kalimantan is available at website http://django.harvard.edu/users/jjarvie/borneo.htm. The “CDNFI” system of cataloguing Indonesian trees (Boden, 2001) has too many omissions and errors (including species which are not trees, and non-native species) to be useful. Apart from orchids, there are no similar comprehensive guides for non-tree flora or invertebrates.

None of the above sources refer specifically to south-eastern Kalimantan. In general, the flora and fauna of Sabah and Sarawak (Malaysia) are better researched that of Kalimantan (Indonesia). No published scientific papers relevant to the upper Tabalong area were located.

2.2 Examination of unpublished materials on Kalimantan flora and fauna

There are some botanical records but no zoological records for Tabalong area in the Indonesian Biodiversity Information System (IBIS) held at Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense, Widyasatwaloka Building, Jl. Raya Bogor Km. 46, Cibinong. These records consist of botanical collections mainly of gingers, orchids and palms, made in the Jaro area in 1970’s by John Dransfield (Kew), E. de Vogel (Leiden) and Kuswata Kartawinata (Indonesia). No other records of botanical surveys or collections from Tabalong prior to SCKPFP work are known.

Great caution is needed in use of unpublished materials relating to the flora and fauna of south-eastern Kalimantan where the records are not related to collections made by experts. In particular, lists of tree species based on local names are highly misleading. Some local names refer to one species, some to one or more genera, some to a whole family, and some to a mix of unrelated genera. Some names are used to refer to a certain species in one area, but to a different species in another area; and some local names used in upper Tabalong do not appear in any existing lists. The unpublished list of Hildebrand (1949), available in Universitas Lambung Mangkurat (Banjarbaru) is interesting as a guide, but not as a means to compile lists of species.

Species lists of plants and animals in the Environmental Impact Assessment (AMDAL, 1998) for the P.T. Aya Yayang Indonesia production forest area in upper Tabalong have no indication of the information sources. Of the “ten most common tree species” reported for upper Tabalong in this AMDAL, six have not


3

been seen during SCKPFP work done by Kalimantan tree specialists, while two are present but relatively rare.

2.3 Ecologist field surveys

Much of the time involved in investigating the ecology and biodiversity of upper Tabalong consisted of field surveys in upper Tabalong, mainly in the P.T. Aya Yayang Indonesia production forest area (Appendix 2). Some of these surveys were done especially to obtain information on wild species and habitats, but many surveys also had other purposes and some were done in collaboration with experts from other components of SCKPFP.

2.4 Specialist flora and fauna surveys

Surveys of the flora and fauna of upper Tabalong were conducted by specialists (national and European), in and near the P.T. Aya Yayang Indonesia production forest area (see list in Appendix 3). In selecting taxonomic groups for investigation, emphasis was given to those groups which were considered possible candidates for biological monitoring of forest condition. Thus, trees and rattans were chosen because they are prominent and might be suitable for monitoring by HPH field staff; lianas, orchids, lichens and bryophytes were chosen because they represent groups that tend to be sensitive to changes in light, moisture and temperatue resulting from logging disturbance; soil invertebrates, including termites, were chosen because top-soil and leaf litter are stongly influenced by logging methods and intensity; frogs and fish were chosen because they are likely to be affected by changes in water quality resulting from logging on slopes.

For almost all plant and animal groups, it is necessary to collect samples for identification of species. In general, only for birds and large mammals is it possible to reliably indentify species by field observation alone. For plants, accurate identification requires collection of samples and preparation of dried specimens, ideally with flower or fruits. For animals, accurate identification requires collection of samples and retention in preservatives (formalin or alcohol). All taxonomic experts engaged by SCKPFP made such collections. For plants collected in upper Tabalong, permanent specimens are retained at one or both of Wanariset Samboja herbarium, East Kalimantan (a division under Balai Penelitian Kehutanan, Samarinda, and the foremost taxonomic botanical research institution in Kalimantan) and / or Herbarium Bogoriense (the Indonesian national herbarium, a division of Litbang Biologi, LIPI, in Bogor). Where available, duplicate specimens have been sent to other institutions including Rijksherbarium (the national herbarium of the Netherlands). For animals, invertebrate and fish specimens are retained at Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense (the national zoological museum at Cibinong) while amphibian and reptile specimens are retained at the biology museum of Fakultas Matematika dan Ilmu Pengetahuan Alam, Institut Teknologi Bandung (which contains one of the major scientific collections of amphibia and reptiles in Indonesia).


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3 Forest types and other natural habitats

3.1 Ecological forest types in upper Tabalong

The natural vegetation of all land in upper Tabalong is forest, containing a diverse array of plant and animal species. Relatively few species are confined to only one kind of physical situation. Thus, a classification of vegetation types is somewhat arbitrary, depending mainly on a combination of the most prominent plant species and on prominent physical features. The classification provided here uses trees and other natural characteristics as a basis.

The descriptions and discussion below combine observations made by the SCKPFP Ecologist, the SCKPFP site classification specialist (Boden, 2001), the botanical staff of the Wanariset Samboja herbarium, East Kalimantan (Sidiyasa & Zainal, 2001) and Dr Paul Kessler of the National Herbarium of the Netherlands. The term “ecological forest types” is used to distinguish other classifications based on the needs of timber production management. In practice, the various forest types described here may merge into one another without a sharply defined boundary.

The majority of natural forest remaining in upper Tabalong can be described as commercially logged dipterocarp forest, in which at least some of the large trees are members of the family Dipterocarpaceae. Based on SCKPFP field surveys in upper Tabalong, four types of dipterocarp forest are recognized in this report, of which two are dominated by dipterocarp trees, while two contain but are not dominated by dipterocarp trees. Two areas where additional forest types might occur have not been visited, due to their relatively remote locations. Firstly, local informants state that the water in Sungai Merah (a tributary of the Tutui River, just outside the northern boundary of the PT AYI concession at around 115o 34’ E, 1o 28’ S) is tea-coloured, suggesting the presence of sandy, podsolic or peaty soils in this area. Secondly, PT AYI field staff report the presence of forest containing Agathis trees in the north-western corner of the concession. Agathis has not been seen by the Ecologist in upper Tabalong, although the superficially similar conifer Nageia wallichiana (Podocarpaceae; locally referred to as “agatis”) has been seen as very rare, scattered trees and seedlings in the PT AYI concession.

Apart from the more detailed descriptions (below), the dipterocarp forests of upper Tabalong have a number of characteristics in common. Firstly, the exact species composition of trees and other plants varies greatly from site to site, both within as well as between forest types. Secondly, although certain tendencies and species associations are clear, the exact composition of even the most prominent tree species is not consistently related to slope, altitude, aspect or distance from top or bottom of a hill.

In general, the upper Tabalong area appears to be relatively poor in dipterocarp species diversity compared to low-altitude hill ranges in many other parts of Borneo island. Although about 37 species of Dipterocarpaceae have been recorded in upper Tabalong to date, this is rather low in view of the heterogeneity in altitude, slope and soil types. In the Labanan production forest concession at Berau, northern East Kalimantan, for example, 62 dipterocarp species have been recorded (Kessler, 2000). The difference is in part due to the more intensive tree identification surveys by specialists done at Berau, but there is also a natural


5

biogeographical difference. Within Borneo island, the diversity of dipterocarp species is highest in the west and north. Kessler (pers. comm.) has suggested that the Barito and Mahakam Rivers, and also the limestone hills of Sangkulirang in East Kalimantan, may have acted as partial barriers to dispersal of plants from the north (including Philippines) and west (including Sumatera).

3.1.1 Hill dipterocarp forest

This is the most widespread natural forest type in upper Tabalong. Most has been logged (see below, this section). The common characteristics of this forest are (a) that trees of the family Dipterocarpaceae are more common than any other single plant family amongst trees greater than 10 cm. dbh (although locally the family Euphorbiaceae may dominate amongst the smaller trees) and (b) the land form consists of slopes, generally of gradient 20 – 80%, except on ridge tops. The natural range of biomass of dipterocarps in this forest type cannot be estimated with certainty, as most of this forest type has been exploited. Based on 24 “FSES” (forest, soil and ecological survey) plots of 40 x 40 m (Boden, 2001), it appears that basal area of trees > 10 cm DBH in this forest type would typically exceed 40 m2 and basal area of trees > 50 cm DBH would exceed 20 m2.

The commonest dipterocarps in most areas of upper Tabalong are the red meranti (with reddish or pinkish-brown inner bark and pale or brownish damar resin), with Shorea parvistipulata, S. leprosula, S. johorensis, S. parvifolia and S. smithiana probably the most common species overall, all of which are classed a “light red meranti” for timber purposes. Other species in the meranti merah group include S. ovalis, S. beccariana, S.macrophylla and S. pinanga. The last three species are also catgeorised as tengkawang, the group of Shorea that produces seeds containing an edible fat. The only “dark red meranti” recorded in upper Tabalong is Shorea pauciflora. Yellow meranti (with clear black damar resin; including S. mujongensis and S. cf. patoiensis) are much less common than red meranti, and tend to occur localized as clumps of very large trees on the middle to upper parts of hill slopes. White meranti (with laminated inner bark; only S. lamellata recorded to date) are very rare and scattered. The genus Parashorea has not been found in upper Tabalong.

In upper Tabalong, it is notable that only two species of the heavy hardwood Shorea species (= the selangan batu = balau group) have been recorded : S. laevis (local name : bangkirai, also angih or jengan) and S. seminis (which is also classified as a tengkawang). Bangkirai is scattered in occurrence, in many sites totally absent in upper Tabalong, but locally common (with good regeneration of saplings) on well-drained upper parts of hill slopes at medium elevations. In contrast, there are 8 species of balau in Berau, northern East Kalimantan, and these trees often dominate steep hill ranges in Sabah and Sarawak.

Kapur (Dryobalanops lanceolata; no other species of the genus have been found in upper Tabalong) is widespread but rather patchy in distribution, with some tendency to predominate on the gentler, moister parts of slopes, sometimes in association with biwan (3.1.3).

At least nine species of keruing (Dipterocarpus borneensis, D. cornutus, D. crinitus, D. grandiflorus, D. humeratus, D. pachypyllus, D.palembanicus, D. stellatus and D. tempehes recorded to date) are widespread but tend to be localized, often towards the lower end of hill slopes or on gentle slopes, and more rarely on steep slopes or at the highest altitudes.


6

Two species of mersawa (Anisoptera costata and A. marginata) are rare.

At least four Hopea species (H. dryobalanoides, H. mengerawan, H. rudiformis and H.semicuneata; local name : merawan) have been recorded in upper Tabalong. Hopea trees rarely reach 100 cm dbh (the largest recorded in the FSES plots was 75 cm dbh), and tend to be either absent from a particular area or locally gregarious (an extreme case was FSES Plot No. 22, where 27% of all trees above 10 cm dbh were two species of Hopea).

At least six species of Vatica (V. javanica scaphifolia, V. oblongifolia, V. rassak, V. sarawakensis, V. umbonata and V. venuolosa) local name : resak) have been recorded in upper Tabalong, but all are rare. Only 18 Vatica trees were recorded in 6.63 ha of FSES plots and transects, all well below commercial size.

The composition of trees other than dipterocarps in this forest type is highly variable. There are tendencies for certain tree species or groups of species to be found in similar situations of position on slopes. Examples include the following : Elateriospermum tapos (Euphorbiaceae; local name = wayan or tapos, and favoured for firewood) tends to occur gregariously on the slopes of lower hills where there are yellowish, rather sandy soils; this tree rarely exceeds about 40 cm dbh. Syzygium species (Myrtaceae; local name = jambu-jambu or duhat) of all species tend to be more common at higher altitudes and on the upper slopes of hills. Dyera costulata (Apocynaceae; local name = pantung or jelutung) is now very rare, being largely confined to the accessible southern parts of the remaining forest on low hills. Two families (Ebenaceae, with only one genus, Diospyros, and Myristicaceae with four genera Gymnacanthera, Horsfieldia, Knema and Myristica) contain trees which are characteristic of closed-canopy, mature forest throughout much of upper Tabalong. These trees, which represent 8% of all trees in the FSES plots (Boden, 2001) rarely reach commercial size.

In comparison to forest which has not been logged, hill dipterocarp forest which has been logged during the past twenty years or so has a generally lower and more broken canopy, with noticeably fewer large trees, relatively more thin-stemmed lianas (compared to fewer, thicker lianas in unlogged forest), generally more monocotyledonous plants (grasses, gingers, climbing and small palms), with more light reaching the ground and lower humidity at ground level. Gaps remaining where trees were cut or knocked over during logging contain some trees which represent saplings present before logging, but many of the trees in these gaps are pioneers which have appeared because the gaps created suitable growing conditions. Common pioneer trees growing in the gaps in logged dipterocarp forest in upper Tabalong are : at least 13 Macaranga species and at least 10 Mallotus species (Euphorbiaceae), Anthocephalus chinensis (= Neolamarckia cadamba; Rubiaceae; known locally as jabon, bunto, melampayon, kelempayan), Cananga odorata (Annonaceae; kenanga), Duabanga moluccana (Sonneratiaceae; often known locally as binuang laki), Octomeles sumatrana (Datiscaceae; binuang), and Ficus species (Moraceae). Locally abundant on higher land in logged forest is Xylopia stenopetala (Annonaceae; banitan jankang) and Campnosperma auriculatum (Anacardiaceae; terentang, tapau), while Tristaniopsis whiteana (Myrtaceae; pelawan) is prominent on rocky slopes. Based on FSES plot data in the PT AYI concession, pioneer trees may outnumber dipterocarps by a ratio of about 3 : 1 in forest logged “properly” within the last twenty years, away from roads (all trees > 10 cm dbh). The term “properly” logged is used because logging intensity in upper Tabalong is very variable. Some sites were logged using the very damaging highline yarding (“Skaget” logging) or have been logged over twice,


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leaving very damaged areas which will not readily regenerate as dipterocarp forest. Other sites have experienced minimal damage probably due to a combination of steep slopes, distance from a road, and inefficiency when the block was being worked. Despite the prominence of pioneer trees in hill dipterocarp forest logged during the past twenty years or so, Dipterocarpaceae normally regain their prominence as the most common trees if the forest is left undisturbed for several decades.

3.1.2 Lowland and valley bottom dipterocarp forest

This forest differs from hill dipterocarp forest in (a) having predominantly gentle gradients (mainly less than 20%) and (b) containing several tree species which are very rarely found in hill dipterocarp forest. The soils are likely to be more constantly moist than those under hill dipterocarp forest, favoring survival of seedlings during dry periods and plant growth potential in general. This forest occurs between the Tutui River and Gunung Tanggur limestone, along parts of the Missim, Kumap and Ayu river valleys, and in narrow zones along streams within hilly areas at lower elevations.

“Indicator” tee species which normally occur in this forest type, and rarely in hill dipterocarp forest, are Eusideroxylon zwageri (Lauraceae; ulin) and Koompassia excelsa (Leguminosae; kusi or mengaris). Other tree species which tend to occur mainly in this forest type in upper Tablong include Shorea pinanga (tengkawang), Pometia pinnata (Sapindaceae; often referred to locally but incorrectly as anglai, which is the traditional South Kalimantan name for the legume Intsia palembanica), Magnolia lasia, Canarium decumanum (Burseraceae; locally called gagala, a name which is confusingly used also for the unrelated Koordersiodendron pinnatum) and Scorodocarpus borneensis (Olacaceae; kayu bawang). Biwan (see below) occurs in some but not all of this forest type.

The impacts of logging on this forest type are similar to those observed in hill dipterocarp forest. However, presumably due to the easier operating conditions for bulldozers, most dipterocarp trees above 50 cm dbh have been removed, and damage to the forest structure is typically greater than is seen in hill dipterocarp forest. Thus, most of this forest type is currently poor in dipterocarps, and large trees of other families, notably Leguminosae, Burseraceae, Sapindaceae, Meliaceae, Anacardiaceae and Lauraceae, are more prominent.

3.1.3 Biwan forest

Biwan is the name used locally in upper Tabalong by Dayak and Banjar people for Endertia spectabilis (Leguminosae sub-family Caesalpinioideae), a tree commonly reaching in excess of 60 cm. dbh and 30 metres height. It is known only from the upper Tabalong catchment, adjacent provincial border areas, and parts of northern East Kalimantan. The type specimen is a tree in the Bogor Botanic Gardens believed to have been derived from material collected in the Kutai area by the explorer F M Nieuwenhuis in May 1897 (P. Kessler, pers. comm.).

This tree species is extraordinary in that it has an extremely limited natural distribution, yet is locally abundant in parts of upper Tabalong, and regenerates robustly from seed in logged areas, and by coppicing from over-mature trees.


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The wood is superficially attractive in being dense with a rich, dark reddish colour. However, it is reported to warp and split even after seasoning, and almost impossible to peel or plane (pers. comm. staff of Barito Pacific mill, Banjarmasin). Hence it is not felled by PTAYI or by illegal cutters. Biwan appears to occur as the dominant tree in most or all sites in PTAYI which are a combination of (a) lower slopes (as opposed to higher slopes and ridges), (b) mixed rockiness and rather dark-coloured soil, and (c) very moist. It occurs on sedimentary, volcanic and limestone substrates. Although zones exist where typical dipterocarp forest merges with Biwan forest, a distinctive Biwan forest can be recognized in some places, where this species is the commonest tree species and where dipterocarps are in a clear minority. Kayu arang (Diospyros; Ebenaceae) is often one of the more common trees wherever biwan occurs on slopes; it has not been determined if this represents one or more than one Diospyros species.

Nine out of 24 FSES plots (37.5% of all plots), contained biwan trees, and in four of these (16.7% of all plots), biwan constituted more than 10% of all trees and the most common tree species locally. Based on this, it seems likely that about 15% of the PT AYI concession area may consist of Biwan forest.

Biwan forest contains high densities and diversity of soil invertebrates in general, but very few termites (section 5.3).

It is believed locally that biwan flowers are an important source of nectar for wild honey bees. Some young biwan trees in forest logged in the late 1970’s were seen flowering in year 2001. Not every biwan tree flowers every year, but a high percentage of all biwan trees flower annually between August – October, with ripe fruits appearing in December.

3.1.4 Dipterocarp-poor hill forest

Mature forest with few dipterocarp trees can be found in two situations : (b) very old secondary forest on sites of former human settlements, and (b) South – Central Kalimantan border hills of volcanic origin where the reasons for existence of this forest type are unclear.

(a) Secondary forest refers here to forest which has grown on land that was once totally cleared of forest cover. The occurrence of very old secondary forest is inferred for sites where forest structure resembles dipterocarp forest but tree species composition indicates human influence. Such forest, which has been seen along the Tutui River and its tributaries, is at least 50 years old and possibly more than 100 years old. This forest is rich in trees which bear fruits edible to man, notably Artocarpus, Durio, Baccaurea and trees of the families Sapindaceae and Meliaceae. A clear example was seen on the hill slopes north-east of where the Sinango River meets the Tutui River, at about 200 metres asl, where a fragment of pottery was found in the soil. Large Artocarpus and Durio species occur, along with strangling figs and large Peronema canescens (Verbenaceae; sungkai) trees, the latter an indicator of past forest disturbance. Another example is just south of FSES plot 5, also above a tributary of the Tutui River, at about 150 metres asl, where Durio kutejensis (Bombacaceae; pampakin) and Artocarpus integer (Moraceae; cempedak) occur along with Dinochloa climbing bamboo, also an indicator of forest disturbance which is elsewhere rare in upper Tabalong.

(b) Tree species composition is variable but in many sites poor in dipterocarps on the hills which form the border area between South and Central Kalimantan


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(known as Kasali hills at the southern end). On the Systematic Geological Map, Indonesia for Buntok (Quadrangle 1714, 1994, 1:250,000 scale) the southern part of the zone on which this forest occurs is described as “Kasale volcanics” (mostly greyish green pyroxene basalt) and the northern part as “correlated to the Pitap Formation” (interbedded sedimentary and volcanic rocks).

This forest is unexploited or hardly exploited for timber and the paucity of dipterocarps appears not to be associated with direct human activity, as the location is on high hill slopes not near to permanent streams. Also, there are few trees producing fruits edible to man, and sungkai (an indicator of past forest loss) is rare or absent. However, the presence of mature old individuals of some tree species that tend to be pioneers on deforested land suggests that past drought, fire, strong winds and (on very steep slopes) landslips may have contributed to the unusual tree species composition.

Large trees seen in this area included Lauraceae species (local name = medang), Sterculia macrophylla, Pometia species, Octomeles sumatrana, Duabanga moluccana and Koompassia excelsa. Small-crowned, large stangling figs are fairly common. Perhaps the most distinctive feature is the presence of a Pterygota species, possibly P. trinervia (Sterculiaceae), which was seen in the northern part of this forest, and which represents a genus previously recorded in Borneo only from Sarawak.

3.1.5 Riverine forest

This forest has a very limited distribution along river banks in the valleys of rivers (Missim, Tutui, Kumap, Ayu, Pasuang) and larger streams. It is not clearly distinct from lowland and valley bottom dipterocarp forest. Dipterocarps are scarce or absent; Dipterocarpus oblongifolius, a tree often characteristic of inland Kalimantan river banks, has not been seen in upper Tabalong. Tree species composition varies from site to site. Riverside forest along the larger rivers (Tutui, Missim, upper Ayu) normally contains tall legumes (Koompassia excelsa, Parkia species), tree Ficus species including F. albipila, and Dracontomelon dao (Anacardiaceae; dao or sengkuang). A common tree along some streams is Saraca declinata (Leguminosae; which also occurs on moist rocky slopes), which often occurs on rocky river sides together with biwan.

3.1.6 Forest on limestone : lower slopes and scree

Plant species composition of forest on limestone slopes and scree (boulders at the base of limestone outcrops) clearly varies from site to site, but total species diversity of trees (FSES plot data) and lianas (Gardette, 2001) is lower than in dipterocarp forest.

In FSES plot 20 (limestone slopes north of Pasuang River) 11 out of 60 live trees were dipterocarps (mostly Dipterocarpus, with some meranti merah, meranti kuning and Hopea), but the names of 32 trees were unknown to the most experienced staff of the PT AYI “Litbang”, representing the highest percentage of “unknowns” of all the FSES plots. Ulin and biwan are present in this forest. Undergrowth includes woody seedlings and saplings, gingers, herbs, lianas (mostly small diameter) and rattans.


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Forest on the west side of Gunung Tanggur (between Missim and Tutui Rivers) was found to differ from place to place. In FSES plot 24 (limestone slope east of Missim River), not one tree out of 65 was a dipterocarp. Trees locally common in and near the plot included Aglaia sylvestris, Polyalthia species, Endertia spectabilis, Diopyros species and Cleistanthus megacarpus (Sidiyasa & Zainal, 2001). Elsewhere, Heritiera cf. elata (dungun) was a common large tree on this limestone. Only one dipterocarp (Shorea johorensis) was seen on the Gunung Tanggur limestone.

3.1.7 Forest on limestone : cliffs and ridges

No botanical surveys were done on this habitat. There are no large trees. Plant composition and diversity is limited by water stress, which presumably occurs annually during dry periods. This habitat is also susceptible to fire. Much of the vegetation on limestone cliffs and ridges, particularly in the Ayu-Pasuang area, was heavily burned during the 1997 drought.

3.2 Secondary growth

Apart from the existence of natural forests modified by long past cultivation and by commercial logging over the past thirty years (described above), much of the land in upper Tabalong is covered in a variety of secondary growth. In order to simplify this variety, five main types are described here, three of which can be regarded as “forest”. The key features of secondary forest are that : all trees have been totally removed from the site at some time during the past few decades; all or most trees now present are native species, having arrived through dispersal by animals, wind, water or gravity; if left undisturbed, the forest will remain and grow in terms of wood biomass and species diversity. The five types of secondary growth are arranged in decreasing order of their value for biodiversity and soil quality.

(a) Secondary forest on alluvial soils The presence of secondary forest on the alluvial soils near to river banks is usually a sign of former rice fields of native residents. This forest can now be found mainly on Missim River above Missim village and on the Ayu River. Prominent trees may include Endospermum diadenum, Pterospermum diversifolium, Artocarpus anisophyllus, Monocarpia kalimantensis and Dillenia excelsa, along with remnant biwan, but Macaranga and Mallotus species are not especially prominent. Soils under this forest are fertile and moist. The high biodiversity value accorded to this habitat is because all forest on alluvium is rare and under pressure for cultivation, but it supports plant species which are rare or absent elsewhere, and there is high natural productivity of resources (flowers, fruits and young leaves) which are important to sustaining animal life.

(b) Secondary forest on non-alluvial soils Plant species composition is different from secondary forest on alluvium, with Macaranga and Mallotus species normally prominent. Other common trees include Trema species and Euodia species. Soils under this forest are generally less fertile than alluvium, and productivity of wild animal foods is lower. This forest is widespread, and may have developed on patches of production forest land heavily damaged by logging operations, or on land burned unintentionally, as well as on former rice fields.


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(c) Roadside growth Roadsides attract people who plant hill rice and rubber, but many roadsides within the PT AYI concession have so far escaped clearance. The plant species composition of roadside growth is affected by the fact that logging intensity has been high and, along major roads, because the original forest was cleared to allow maximum sunlight for drying the road. Tree species composition varies from place to place. Tristaniopsis whiteana grows on barren rocky cuttings. Neonauclea gigantea (Rubiaceae; bangkal) tends to predominate on damper exposed rocky sites. Where soil has been pushed off the original road and conditions are relatively moist, Anthocephalus cadamba occurs abundantly, reaching 40 cm dbh within 20 years on optimum sites. Due to the good form of these trees, their proximity to roadsides and the existence of a market unexploited by PT AYI, this species has become a favoured target of illegal loggers since mid 2000. Macaranga species, Mallotus species, Geunsia pentandra (Verbenaceae) and Trema orientalis occur patchily, and gregariously in some sites. Ficus grossularoides is also locally abundant in some sites. Dillenia reticulata (Dilleniaceae) occurs patchily but is widespread throughout the upper Tabalong region (including in industrial tree plantations and in rural village roads). The seeds of most of these secondary trees are probably dispersed mainly by fruit bats, small terrestrial mammals, and certain birds, notably bulbuls and pigeons. Octomeles sumatrana and Duabanga moluccana are prominent along some old roads, but not as abundant as the other tree species noted above. Of the above tree species, Tristaniopsis whiteana, Macaranga hypoleuca and Dillenia reticulata have been tested by the Barito Pacific mill and found to be suitable for peeling. Melastoma malabathricum (a shrub), Rubus moluccana (Rosaceae; scrambling plant) and Uncaria species (Rubiaceae; lianas) are prominent roadside plants, especially along abandoned roads. Soils under this vegetation have suffered disturbance due to past impacts of bulldozers and exposure, and so are not suitable for regeneration with a wide variety of plants (e.g. dipterocarps rarely regenerate in this zone, perhaps because of loss of mycorrhizae). The regeneration of secondary forest along roads is ecologically important in order to help bridge the physical gaps caused by roads, which act as a barrier to movement and dispersal for some sensitive plant and animal species.

(d) “Jungle rubber” Traditional hill rice farming involved abandoning fields after one or two years, allowing forest to regenerate through natural dispersal of wild tree seeds. Starting a few decades ago, hill rice farmers in upper Tabalong now usually plant tree crops in their rice fields, partly as a sign of “ownership” of the site and partly to provide a potential source of future income. Rubber is the most favoured crop, but fruit trees may also be planted. Except along the sides of long-term roads, these sites are typically abandoned, presumably because the physical and economic costs of transporting any produce outweigh any benefits. With time, an increasing variety of plant and animal life invades the planted land, which comes to resemble secondary forest dominated by planted trees.

(e) Scrub and alang-alang grass Where land has been cleared, burned, planted with hill rice for one or two seasons, and then abandoned, forest usually regenerates. However, where land has burned two or more times within the space of a few years, either deliberately for farming or as a sign of “ownership”, or unintentionally during long dry periods, then prospects for forest regeneration become much worse. Instead of forest, scrub or alang-alang (Imperata cylindrica) grass take hold of the land. Some small trees survive in these conditions (such as Vitex species and Fordia splendidissima). Soils under this


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vegetation have entirely lost their topsoil, as a result of fire, exposure and erosion.

3.3 Rivers and streams

In their investigation of fish in the upper Tabalong catchment, Tjakrawidjaja & Pramudyagarini (2001) classify ten habitat types for rivers and streams. Their classification is based on water depth, substrate, proximity to the bank, and water quality, not on the overall width or size of the river. No studies of freshwater invertebrates have been done in upper Tabalong.

Riverbanks and rocks in streams support “rheophtyic” plants. Sidiyasa & Zainal (2001) record the presence of Myrmeconauclea surianii, Freycinetia, Nephrolepis, Raphidophora and Schismatoglottis in the PT AYI concession.

3.4 Ponds

Some streams in the PT AYI concession area are blocked partially or entirely by logs, rocks and soil which were used to form crossing sites for bulldozers or other vehicles. In some cases, this effect is increased as water-borne solids from logging activities upstream settle and add to the blockage site. This results in the formation of temporary or long-term ponds above the blockage. At the waterlogged fringes, trees die. These ponds form habitats for some fish species, dragonflies and insect larvae including mosquitoes, thereby helping to sustain malaria.

3.5 Caves

Caves in the Gunung Tanggur limestone and in the Pasuang-Ayu River area have been surveyed by Rosdy et al. (2002a & b). In Gunung Tanggur, Penyanggar cave is about 750 m in length, passing through a side-peak on the hill. Surat is about 280 m long. Three caves named Buonosi, Misi and Takayo were located and surveyed in Pasuang-Ayu area. These caves support a fauna seemingly typical of that for caves in Borneo, including bats and two species of cave-nesting swiftlets. The edible white nest swiftlet population is threatened by excessive nest harvesting (Payne, 2001b,c; Rosdy et al, 2002a). The vegetation around the caves of Gunung Tanggur is in good condition, due to absence of commercial logging on the limestone, but massive illegal logging by outsiders in the Pasuang-Ayu limestone areas has caused significant environmental damage.

3.6 Biomass of vegetation

No studies were done to estimate the above-ground biomass in the various vegetation types in upper Tabalong. However, results from other studies in south-eastern Kalimantan (Table 1) provide an indication of the differences.

Table 1 : Estimates of above-ground plant biomass of various vegetation types in south-eastern Kalimantan


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Location Vegetation type Biomass tonne/ha

Information source

Sebulu Primary dipterocarp forest 509 Yamakura et al., 1986

Meratus Primary dipterocarp forest 460 Ruhiyat, 1996

Bukit Soeharto Dipterocarp forest lightly-logged & lightly-burned (1982), measured in 1988

303 Toma et al., 2000

Bukit Soeharto Dipterocarp forest lightly-logged & lightly-burned (1982), measured in 1997

315 Toma et al., 2000

Bukit Soeharto Logged dipterocarp, heavily burned (1982), measured in 1989

87 Toma et al., 2000

Bukit Soeharto Logged dipterocarp, heavily burned (1982), measured in 1994

106 Toma et al., 2000

Memcimai 33-year old secondary forest 97 Toma et al., 2000

Bukit Soeharto Alang-alang grassland with scrub & some trees

8 Kiyono & Hastaniah, 2000

(All these sites are in East Kalimantan)


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4 Flora

4.1 Overview

This section outlines the main features of the flora found in the remaining forest areas of upper Tabalong and adjacent provincial border areas. Most of the information contained here is based on surveys done by specialists employed under SCKPFP during years 2000-2001.

Points of interest are highlighted, notably : species which are endemic, rare or threatened; species which are used locally for traditional or economic purposes; and species diversity in comparison to other areas.

The descriptions are divided into taxonomic groups (e.g. orchids) and life forms (e.g. lianas).

4.2 Lichens

About 330 taxa of lichens were collected in upper Tabalong during 17 days of field work at nine forest sites and in Gmelina arborea plantation (Wolseley et al., 2001). Less than one hundred have been identified precisely by name. Species diversity was highest in the least disturbed dipterocarp forest , intermediate in biwan forest, and lowest in the tree plantation. No collecting was done from the upper trunks or crowns of trees, and no lowland, riverine or limestone sites were sampled. Thus, the collection is not to be considered comprehensive for upper Tabalong. Overall diversity is comparable to Peninsular Malaysia. There are no similar data for comparison with other sites in Borneo island.

4.3 Bryophytes (mosses and liverworts)

About 87 taxa of mosses and 51 of liverworts were collected in upper Tabalong during 17 days of field work at nine forest sites and in Gmelina arborea plantation (Wolseley et al., 2001). Of these, about 66 mosses and about 38 liverworts have been identified to species level. Species diversity was highest in the least disturbed dipterocarp forest and in biwan forest, and lowest in the tree plantation. Except for some recently felled trees and fallen branches, no collecting was done from the upper trunks or crowns of trees, and no lowland, riverine or limestone sites were sampled. Thus, the collection is not to be considered comprehensive for upper Tabalong. Overall diversity of mosses is comparable to Danum Valley in eastern Sabah, and higher than at Pasoh, a drier dipterocarp forest in Peninsular Malaysia.

4.4 Ferns

No specialist studies of ferns have been done in upper Tabalong. Sidiyasa & Zainal (2001) report the presence of Gleichenia truncata (Gleicheniaceae), an indicator of very degraded, exposed land; Cyathea species (Cyathaceae), a tree fern mainly on roadsides at altitudes above 600 m asl; four Asplenium species (Aspleniaceae), epiphytes on large trees; Blechnum species and Stenochlaena palustris (Blechnaceae), the latter with edible young fronds, found in damp sites;


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Nephrolepis species (Nephrolepidaceae); and Lygodium circinnatum (Schizaeaceae), a climbing fern in secondary growth. Uway (2001) reports that the rhizomes of Helminthostachys zeylanica (Ophioglossaceae; local name = tangkal urang) are used locally to ward off poisoning.

4.5 Grasses and bamboos

No specialist studies of grasses and bamboos have been done in upper Tabalong. Sidiyasa & Zainal (2001) recorded nine grass species (Gramineae) including Imperata cylindrica (alang-alang). In contrast to some other areas (e.g. foothills of the Meratus mountains) bamboos are very rare in upper Tabalong. The only bamboo recorded inside natural forest is a Dinochloa species, a climbing bamboo which is currently restricted to a few patches in the south of the PT AYI concession. This bamboo can spread through forest damaged by commercial logging, representing a threat to regeneration of commercial tree saplings. By cutting all growing shoots before clumps are large, its spread can be inhibited.

4.6 Pandans and similar plants

Superfically resembling coarse, hard, spiny or sharp-edged grasses are plants of the families Cyperaceae (six species noted in upper Tabalong by Sidiyasa & Zainal, 2001) and Pandanaceae (five species noted in upper Tabalong by Sidiyasa & Zainal, 2001). Plants of both families tend to be locally gregarious, with Cyperaceae often forming thickets in poorly-drained areas and Pandanaceae, the size of small trees, often on hill slopes.

4.7 Gingers and ginger relatives (order Zingiberales)

No specialist studies of gingers and their relatives have been done in upper Tabalong, where this group is represented by the families Zingiberaceae (wild gingers), Costaceae (similar to gingers but lacking aromatic substances), Marantaceae, and Musaceae (bananas). The majority of plants in these families favour damp and rather fertile soils. Many require plentiful sunlight to become established. Thus, they tend to be most abundant in forest gaps and secondary forest in lowlands and other moist sites.

Amongst wild gingers, the genera Alpinia, Curcuma (local name = jomit ketemu), Elettaria, Etlingera (local name = tararanmea) Globba, Hornstedtia, Nicolaia, Plagiostachys, and Zingiber (local name = petion) have been recorded (Sidiyasa & Zainal, 2001; Uway, 2001). The fruits and rhizomes of wild Amomum compactum (local name = kapulaga) are harvested and sold as an ingredient in jamu tonic (Payne, 2001b).

The stems of Costus globosus and C. speciosus (local name = ikik) are used by women in upper Tabalong as a contraceptive (Uway, 2001).

Donax and Phrynium (Marantaceae) are recorded by Sidiyasa & Zainal, 2001), with Phrynium forming dense carpets on the floor of some lowland forest areas. Juice of Donax canaeformis is used locally treat red eye infections (Uway, 2001).


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A wild Musa species (Musaceae) has invaded former rice fields on alluvium north of Missim village, forming a thick grove that is so well-established and prolific as to preclude easy re-establishment of rice fields.

4.8 Other herbaceous plants and shrubs

No specialist studies of herbaceous plants or shrubs have been done in upper Tabalong. The following are recorded by Sidiyasa & Zainal (2001) and Uway (2001) : Hellieracantha species (Acanthaceae), Amorphophallus, Colocasia, Homalomena and Schismatoglottis (Araceae); Begonia (Begoniaceae; at least 3 species); Blumea (Compositae); Aechynanthus and Cyrtandra (Gesneriaceae); Lycianthes, Physalis and Solanum (Solanaceae); and Tacca palmata (Taccaceae; local name bintang ara, used locally to treat toothache).

An Amorphophallus species was noted to appear gregariously in November-December 2000, not only in upper Tabalong, but throughout South Kalimantan. This is a smaller relative of the famous “corpse flower” plant, A. titanum of Sumatera, which can reach over 5 m tall. Begonia leaves are used in cooking; this genus is prominent on limestone in upper Tabalong. Tacca palmata Orchids

Orchids were collected in upper Tabalong in August 2000 (Nasution, 2001). Of 110 specimens collected, 62 have been identified to species level, in 25 genera. Collecting was done from river banks, in dipterocarp forest and along roadsides. No collecting was done on limestone outcrops, where additional species are likely to occur. The common genera were Dendrobium, Bulbophyllum, Coelogyne, Agrostophyllum, Eria and Flickingera. The genera Vanda, Phalaenopsis, Paraphalaenopsis, Cymbidium and Paphiopedilum (slipper orchids), which are amongst the spectacular Asian orchids used in horticulture, were not found. Only one species collected (Thecostele alata) is restricted to Borneo island. Overall, the orchid flora of upper Tabalong appears to be typical of hill dipterocarp forest in Borneo. The greatest numbers and diversity of orchids was found on larger riverbank trees (including Endertia spectabilis) and on large, old remnant trees in logged forest.

4.9 Other epiphytes

In addition to orchid and fern species, there are several other epiphytic plants in upper Tabalong. A fruiting Fagraea species (Loganiaceae) was collected near Km. 57 of the PT AYI access road in August 1999. Amyema species (Loranthaceae) is present. Epiphytic Schefflera (Araliaceae) and Medinella species (Melastomataeae) were noted by Sidiyasa & Zainal (2001).

4.10 Creeping & scrambling plants

This group refers to non-woody plants with long thin stems, that grow, usually profusely at one site, over the ground or over bushes and trees. No specialist studies have been done in upper Tabalong. Hoya (Asclepiadaceae), a slender stemmed creeping plant on low forest trees, including limestone, was noted by Sidiyasa & Zainal (2001). Three species of Nepenthes (Nepenthaceae; pitcher plants) occur on exposed, infertile areas including roadside cuttings. The leaves of Hydrocotyle javanica (local name = lokap) are used to poison fish for local


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consumption. Merremia peltata, Jacquemontia tomentella and Erycibe species (Convolvulaceae) are the common creeping plants that grow in thick masses over abandoned logging roads. Musaenda (Rubiaceae) is an obvious roadside scrambler on lows trees and shrubs, with a large, pale heart-shaped calyx that appears ghostly whitish at dusk.

4.11 Lianas

Lianas are woody climbing plants. A total of 145 liana species in 41 families were recorded by Gardette (2001) during 25 days of field work in the PT AYI concession, working mainly in three x 0.5 ha plots of steep highland (600 m asl), a lowland stream side (180 m asl) and on the Gunung Tanggur limestone (200 m asl). Five families (Annonaceae, Leguminosae, Connaraceae, Rubiaceae and Moraceae) represented more than half the species identified. Connaraceae are confined to closed canopy forest, while many Rubiaceae (especially Uncaria species and Coptosapelta flavescens) dominate in open areas in logged forest. A few additional liana taxa are reported by Sidiyasa & Zainal (2001). Uway (2001) found that several lianas are used medicinally in upper Tabalong : Coscinium fenestratum and Fibraurea chloroleuca (Menispermaceae; local name = akar kuning), with bright yellowish wood, are used locally to treat malaria and liver diseases; F. tinctoria (nyulang) is used for hypertension; Spatholobus littoralis (Leguminosae; akar raya) is used to treat stomach ache; juice from Mucuna acuminata (Leguminosae; owas) is used as a cough medicine; and Luvunga species (Rutaceae; saluang belum) are used to treat pain in the lower body and as an aphrodisiac.

4.12 Rattans

Rattans are spiny climbing palms. Collections made in August 2000 (Mogea & Alfan 2001) revealed the presence of about 27 rattan species in upper Tabalong, including three Daemonorops which could not be identified and may represent previously undescribed species. There were 14 species of the genus Calamus. At least 8 rattan species are harvested for commercial sale (Payne, 2001b). Based on survey data for 1999, rattan harvesting represented the most significant non timber forest product harvesting activity in terms of number of work days in the upper Tabalong forest. However, this may no longer be true, as rattan prices are considered to be very low, and there are now few mature commercial rattans in accessible areas.

4.13 Other palms

In addition to rattans, there are at least 12 species of wild palms in upper Tabalong (Mogea & Alfan, 2001; Sidiyasa & Zainal, 2001) including two tree palms endemic to eastern Borneo (Borassodendron borneensis and Caryota no, both protected species); a wild salak with edible fruits (Salacca affinis var. borneensis); and the wild hill sago palm (Eugeissona utilis). However, the non rattan palm flora of upper Tabalong is regarded as poor compared other areas of Borneo.


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4.14 Small trees

Some woody plants do not grow to 10 cm dbh and therefore remain unrecorded in forest inventory and plot data. Sidiyasa & Zainal (2001) record about 80 species of “small trees” that fall into this category. The array of plant families that contains small trees is rather different from that containing larger trees, which feature in forest inventory lists. Plant families in upper Tabalong that contain small trees include Euphorbiacae and Rubiaceae (many species), also Actinidiaceae, Annonaceae, Aquifoliaceae, Icacinaceae, Leeaceae, Leguminosae, Loganiaceae, Melastomataceae, Moraceae, Myrsinaceae, Myrtaceae, Polygalaceae, Proteaceae, Rutaceae, Sapindaceae, Simaroubaceae, Sterculiaceae, Ulmaceae, Urticaceae and Verbenaceae. Most of these small trees are difficult to identify and few have local names. Notable exceptions include Ixora species (Rubiacae; asoka hutan), with their attractive orange, red or pink flowers, often representing a rare splash of colour on well-drained hill slopes dominated by green and brown. The bitter-tasting Eurycoma longifolia (Simaroubaceae; pasak bumi), recognized by most local residents, is over-harvested throughout Borneo for its various medicinal properties. Dendrocnide species (Urticaceae) with twigs, leaves and flowers possessing irritant hairs that brush against the exposed skin of unwary travellers, colonise open areas in the forest, especially where fire has destroyed much of the original lower vegetation.

4.15 Trees

Almost 400 native tree species have been identified to species or genus level in upper Tabalong (Sidiyasa & Zainal, 2001; Sidiyasa, 2001; unpublished SCKPFP records; see SCKPFP Biodiversity Database). Experience gained when enumerating the FSES plots shows that “local names” for trees are highly unreliable and inconsistent. Based on exhaustive consultations with Dr Kade Sidiyasa and Zainal Arifin of the Wanariset Samboja herbarium, experienced PT AYI field staff and also staff of the Barito Pacific wood processing complex, Banjarmasin, a list of recommended local names for trees in upper Tabalong has been prepared (Payne, 2001a). This combines well-known names that are used elsewhere in Kalimantan and Indonesia, with some Banjar and Dayak names. Examples of tree species of special interest are shown in Table 2. These include species endemic to Borneo island and lowland species threatened everywhere by loss of forests.

Table 2 : Some significant tree species in upper Tabalong


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Family Scientific name Local name

Features

Bombacaceae Durio acutifolius * Durian burung

“ Durio dulcis * Lahung Ripe fruits seen February 2000 & 2001 (example : 100m north-east of FSES plot no. 12, next to old main road. 400 metres asl, 1o 30’ 17” S, 115o 33’ 54” E)

“ Durio excelsus * Near-ripe fruits seen on small illegally felled tree, January 2002, km 58, 250 m asl

“ Durio grandiflorus Unripe fruits seen, km 86, 600 m asl, January 2001

“ Durio griffithii Flowers & unripe fruits seen on 15 m tall tree, 6 April 2000, upper Pasuang-Missim, 500 m asl, 1o 32’ 23” S, 115o 24’ 08” E

“ Durio kutejensis * Pampakin Ripe fruits January-February annually; cultivated & wild in upper Tabalong

“ Durio lanceolatus * Durian enggang

Thousands of fallen fruits (probably ripe December – January) February 2000. 250 metres asl, 1o 43’ 55” S, 115o 28’ 08” E

Burseraceae Canarium decumanum Gagala Rare lowland tree, to 60 m height; favoured by wild bees for nesting

Dipterocarpaceae Vatica javanica scaphifolia *

Resak Known only from Balikpapan-Samarinda area, and PT AYI Arboretum.

Flacourtiaceae Ryparosa hirsuta * Previously recorded only from Sabah, Malaysia. One tree recorded in PT AYI Arboretum, lost to ladang-makers.

Lauraceae Eusideroxylon zwageri Ulin Important source of ironwood for South Kalimantan; endangered locally by over-cutting and loss of lowland forest habitat

Leguminosae Endertia spectabilis * Biwan Endemic to parts of eastern Kalimantan, but common only in upper Tabalong

Leguminosae Koompassia excelsa Manggeris Kusi

The largest tropical rainforest tree species; wild bee nesting tree; fruits very rarely.

Magnoliaceae Elmerrillia tsiampacca Cempaka hutan

Grows to large size along streams draining into Tutui River

Magnoliaceae Magnolia lasia * Cempaka hutan

Endemic to eastern lowlands of Kalimantan

Moraceae Ficus albipila Wilas Large, attractive tree, previously recorded in Borneo only from “Banjarmasin” (old record) and eastern Sabah.

Olacaceae Scorodocarpus borneensis

Kayu Bawang

Lowlands. Attractive wood. Odour of garlic.

Styracaceae Bruinsmia styracoides Locally common in secondary forest on high land in north of PT AYI area; bark eaten by deer.

Thymelaceae Aquilaria beccariana & A. malaccensis

Put Sources of gaharu; endangered by over-harvesting

Source: SCKPFP survey records * endemic to Borneo island. Flowering and fruiting records for upper Tabalong, Ecologist’s field notes.


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4.16 Non-native plants in the forest

Many non-native plant species are planted in upper Tabalong, in gardens (e.g. Aleurites moluccana, the candlenut trees), farms (Hevea brasiliensis, the rubber tree) and industrial tree plantations (e.g. Acacia mangium). No exotic tree species have spread into the remaining natural forest (although some legume trees have been planted within production forest along roads), but several exotic weed plant species have colonized road-sides and other degraded land within the production forest. These include the bush Cassia alata (Leguminosae; known as “the seven golden candle sticks” from the prominent, erect dark yellow flowers) and the tall herb Chromolaena odorata (known locally as kelambu minjangan).


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5 Fauna

5.1 Overview

This section outlines the main features of the fauna (invertebrate and vertebrate) found in the remaining forest areas of upper Tabalong and adjacent provincial border areas. All information contained here is based on surveys done by specialists employed under SCKPFP during years 2000-2001 and the Ecologist’s observations, mainly on birds and mammals. No other records of faunal surveys or zoological collections from Tabalong are known.

Points of interest are highlighted, notably : species which are endemic, rare or threatened; species which are used locally for traditional or economic purposes; and species diversity in comparison to other areas.

Amongst invertebrates, only termites and other soil invertebrates were specially investigated under SCKPFP.

5.2 Soil invertebrates

Soehardjono (2001) investigated soil invertebrates in natural forest and tree plantation in upper Tabalong. Ten classes, 13 orders and between 85 and 95 families of invertebrates were identified. Between 405 and 423 species were distinguished, although only a small proportion could be identified to genus or species level by name. Ants, collembola (springtails) and Acarina (mites) were dominant, representing 89% of all invertebrates collected. Using similar methodology, soil invertebrate species diversity was higher in upper Tabalong than at Wanariset Samboja forest (East Kalimantan) and in natural forest in Java. With the exception of termites (5.3) greatest numbers and diversity of invertebrates was found in biwan forest compared to dipterocarp forest and tree plantations. Soil invertebrate numbers and diversity were surprisingly high in tree plantations, perhaps partly because both sites surveyed were planted with leguminous tree species. The surveys suggest that presence of a deep leaf litter was a key factor in supporting high numbers and diversity of soil invertebrates.

5.3 Termites

Termites were chosen by SCKPFP in year 2000 for particular investigation because (a) it was believed that amongst animal life forms, termites might be one of the few groups suitable for monitoring changes in forest condition over space and time, and (b) for comparison, there were quite detailed studies of termites at four other forest sites in Sabah, Sarawak and Brunei, but none in Kalimantan.

Sixty-four species of termites were collected in upper Tabalong during 17 days of field work in nine forest sites and Gmelina arborea plantation (Wolseley et al., 2001). Amongst these was a soil feeding termite genus / species not previously described (D Jones, personal communication). Termite species richness in the Tabalong dipterocarp forests was similar to that elsewhere in Borneo (about 30 species at each site). The tree plantation contained only five termite species. The most peculiar finding was that only 7 species and few individual termites were


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found in biwan forest, very much lower than in any other natural forest type in Borneo. The reason for this remains unknown but could be linked to soil condition, including a rather high pH in some soils under biwan forest.

5.4 Cave invertebrates

Soehardjono (2001) made a brief survey of invertebrates in the Penyanggar cave, Gunung Tanggur limestone, and reported a higher species diversity than in similar caves in Java and Sulawesi, perhaps due to the better condition of the surrounding forest and infrequency of human activity at Gunung Tanggur. General cave surveys by Rosdy et al (2002a & b) provide some additional information.

5.5 Molluscs on limestone

Samples of snail shells were collected from soil trapped in scree at the base of the Tanggur limestone; identifications of the shells were made by J J Vermeulen of Singapore Botanic Gardens (Table 3). The collection indicates a snail fauna that is fairly typical for limestone in Kalimantan, and the specimens identified to genus level represent species as yet undescribed but probably not confined to upper Tabalong (J J Vermeulen, personal communication).

Table 3 : Molluscs from Tanggur limestone

Collection site Family (Order) Genus / species Notes West side, 1O 37’ 10" S, 115O 25’ 15” E, near Penyanggar cave

Cycolphoridae (Prosobranchia)

Alycaeus Undescribed species

“ “ Chamalycaeus everetti

“ “ Cyclophorus perdix borneensis

“ “ Japonia Undescribed species

“ Diplommatinidae (Prosobranchia)

Arinia ascotrochus Described by Vermeulen, 1996

“ “ Diplomattina miraculumdei Described by Vermeulen, 1992

“ Ariophantidae (Pulmonata)

Microcystina Uncertain species

“ Camaenidae (Pulmonata)

Amphidromus pictus

“ Helicarioidae (Pulmonata)

Geotrochus bongaoensis

East side, 1O 32’ 45" S, 115O 28’ 00” E, access from Sinango

Cycolphoridae Pterocyclos tenuilabiatus

“ Ariophantidae Dyakia mackensiana

“ “ Hemiplecta densa


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5.6 Leeches

No terrestrial leeches (Haemadipsa species) were seen during the first Ecologist field surveys in the PT AYI forest in April and May 1999. Small numbers became apparent in late 1999. It is likely that the 1997-98 drought and fires severely depleted the upper Tabalong leech population, which is now seemingly recovering.

5.7 Freshwater fish

Tjakrawidjaja & Pramudyagarini (2001) found 93 fish species in streams and rivers in upper Tabalong in June 2001. Of these, ten species have yet to be named and at least some represent “new” undescribed species. One species, Homaloptera gymnogaster, has been recorded previously only in Lake Maninjau, Sumatera. Fish populations in upper Tabalong are threatened by damaging fishing methods including electric shocks and poisons.

5.8 Amphibians

Based on collections made in August 1999 and July-August 2001, 34 frog species and one non-frog amphibian occur in the upper Tabalong area (Iskandar et al, 2001; Iskandar, 2002). The numbers of frogs collected and array of species recorded was similar in both years, with similar amounts and types of sampling effort. Two species found represent new records for Kalimantan.

5.9 Reptiles

Of 153 snake species currently known to occur in Borneo, nine have been recorded in upper Tabalong (Iskandar, 2002), including eight collected or seen during amphibian surveys done in 1999 and 2001, and the cave racer (Elaphe taenuria) which is seen by visitors to the Penyanggar cave, Gunung Tanggur.

5.10 Birds

Birds are amongst the animal groups most commonly investigated in forests in Kalimantan. However, no work has been done to compile a species list for upper Tabalong. Lowland dipterocarp forests in Borneo typically support about 200 resident species. Nunuk & Payne (2001) report on the trade in song birds in South Kalimantan (section 8.6.4).

5.11 Mammals

Due to their relatively large size compared to most other animal life, and importance in the economy of traditional rural communities in Kalimantan (for food, decorations and products for sale), mammals attract particular interest amongst nature conservation organizations and local residents alike. However, obtaining useful information (such as abundance, ranging behaviour) presents great difficulties for most mammal species, as most are rare or nocturnal, and most move away when approached by humans. Also, it was noted in 1999 by the SCKPFP Ecologist that mammal abundance in general is very low in upper Tabalong. No specialist studies were done on mammals and all information was obtained on a


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casual basis when conducting other field work. A summary of information obtained from 1999-2002 in upper Tabalong is shown in Table 4. The bat records are reported by Rosdy et al (2002b); all other records are from SCKPFP Ecologist field notes.

Table 4 : Mammals in upper Tabalong

English name Scientific name (family)

Local name Comments

Moonrat Echnosorex gymnurus (Erinaceae)

biontung Not seen; recognized by local Dayaks

Treeshrews Tupaia species (Tupaiidae)

uhingyak Species uncertain; no trapping done for confirmation

Geoffroys rousette (bat)

Rousettus amplexicaudatus (Pteropodidae)

Roosts in limestone caves near upper Ayu – Pasuang rivers

Horseshoe bat Rhinolophus ? pusillus (Rhinolophidae)


Cantor’s roundleaf bat

Hipposideros galeritus (Hipposideridae)


Bornean tarsier Tarsius bancanus (Tarsiidae)

uker Not seen; recognized by local Dayaks

Slow loris Nycticebus coucang (Lorisidae)

bakiki or pokiki Captured specimen seen

Long-tailed macaque Macaca fascicularis (Cercopithecidae)

Puiyar (Banjar = warik)

Small groups and solitary males are seen occasionally along the banks of the large rivers and on roadsides

Pig-tailed macaque Macaca nemestrina (Cercopithecidae)

Weruk, berok Rarely seen

White-fronted langur Presbytis frontata (Cercopithecidae)

Buis (Banjar = hirangan)

Exists at low population density, in groups of up to about seven individuals, seemingly throughout the remaining upper Tabalong forests, including on the limestone of Gunung Tanggur and Pasuang, also in tree plantation areas (see Note 1, below)

Silvered langur Presbytis cristata Pewot Reported by Rosdy et al (2002b) for Ayu River and by local Dayaks for Tabalong River

Probsocis monkey Nasalis larvatus Pekah (Banjar = bekantan)

Occurs in small numbers along the Ayu River and Tutui Rivers

Bornean gibbon Hylobates muelleri (Hylobatidae)

Kelawat Probably the most prominent wild mammal in upper Tabalong, with calls heard throughout the remaining forest almost daily, and groups seen more often than groups of monkeys (see Note 2)

Pangolin Manis javanica (Manidae)

Ayem A toothless mammal which feeds only on ants and termites (see Note 3); seen in upper Tutui

Giant squirrel Ratufa affinis (Sciuridae)

Nakit or memay tungkul

Normally common in hill diptercarp forest in Borneo but heard infrequently in most parts of the PT AYI (see Note 4)

Prevost’s squirrel Callosciurus prevostii (Sciuridae)

Bosing or memay

Heard only once (October 2000) on Kasali hills (see Note 4)

Horse-tailed squirrel Sundasciurus Bosing or Heard once only (1 March 2001) in


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hippurus (Sciuridae) memay Arboretum (see Note 4)

Black-eared Pigmy squirrel

Nannosciurus melanotis (Sciuridae)

Pukang-puku Often heard throughout upper Tabalong forests

Plain pigmy squirrel Exilisciurus exilis (Sciuridae)

Pukang-puku Rarely heard, throughout upper Tabalong forests

Tufted ground squirrel

Rheithrosciurus macrotis (Sciuridae)

Kejambu A mammal believed to be this was seen entering a hole in a tree trunk on the south side of Sinango river (see Note 5)

Common porcupine Hystrix brachura (Hystricidae)

tetung Spines found on Gunung Tanggur

Long-tailed porcupine

Trichys fasciculata (Hystricidae)

angkis Reported by local Dayaks

Sun bear Helarctos malayanus (Ursidae)

Rare (see Note 6)

Malay badger Mydaus javanesis (Mustelidae)

Soru or asero Not observed, but known to local Dayaks

Yellow-throated marten

Martes falivigula (Mustelidae)

Seen crossing main logging road

Small-clawed otter Aonyx cinerea (Mustelidae)

dongen Large otter species probably absent

Civets (several species)

(Viverridae) Confusion exists over local names

Binturong = bearcat Arctictis binturong (Viverridae)

mentuyun Distinctive species, but unknown to most local residents (or confused with wild cats), so presumably rare

Collared mongoose Herpestes semitorquatus (Viverridae)

Seen crossing main logging road

Clouded leopard Neofelis nebulosa (Felidae)

Engkuli or kuli Footprints apparently of this species were seen on bare soil on a logging track near Sinango river, May 1999

Bearded pig Sus barbatus (Suidae) Bawui or wawui

Widespread but relatively uncommon (see Note 7)

Large mouse-deer Tragulus napu (Tragulidae)

pelanok Seemingly uncommon. Small mouse-deer (T. javanicus) has not been verified, but this species is likely to occur on riverine terraces along the main rivers

Barking deer Muntiacus muntjak (Cervidae)

kalawus Infrequency of calls and sightings suggests that it is rather rare. The occurrence of the Bornean yellow muntjak (M. atherodes), normally a lowland specialist, has not been verifed

Sambar deer Cervus unicolor (Cervidae)

Takayuw (Manyan = kawewe; Banjar = minjangan)

Widespread but uncommon

Banteng (wild cattle) Bos javanicus (Bovidae)

Lemui or lamu Rare species (wild cattle), eliminated from most parts of Borneo (see Note 8)

Source: SCKPFP Ecologist records. * = endemic to Borneo island. Local names in Lawangan dialect unless otherwise stated..

Notes


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1. Red leaf monkey (P.rubicunda; Barito name = kelahe) was never encountered in upper Tabalong, and appears to be absent

2. The AMDAL for the PT AYI forest concession proposed that Bornean gibbon be used as an indicator of forest condition. However, the fact that gibbons are widespread through upper Tabalong in a variety of forest conditions shows that this is not appropriate. Of greater significance is that, despite the fact that gibbons can be easily found and hunted due to the loud calls, they are common. This suggests that the low abundance of other mammals in upper Tabalong (especially diurnal tree-dwellers such as monkeys and squirrels) may be primarily a function of the low productivity of certain animal foods in these forests (notably young leaves, seeds and insects) rather than hunting.

3. According to Basir (quoted in Payne, 2001a), one local hunter specializes in hunting pangolins with the aid of dogs, and can obtain as many as 70 pangolins annually. The species can survive in forest edge and rural gardens as well as forest.

4. In most forests in Borneo, many squirrel calls may be heard daily, while in upper Tabalong it is common to hear no squirrels during a day spent in the forest. All squirrel species except the pigmy squirrels were extraordinarily rare in upper Tabalong during the period 1999-2001.

5. Two local informants (local Dayak and a staff member of PT AYI since 1977) stated that pairs of the tufted ground squirrel (Rheithrosciurus macrotis) feeds on the internal organs of deer, and hunts chickens owned by PT AYI staff. This is highly unlikely, and most probably mongooses are involved.

6. A sun bear was seen on the eastern slopes of Gunung Tanggur (April 1999); fresh bear footprints were seen along a stream flowing into Kumap River in the 1999 felling block (August 1999; although an experienced Dayak guide with the Ecologist stated that the footprints were of a tiger) and fresh bear diggings for termites were found between the Missim and Tutui River, east of Missim village (12 November 1999). A group of Banjar gaharu seekers met in September 1999 near Sinango River carried a small infant bear, which they took for sale in Tanjung. Signs of sun bear activity (claw marks in tree trunks, especially live Fagaceae trees; holes ripped in dead wood on trees and on the ground) are seen rarely, suggesting that this species is relatively rare in upper Tabalong.

7. Based on frequency of sightings of bearded pigs and their footprints and the small numbers of pigs in a group, this species is relatively uncommon in upper Tabalong compared to other hill dipterocarp forests in Borneo. However, Basir (quoted in Payne, 2001a) reported claims by local hunters in upper Tabalong that 10 pigs can be hunted daily over a three-month period. This and other unverified verbal information obtained in 1999 led to a calculation that wild meat (primarily bearded pig) represents the most significant non-timber forest product in upper Tabalong in terms of product value in converted to terms (Payne, 2001a). Certainly, bearded pig is not rare in upper Tabalong, as some local residents claim that the species is a significant pest in gardens (the Ecologist saw a bearded pig standing in daylight, unconcerned, by the roadside between Salikong and Bumbun villages in 1999). It is possible that, in the absence of intensive hunting in some locations, this species finds much of its food in rural gardens and farms.

8. Fresh and old footprints and faeces of a small group of banteng (adult bull and a few cows and young) were seen along the abandoned main logging road 11-14


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February 2000, between about km. 90 – 105 (the old road on the hill tops, not the road near Tutui River). According to local residents and PT AYI staff, the species remains largely in the upper Kumap catchment. Banteng reputedly visit the natural mineral lick on the west bank of the upper Tutui River at 1o 32’ 50” S, 115o 29’ 16” E, but not even old footprints were found in this area during a visit in May 1999. Mr Koyetman (PT AYI staff member since 1975) claimed that banteng were present in upper Missim in the 1980’s until killed by hunters from Tanjung. The infrequency with which evidence of banteng is found in upper Tabalong, and the fact that it is a prominent animal when present, suggests that the present population in this area is unlikely to exceed a few tens of individuals.

9. Two local Dayak informants independently informed the Ecologist that rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis; local name baduk) footprints have been found within the past decade in the remote hill forests near the Central, South and East Kalimantan border area.

5.12 Factors limiting vertebrate populations

Abundance of food items, both spatially and through time, are major factors affecting abundance of vertebrate populations.

The Orang-utan (Pongo pygmaeus; Dayak Lawangan name = juwud; family Pongidae) is absent from upper Tabalong. With the odd exception of hill dipterocarp forest is in the southern Sarawak – northern West Kalimantan border area, breeding populations of orang-utan in Borneo are confined to lowlands and to areas where several distinct forest types occur within a small area, probably because hill dipterocarp forests alone do not produce sufficient fruit through the year to sustain this slow-moving fruit-eating specialist. Even if hunting could be prevented, it is very unlikely that upper Tabalong could support a breeding population of orang-utans if this species were to be introduced from elsewhere.

In general, primates and squirrels are most abundant where there is a high diversity and density of trees and lianas of the family Leguminosae.

Large terrestrial mammals, also fruit-eating birds such as pigeons and parrots, visit natural concentrated sources of minerals. Sodium is especially deficient in leaves and fruits, and in the rain forest environment where high rainfall has cause leaching of soluble ions. One mineral source (probably rich in magnesium, not sodium, judging from the taste) was visited at 1o 32’ 50” S, 115o 29’ 16” E. Local informants claim the presence of a mineral-rich spring near the Lonai river, a tributary of the Missim.


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6 Conservation of ecological processes and biodiversity in upper Tabalong

6.1 General

Efforts to conserve ecological processes and biodiversity (Figure 1) can be directed at habitats (this section) or at individual species (section 8). However, the most important means to conserve wild species is to maintain large samples of original forest and habitat types in good condition. Some areas may be essentially unexploited conservation areas (in the from of protection forests, conservation forests or national parks), while most will be production forests. “Community” or “adat” forests are not discussed here because such forests still have unclear legal basis, and no formally agreed or designated areas yet exist in Tabalong.

In fact, the difference between conservation areas and production forest is in many cases academic because, under prevailing circumstances (RTRW that do not match actual conditions on the ground; illegal logging; encroachment of farms into production and protection forests; little law enforcement; poor fire prevention and control during droughts) all accessible forests are being logged and some converted to non-forest use.

6.2 Extent of forest

6.2.1 Lowland forests

In general, the more forest, the better in order to conserve the full range of original biological diversity in a particular area. This is for two main reasons : (1) some species may exist naturally at low densities, and require large areas for survival of breeding populations (e.g. rare tree species, large mammals) and (2) disasters such as drought, fire or disease may wipe out all individuals in some areas, leaving remnants only in other areas.

The near total loss of lowland forest in upper Tabalong (through traditional farming, settlement, conversion to HTI, and fire) has reduced the biological value of the overall forest area, because lowland areas tend to be more productive of biomass (including higher productivity of flowers and fruits) that serves as food for animal life. Also, some species (e.g. birds of the babbler group, ulin trees) normally breed only in lowlands, and records from hills represent “extra” individuals that have “spilled over” from their normal habitat.

6.2.2 Tree plantations

If properly managed for commercial wood production, industrial tree plantations can help to sustain populations of some wild plant and animal species, because the conditions created by closed-canopy tree cover allow some species to live and breed. Tree plantations are certainly better than non-tree agriculture, farms or grassland for helping to sustain wild species. However, tree plantations support very few species in comparison to natural forests, and cannot support naturally rare and sensitive species.


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Figure 1. Some significant issues in ecological and biodiversity conservation

Conservation of ecological processes & biodiversity

HAB I TAT

SPEC I ES

Rivers / streams (freshwater life)

Limestone & caves

Forests & soil

Damaging fishing methods (poisons, electric shocks)

Mercury (Hg) from illegal gold mining

Excessive suspended solids (land clearing, roading, bulldozers crossing streams)

Defacing, damage & theft of artifacts

Extent

Status

Tree plantation areas – of limited biological value

Forest – the more the better, especially in lowlands

Production

Legal logging – needs management plans & careful harvesting

Protection

Illegal logging

Fire

Ladang encroachment

Endangered, rare & threatened (ERT) species

ERT status due to one or more of (a) excessive harvesting or hunting, (b) sensitivity to habitat disturbance, (c) limited natural distribution; may require special protective measures

Others No special measures needed other than maintenance of adequate well-managed habitat


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Inspection of the Bakosurtanal 1:50,000 topographical maps for upper Tabalong (based on aerial photographs taken before the 1982-83 fires; sheet numbers 1714-34 S. Missim, 1714-32 S. Tabalong Kiwa, 1814-11 Jaro and 1814-13 Muaralangun) indicates that the development of HTI (industrial tree plantations) - areas which are now under a mix of tree plantation, scrub land and subsistence farms - represents the single greatest cause of forest loss since 1982. The majority of these HTI areas have been developed on what was previously lowland dipterocarp forest.

6.3 Protection and conservation forest

6.3.1 Legal basis

According to the Forestry Law (41/1999), forest is classified as one of conservation, protection or production. Conservation forest (hutan konservasi) has not been designated in upper Tabalong, and according to the current RTRW, almost all the land in upper Tabalong is a mix of production and protection forest.

Protection forest (= hutan lindung, which is a category of protection area – kawasan lindung – on the RTRW mapping system) is allocated on land above 45% slope and land with lesser slopes that has sensitive soils and high rainfall (as specified in section 2.8 of S.K. Menteri Pertanian 837/Kpts/Um/11/1980 relating to Kriteria dan tata cara penetapan Hutan Lindung).

6.3.2 Problems

The basis for allocation of protection forest (7.3.1) is rational in that most erosion will occur from steep slopes and under conditions of heavy rain fall. However, there are several problems associated with allocation of protection forest status in this way. Firstly, slopes of 45% can be demarcated accurately only by ground surveys which, within a generally steep region such as upper Tabalong, is an impractical task. Mapping of 45% slopes based on 1:50,000 topographical maps gives a good indication of where the steepest slopes are concentrated, but misses numerous small scale steep slopes which are “hidden” between 25 metre interval contour lines. Secondly, demarcating areas > 45% slope within a generally steep region such as upper Tabalong results in a scatter of hundreds of small patches of land; these cannot realistically be designated as protection forest while other areas are designated as production forest. Thirdly, if a particular forest region is to consist of a mix of production and protection forest, it is necessary to make subjective judgements on which areas are to be allocated to which category. This is because areas of production forest which are scattered, narrow or not readily accessible to road making cannot be planned or managed for timber production. In general, both for timber production purposes and ease of management of protection areas, it is best to allocate a few large areas for protection and production, rather than many areas of each. Fourthly, the legal criteria for protection forest do not take account of proximity to human communities. Often, rather small areas of moderately steep slope may be more significant to a village water supply than, say, large areas of steep slopes far from any human use (e.g. Payne et al., 2001 for Kasali Hills). Fifthly, there are significant errors in current RTRW maps regarding the optimum locations of protection forest. For upper Tabalong, some areas of moderate slope, flat areas and areas which are transmigration scheme are designated as protection forest, while some steep areas near to villages are


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designated as production forest. Unfortunately, the process to amend RTRW maps, even where urgent and justified, is slow and complex, and requires complete agreement from different parties, both technical and political, at kabupaten, provincial and central level.

In view of the practical problems involved in following the necessary administrative and legal procedures for changing forest function (between protection, production and conservation), it is considered best not to propose conservation forest in upper Tabalong, but to use the categories of protection and production only.

6.3.3 Needs

It is essential that RTRW be revised to (a) (in general, for all areas including deforested land) reflect a practical combination of actual existing land use and an optimum goal for the future (Payne, 2002b) and (b) (for remaining forest land) definitively determine the long term allocation of protection forest, so that management plans can be developed for the remaining production forest.

In addition to allocation of protection forest, it will be necessary (and administratively easier) to designate protection zones within production (and limited production) forest, in the context of long term sustainable forest management plans and 5 year logging work plans. Unfortunately, there is ambiguity in the meaning of “protection area” (kawasan lindung), whereby BAPPEDA uses this term to refer to land which may not be exploited for any purpose, while the forestry authorities may use the term to refer to zones within production forest that are excluded from logging plans.

6.4 Production forest

6.4.1 Current legal provisions

The basis of TPTI (the Indonesian management system for production forests) and other selective harvesting systems used in dipterocarp forests is that mature trees are removed, allowing existing natural immature trees or saplings and seedlings to take advantage of increased space and light, and to grow and form the bulk of the next crop of trees to be harvested. The natural stock of immature trees, saplings and seedlings is not always adequate to ensure that dipterocarp trees will regenerate to form the bulk of the next crop. This is particularly so in hill ranges, when compared to lowlands. This occurs for a combination of reasons, notably : dipterocarp trees infrequently produce viable seeds; dry periods cause high mortality of seedlings, especially on slopes where there can be severe desiccation; and the process of logging, if not well planned and implemented, can directly or indirectly lead to further loss of dipterocarp trees and seedlings.

TPTI recognizes that satisfactory natural regeneration of dipterocarps cannot always be ensured if forest is simply logged and abandoned. Thus, TPTI requires (a) that some mature trees of good form are retained as seed-producing trees; (b) that some medium-sized commercial trees are marked and protected from damage during logging operations; and (c) that dipterocarp seedlings (or wildings) are obtained and planted in damaged parts of the forest after logging. Implementation of (a) and (b) are important in maintaining overall forest quality, as well as helping to favour growth of future commercial trees. For maintaining ecological processes


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and natural biodiversity, maintenance of a structure similar to that of mature forest that is important. Implementation of (c) is probably less important because survival of seedlings and saplings planted out depends on a combination of site selection (many seedlings planted on roadsides and skid trails will certainly die, because soil conditions and exposure to sunlight are unsuitable for dipterocarps) and luck (even on good sites, dry weather during the year after planting, mortality due to insects, fungi or mammals, or competition from adjacent plants, often results in high mortality of young dipterocarp plants).

6.4.2 Road and skid trail alignment

In the case of the PT AYI concession area, many logging roads and skid trails follow ridge tops and spur ridges. In these cases, the same roads and skid trails may be used second and subsequent cuts of timber from a particular area.

This practice is probably not optimum in terms of maintaining forest structure or promoting forest regeneration. Ridge tops tend to be amongst the most sensitive parts of the forest ecosystem in that they represent the least fertile sites and are the most susceptible to desiccation in dry periods. Once ridge tops have had topsoil removed and been compacted by bulldozers, there is little chance that commercial trees will successfully regenerate on these sites thereafter. Also, if fire (which tends to follow roads in logged areas) affects ridgetops, scrub vegetation (including grasses, shrubs and weedy tree species) subsequently becomes established. Dipterocarp seeds tend to be dispersed by a combination of gravity and light winds. The chances are against re-establishment of dipterocarp forest on deforested ridge tops. In contrast, good forest can regenerate on roads and skid trails that are built by side-cutting on slopes. This is because (a) these open areas are partly shaded by trees on the slopes above, (b) water seeps from the cuttings onto the road and skid trail (unlike the case on bare ridgetops) and (c) small, natural land slips deposit soil onto compacted surfaces, thereby forming a substrate suitable for plant growth.

In practice, it is now normally better to re-open or re-utilise old roads and skid trails, which are already damaged, with little regeneration of good structure forest. However, if new road or skid trail alignments are planned in areas previously not exploited, alignment along slopes may be preferable.

6.4.3 Lianas

All practices promoted by “reduced impact logging” (RIL) except possibly one are beneficial to biological conservation. The doubtful practice is that of cutting all lianas in felling blocks before felling. Mature lianas may be the same age as old trees, and they provide food (in the form of young leaves, flowers and fruits) for a variety of mammals and birds. Flower and fruit production by mature forest lianas often is out of synchrony with general forest flowering and fruiting peaks, so these lianas provide food resources to pollinating and seed-dispersing animals at times when food is scarce. Gardette (2001) favours either no liana cutting, or cutting of only specific, selected lianas around trees to be felled, just prior to felling.

6.4.4 Production forestry and conservation

By maintaining a strong element of the original forest structure, the full complement of native species and ecological processes can survive in production forests (for example, see Wolseley et al., 2001) The most important factors


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contributing to survival of sensitive species and to good regeneration of disturbed forest are retention of some tall, mature trees throughout the forest (for example, see Nasution, 2001), and maintenance of a thick organic layer on the soil surface (for example, see Soehardjono, 2001).

The single most beneficial way in which production forestry can be improved to favour maintenance of ecological processes and survival of sensitive and rare species, is to minimize damage to the original mature forest structure, by any and all means possible, during logging operations. The more damage, the longer it will take for the forest to recover and for commercial timber trees to be produced. The less damage, the better it is for forest ecological processes, and the quicker will timber trees be regenerated.

6.5 Illegal logging

The immediate local environmental impacts are normally much less severe with illegal logging than with logging by PT AYI (Payne, 2002a). This is largely because bulldozers are normally not used to skid illegal timber, so there is none of the soil compaction, soil pushing and collateral damage to other trees associated with bulldozers. Also, sawn timber hauled by illegal operators, being much smaller per piece than the whole trunks skidded by bulldozers, results in less damage done by the timber to soil and adjacent vegetation. In addition, the large amounts of wood, bark and sawdust left around felling sites is probably beneficial ecologically in maintenance of soil organic matter.

However, the impact of illegal logging on prospects for forest recovery overall is severely negative for the following reasons (Payne, 2002a) :

1. In general, the fact that illegal operators now take trees as small as 35 cm dbh, and presumably will continue to do so if not stopped, means that the number of commercial seed source trees continues to be reduced. The number of dipterocarp seedlings and saplings is low in many parts of the PT AYI area (probably in part due to high mortality during dry periods, especially the 1997-98 drought); continuing removal of potential seed trees will tend to result in impoverishment of dipterocarps over much of the area.

2. Similarly to point 1, the continuing removal of ever smaller trees will lead to development of a very different forest quality, with lower stature, more pioneer growth and a dry, well-lit micro-climate unsuitable for organisms sensitive to desiccation and heat.

3. Illegal operators represent sources of fire during dry periods, scattered through the concession, as most smoke cigarettes and all have camp fires using wood for cooking, and they operate in close proximity to dry wood waste.

4. Illegal operators re-open roads, skid trails and areas that should be left to regenerate (old logging roads and felling blocks that were operated by PT AYI during the previous few years), thereby re-exposing soil to erosion and introducing garbage.

5. Illegal operators fell defective trees with holes and hollows that represent nesting and breeding sites for some wildlife such as hornbills.


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6. lllegal operators have already felled, and will continue to fell if not stopped, all trees yielding commercial timber within a distance of at least 1 km of all larger rivers within the PT AYI area. By law, all forest within 100 m of a river lies within protection areas. The impact of logging here will be to remove substrates for orchid species confined to moist riverine forest (Nasution, 2001) and reduce water quality and food input for aquatic life (Tjakrawidjaja & Pramudyagarini, 2002). Fortunately, many trees near to river banks are either non-commercial species or have very poor form. In terms of timber production, the concern is more within the area 100 – 1,000 m from the river, which due to soil fertility and moisture tends to have good regeneration potential for meranti merah, as long as seed trees are retained.

7. Illegal logging within about 500 m of major roads may act as an incentive for people to make ladangs, because it is apparent to local residents that neither government nor PT AYI are able or willing to protect that forest or land.

For these reasons, the net overall environmental and ecological impacts of illegal logging are reckoned to be somewhat negative for soil and water quality, and highly negative to forest recovery and to conservation of rare and sensitive species.

6.6 Fire

Dipterocarp forest of good structure (either not logged or lightly logged), which experienced a light burn during the 1997-98 drought, is characterized by survival of most large trees, some smaller trees, and the presence of many dead saplings and small trees. In years 1999 – 2000, many dead saplings killed by drought or fire remained standing. These have now largely decayed. Seedlings and live young saplings now present come from seeds which germinated after the end of the drought. Thus, such forests appear to retain the capacity to regenerate, if maintained without further logging and without another long drought or fire.

On one ridge near the eastern boundary of PT AYI (map reference : 115° 36’ 13” E, 1° 41’ 57” S) visited on 31 March 2000, drought and fire had caused the death of almost all trees except the largest – mostly above 80 cm dbh, and mostly dipterocarps (but with at least one Durio and one Mangifera seen). Beneath these surviving trees, amongst dead small trees, ground ferns, Rubrus and some grasses, a thick stand of dipterocarp seedlings and saplings was seen. Some saplings were nearly 2 metres tall. There were some recently germinated seedlings, too. There were at least four species of dipterocarp saplings here, including a tengkawang, red meranti and yellow meranti. Assuming that pre-existing dipterocarp seedlings must have died during the 1997 fire, and flowering occurred probably in early 1998, then these saplings must all be less than 2 years old. If left undisturbed, and in the absence of another drought or fire for some years, it may be imagined that this ridge top will eventually be covered in an almost pure stand of dipterocarp trees. However, illegal logging was proceeding just below this ridge top and presumably continued on to the ridge, thus damaging regeneration potential. In most parts of upper Tabalong visited up to early 2002, there was little or no fresh dipterocarp regeneration under lightly-burned forest.

Areas which were formerly under forest cover and were heavily burned during the 1997-98 drought have lost all or most of their original vegetation cover. Such areas are prominent on the limestone in the south-east part of the PTAYI concession, and along the Kumap valley, an area which was under logged dipterocarp forest prior to


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1997. It is noteworthy that the area burned most heavily in the Kumap valley, destroying all prospects of dipterocarp forest regeneration, had been logged earlier in 1997.

There are many relatively small patches of burned forest scattered over the upper Tabalong, far from any road or human habitation, ranging in extent from less than 1 hectare to several hectares. It is presumed that these result from cigarettes and camp fires lit by hunters and gatherers of forest products during the 1997-98 drought period.

6.7 Ladang encroachment

Clearance of forest to make ladangs is the most damaging form of disturbance to the remaining forests in upper Tabalong. Loss of forest due to ladang making along the access road into the PT AYI (Payne & Subekti, 2000) is particularly damaging because : (a) this land is near to the hill tops, relatively infertile with minimal topsoil, and at best can recover with a few hardy tree species; (b) being near the hill tops, there are few trees above the rice fields which can act as seed sources for natural forest recovery, so the prospects are that alang-alang grass and shrubs will be favoured during recovery; and (c) the ladang makers usually plant rubber plants in ladangs, implying that this land will not be allowed to revert to natural forest.

Loss of forest due to ladang making along the main rivers (notably Missim and Ayu) is of less concern in that the high fertility and moisture of these sites, coupled with plentiful trees on higher ground nearby, will favour quick recovery of forest. However, loss of forest next to main rivers means that suspended solids enter the river directly, water pH tends to be increased above normal levels due to abundance of limestone here (Tjakrawidjaja & Pramudyagarini, 2001). Also, riverine forest is the most restricted and endangered natural habitat in upper Tabalong.

6.8 Rivers & streams (freshwater life)

6.8.1 Damaging fishing methods

Use of electric shocks and poisons (notably a substance known locally as “potas” easily obtainable from local markets, and believed to be sodium cyanide) for catching fish for consumption is widespread and frequent in upper Tabalong.

6.8.2 Mercury from illegal gold mining

During the period 1999-2001, gold mining with use of mercury in upper Tabalong appeared to be confined to parts of the Tabalong Kiwa – Tutui Rivers and to the eastern slopes of Pihan peak (north part of Kasali hills).

6.8.3 Excessive suspended solids

Logging and clearing of forest for ladang (rice fields) increases the amounts of suspended solids and other substances in rivers and streams in upper Tabalong. Martin-Smith et al., (1999) found that river fish populations in similar circumstances in Sabah (Malaysia) were generally resistant or resilient to additional inputs of suspended solids due to logging on hill slopes.


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6.9 Caves

To date, the only damage noted in caves of upper Tabalong is graffiti and theft or or damage to human artifacts. In addition to a need for protection of caves for biological interest, the potential archaeological value of these sites merits attention. Some of the oldest (about 8,000 years BP) known C14-dated human artifacts in Kalimantan have been found in Gua Babi cave, also in upper Tabalong to the east of the Tanjung – Balikpapan road, yet to date only a superficial investigation has been made (Widianto, 1997).


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7 Species conservation issues in upper Tabalong

7.1 General

A few species require special attention and conservation measures, usually because they are one or more of (a) excessively harvested or hunted, (b) especially sensitive to habitat disturbance, or (c) naturally rare or limited in their distribution.

Lists of “protected” and “endangered, rare or threatened” species (8.2, 8.3 and 8.4) must be given attention, because certain national and international institutions demand this, but the significance of such lists must be placed in perspective of habitat conservation. Few of these species will survive long term unless adequate forest habitat is maintained, whatever special conservation measures may be put in place (e.g. ban on harvesting or trade). With very few specific exceptions, direct attention to conserving rare species is needed only in the case of local endemic species that are intensively hunted or harvested.

7.2 Protected species

Government Regulation 7/1999 on Flora and Fauna Preservation represents the major current national law on protected species. Responsibility for enforcement and penalties for contravention of its provisions are not specified. Criteria for selection of the species listed under this law are not provided and are not self-evident. The main purpose of this law appears to satisfy the international “conservation community” and CITES.

Amongst plants, two tree species (Shorea pinanga and S. seminis), three palms species (Borassodendron borneensis, Caryota no and Eugeissona utilis) and one orchid (Grammatophyllum speciosum) listed as protected species in the appendix to Regulation 7/1999 occur within the PT AYI area. In addition, four tree species (Dyera costulata, Eusideroxylon zwageri, Scorodocarpus borneensis and Duabanga moluccana) listed under ministerial decree No.54/Kpts/Um/2/1972 regarding trees protected within forest areas, whereby a minimum girth limit for felling is specified, occur within the PT AYI area. Some tree species (e.g. Koompassia excelsa and wild durian species) regarded by local people as protected in the PT AYI area appear not to be listed under any existing legislation or rules.

Fifteen mammal species; a pheasant, six hornbill species, and various unidentified species of trogons, kingfishers and pitas; two reptiles (forest dragon lizards Gonocephalus species); and one fish species (Homaloptera gymnogaster, previously known only from Sumatera) listed as protected species in the appendix to Regulation 7/1999 have been recorded to occur within the PT AYI area.

7.3 IUCN Red List species

The only plant species known to occur in upper Tabalong which are listed in the 2000 IUCN Red List as critically endangered or endangered are dipterocarp trees with Dipterocarpus cornutus, D. grandiflorus, D. temepehes, Hopea mengarawan, H. semicuneata, Shorea johorensis, S. lamellata, S. mujongensis, S. seminis, S. smithiana, Vatica javanica subsp. scaphifolia and V. oblongifolia listed as


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“critically endangered” and Anisoptera costata, D. crinitus, S. ovalis, S. pauciflora, S. parvifolia, S. leprosula and Dryobalanops lanceolata as “endangered”. The last three are amongst the most widespread and readily regenerating dipterocarp species in Borneo. Presumably, all these species are on the Red List because they occur in dipterocarp forests (which are heavily exploited throughout Indonesia and Malaysia), and because they represent some of the main commercially exploited species.

Of the 15 mammal species listed as protected by law (8.2), only two (proboscis monkey Nasalis larvatus and banteng Bos javanicus) are listed in the IUCN Red List as endangered. Certainly, these and also sun bear Helarctos malayanus are threatened or endangered locally and throughout most of their range as a result of habitat loss and / or hunting. Orang-utan (Pongo pygmaeus), an endangered species characteristic of mixed lowland forest types in Kalimantan, does not occur in the area.

The IUCN Red List reflects largely whether a specialist has contributed to the List and the views of the specialist (particularly whether they favour choosing a small number of clearly endangered species, or a long list comprising of species endemic to Borneo and species commercially exploited).

7.4 Endangered, rare an threatened species

ITTO, FSC and LEI all require that, for certification of sustainable management of a forest area, attention be paid to identification of endangered, rare and threatened (ERT) species, and to implementation of steps to protect and/or monitor those species. Clearly, species protected by law and species listed by IUCN are not necessarily ERT, and there are ERT species which do not appear on either the law or the IUCN Red List. An investigation of means to select and monitor ERT species has been done, partly based on information from upper Tabalong and the PT AYI concession area (Grieser Johns, 2002). That investigation proposes that the following taxa (Table 5), which occur in upper Tabalong, be regarded as ERT taxa.

Grieser Johns (2002) separates the three categories of endangered, rare and threatened, and provides criteria for determing to which category (if any) a particular species should be assigned. However, in any particular area (such as a production forest concession), there are unlikely to be more than a few ERT species, and they may best best be considered as a single group for conservation and management purposes.

Table 5 : Endangered, rare and threatened species in upper Tabalong


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Species Local / English name(s) Main features Aquilaria beccariana, A. malaccensis and Gonystylus affinis

Put, gaharu Gaharu-producing trees, all species of which are severely overharvested (see Payne 2001b)

Endertia spectabilis Biwan Leguminous tree. Very limited world distribution. Locally common in upper Tabalong, but known only from one or two other sites in north East Kalimantan

Vatica javanica scaphifolia

Resak (general name for all Vatica species)

Large tree with commercial value. Known only from the PT AYI Arboretum and remnant lowland dipterocarp forest near Balikpapan-Samarinda

Dipterocarpus tempehes

Keruing (general name for all Dipterocarpus species)

Localised lowland commercial timber species which does not regenerate well, endemic to Borneo lowland dipterocarp forests

Homaloptera (?) gymnogaster

(none) Fish, a species previously known only from a lake in Sumatera

About 10 fish species yet to be described scientifically

(none) Fish. The overall distribution of these specis is unknown, but presumed to be rather restricted. Damaging fishing methods widespread in south-east Kalimantan rivers probably threaten many sensitive and endemic freshwater fish species

Pycnototus zeylanicus

Cica rawa / Straw-headed bulbul

Bird. Apparently locally extinct due to overharvetsing for song bird trade

Ptilocichla, Kenopia & Napothera species

Berencet / wren-babblers Birds. No species recorded yet in upper Tabalong, but probably one or more occur. Confined mainly to old growth forest

Nasalis larvatus Bekantan / pekah / proboscis monkey

Kalimantan endemic restricted to riverbanks and mangroves

Neofelis nebulosa Engkuli / clouded leopard Largest wild cat in Kalimantan, probably exists at low densities due to low prey species abundance

Helarctos malayanus Beruang / sun bear Naturally low numbers, and potentially threatened further by hunting

Bos javanicus Lemui / lamu / banteng Wild cattle. Very small numbers, and a popular target for hunters with guns

Source: Grieser Johns (2002)

7.5 Non timber plant harvesting

Harvesting of plants for products other than timber has been assessed for upper Tabalong (Payne, 2001b,c). It was concluded that only gaharu producing trees (mainly Aquilaria species; see also Barden et al, undated) are significantly threatened by harvesting activities, as mature and immature trees have been and continue to be recklessly felled or slashed wherever they occur, even in remote forests. Some other plants are overexploited (rattan species used for furniture production, and two or three species believed to have aphrodisiac properties) but their “economic extinction” will occur before biological extinction because the costs of seeking and transporting these plants from remote areas are greater than the profits obtained.

7.6 Hunting & animal product harvesting

7.6.1 Wild meat species

Mr Koyetman (PT AYI staff member since 1975) claimed that deer and pigs were much more abundant in upper Tabaling in the 1970’s than now (personal


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communication to the Ecologist). It is now impossible to judge the relative significance of hunting, widespread logging (reduction in seed-producing trees which help to sustain pig populations), loss of forest from the more fertile and biologically productive lowlands (mainly as a result of attempts to develop industrial tree plantations), drought and fire in leading to a decline in populations of larger animals. Bearded pigs and deer are hunted, but not on a commercial scale to supply communities outside the area, and their survival is linked more to habitat extent and quality than to hunting in upper Tabalong.

7.6.2 Large animals

Animals with the largest body size tend to be pressured by hunting more than other species, because they are naturally rare in rain forest habitats, breed slowly and are often favoured targets of hunters. Due to its rarity (5.11) and favoured status amongst hunters with guns, banteng (wild cattle) is the only animal species potentially threatened by hunting in upper Tabalong, as it is throughout its range. Sun bear is threatened elsewhere by hunting for the gall bladder and paws, used in Chinese medicines, but the species does not appear to be sought in upper Tabalong for this illegal international trade. Clouded leopards are extremely difficult to find and see, and are unlikely to be threatened by hunting; loss of habitat and prey animals (mainly mammals up to the size of pigs) would be a much more significant threat to this species. There is no evidence that hornbills or pheasants (the largest bird species) are hunted to a significant extent in upper Tabalong.

7.6.3 Edible bird nests

The white edible nest swiftlet (Collocalia fuciphaga) makes nests on the walls of caves in Gunung Tanggur and the Ayu-Pasuang area. These nests are harvested for sale. In year 2001, each nest was equivalent to about IDR150,000 stuck to the cave wall. With such prices, implementation of sustainable harvesting of wild populations may be impossible. The extremely small numbers of nests harvested from the Missim River area, quoted by Basir (2000), and a figure of a few hundred grams per year quoted by the village head of Desa Santuul (near Ayu River; personal communication to the Ecologist) suggests a swiftlet population nearing extinction in these two areas.

In theory, harvesting of edible birds’ nests from wild populations can be sustainable by harvesting each cave twice per year. The swiftets tend to breed simultaneously. The first harvest should occur just before new nests have been completed, and before eggs have been laid. The second harvest (about 7-8 months later) should occur just after young birds have flown from the nest. Any other “system” leads to mortality of chicks and eggs, and diminished ability of adults to maintain breeding success (Payne, 2001b). In practice, due to the very high prices of nests, a sustainable system does not occur anywhere in the wild. All wild populations of edible nest swiftlets investigated indicate a continuing trend of declining nest yields due to overharvesting. Populations could be totally eliminated by harvesting unless there are parts of caves which are inaccessible to harvesters.

7.6.4 Song birds

Nunuk & Payne (2001) concluded that none of the bird species now harvested in upper Tabalong for the song bird trade are endangered, because there are sufficient forest areas not accessed by the bird harvesters that can act as a source of young


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birds to colonise exploited areas. Also, all the harvested species are robust to habitat degradation, and can breed in degraded forests. The sole exception appears to be straw-headed bulbul (Pycnonotus zeylanicus), which was not heard or seen in upper Tabalong during 1999-2001, although according to local informants the species was formerly present. This bulbul appears to have become extinct locally as a result of overharvesting and loss of its favoured riverside, open forest habitat.

7.7 Non ERT species

For wild plant and animal species that are not endangered, rare or threatened, no special conservation measures are needed other than maintenance of adequate well-managed natural forest habitat.


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8 Monitoring biodiversity, forest condition and ecological functions

8.1 General background

8.1.1 Monitoring tropical production forests – Why and What?

Organisations involved in promotion of sustainable forest management refer to the monitoring of forest condition (Forest Stewardship Council Principle No. 8; ITTO Forest Management Unit Criterion 3), the maintenance of ecological functions and values (FSC criterion No. 6.3) and conservation or monitoring of biological diversity (FSC principle No. 6; ITTO Forest Management Unit Indicator 5.8) as important elements in assessment of forest concessions for certification of sustainable forest management.

The design of monitoring any aspect of forest condition should ideally lead to identification of ways in which forest management might be improved (Boyle et al, 1998). In the context of current logging practices and conditions in Kalimantan, this objective of monitoring is overshadowed by the need for more basic changes, such as preparation and implementation of sustainable forest management plans, improved road making and harvesting procedures, and law enforcement against illegal logging and encroachment by farmers, land claimants and miners.

Attention to these issues is needed more than monitoring of biodiversity or ecological processes. In particular, illegal logging and encroachment by farmers need to be tackled in preference to relatively minor adjustments to legal logging practices that might be revealed by any monitoring programme.

Despite these problems, forest concession-holders that wish to obtain internationally recognised certification of sustainable management are expected to provide evidence that conservation of biodiversity, forest condition and / or ecological functions are being addressed with the aid of monitoring programmes.

The three elements of biodiversity, forest condition and ecological functions are clearly linked and are not independent variables. Production forest managed to enhance regeneration of many large native trees, including retention of examples of old growth forest, will clearly serve to maintain all three elements. The three elements are generally treated separately, however, when assessing the condition of a wood production forest and its management for certification purposes.

8.1.2 What can field studies and monitoring reveal?

In seeking methods for assessing biodiversity, forest condition and ecological functions within specific production forests, it is necessary to recognise that any work methods proposed will be constrained by time, funds and availability of appropriate human resources. To illustrate this point, the research programme at Danum Valley in Sabah, Malaysia (an area - like much of Kalimantan - consisting of dipterocarp forest and steep slopes), has run since 1985, involving over 100 professional scientists. Seemingly, every study raises as many questions as it answers.


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A main overall conclusion of the Danum Valley studies is that occasional extreme events (notably drought and heavy rain storms) exert a great influence on forest condition and exact species composition (Newbury al et, 1999). The implication is that, although details of logging methods and wood volumes extracted are important to maintaining forest condition, extreme natural events may play an even greater role. It is noted that upper Tabalong experienced long droughts and forest fire in 1982-83 and 1997-98. In the absence of any reliable biological data before 1999, we now do not know the extent to which the droughts and fires affected species numbers, composition and distribution in upper Tabalong.

The above example reveals a basic problem of establishing any kind of research or monitoring programme in a tropical rain forest, even if the work is of very high quality, consistently over very many years. Results are likely to raise more questions than they answer, and may even to draw false conclusions.

8.1.3 Theory and practice

There is now a considerable literature relating to criteria, indicators and verifiers for condition of tropical forests and their sustainable management (e.g. Boyle et al, 1998). However, much of the contents of the literature remain in the realm of theory and recommendations. There is much debate in the scientific literature on the meaning and value of “indicator species” in relation to assessing forest condition (e.g. Lindenmayer et al, 2000).

SCKPFP attempted to seek practical methods for assessing biodiversity, forest condition and ecological functions within production forests in Kalimantan, with the PT AYI production forest as an example.

The PT AYI area is very suitable for testing methods, in that a large area of dipterocarp forest on predominantly sloping land (much of it > 40% slopes) has been logged continuously in a damaging manner for the past twenty-five years. Some areas have been re-logged. There are no large tracts of virgin forest remaining. Illegal logging, encroachment by hill rice farmers and fire have affected all the more accessible parts of the concession, and present yet greater threats in the future. In other words, this concession is typical of many others, and can be viewed as representing a “normal” concession.

8.2 Some key issues

8.2.1 Indicators of what?

Unless one knows fairly precisely what is being monitored by repeatedly recording information (that is, monitoring indicators) in a particular forest, then it is doubtful if the monitoring is worthwhile. It may be that monitoring a set of parameters every year merely shows changes in numbers or relative numbers, and that the changes cannot be ascribed to anything specific related to either logging practices or natural annual variation (for example, in rainfall).

8.2.2 Who conducts monitoring?

Seeking, recording and evaluating the kinds of information needed to monitor any aspect of forest condition or biodiversity is clearly likely to require specialist


44

knowledge or skills which normally do not exist within forest concession companies, nor even local institutions. In the case of direct indicators of biodiversity, most of the required knowledge is limited to a few individuals in a small number of institutions (mainly universities and museums) scattered around the world.

The value of monitoring information depends in large part on consistency in methodology and quality of data recorders over time. The value of all data is questionable if the first records were made by an expert and subsequent records by non-specialists, or where different people recorded data in different years. The only way around this problem would seem to be to select only indicators which rely on information that many different people can collect reliably.

Prospects for capacity building within the forest companies and local institutions appear to be limited, irrespective of the aims and good intentions of the companies. This is largely due to the inherent impossibility of training people to recognise and accurately distinguish different species, or to take accurate measurements of physical and biological parameters in remote locations. Generally for capacity building, there is no substitute for a combination of strong self-motivation and a long period of building up knowledge and experience. This implies that there are only two routes to successful description and subsequent monitoring of forest condition, ecological processes and / or biodiversity : either (a) long-term agreements to have periodic monitoring by professional specialists, or (b) use of very simple, unambiguous indicators that can be monitored by non-specialists. The first of these two options is likely to be prohibited by cost.

8.2.3 Variation through a forest concession

For any chosen parameter or biological taxon, there is typically a wide range of variation in space and time in a large forest concession. A poorly managed concession may contain patches of good quality forest, whereas a well-managed forest inevitably contains many damaged areas. The question will arise as to exactly where to conduct monitoring work. Animal abundance may differ or appear to differ according to weather conditions and the amount of fruit in the forest. These problems suggest that chosen indicators should be those that reflect the overall, average condition of the forest concession, and not those that might yield results that vary greatly according to where sampling sites are selected.

8.2.4 Criteria for choice of organisms suitable for monitoring

Table 6. Criteria for choice of indicator organisms suitable for monitoring

Criterion Key characteristics Constraints

Sensitivity to forest condition

Choose organisms which occur only in either (a) good quality old growth forest or (b) degraded or deforested land, so that their presence indicates clearly “good” or “bad”

Most organisms can occur in a whole range of forest conditions, including good and bad

Ease of detection Choose organisms which do not move (unless they are large and noisy), and which can be detected in the day time

Most plants which occur in the tree canopy and most animals are not easily


45

without the need for binoculars, climbing into the tree canopy, digging etc.

detected

Recognisable by non-specialists

Choose species that are familiar to everyone or that can be learned with minimal training

Most species and / or taxonomic groups can be identified only by specialists, and are therefore unsuitable

Non-ambiguity Choose only species or groups that cannot be confused with other taxa that have different ecological requirements

Expert knowledge required for many plant and animal groups

Non-seasonal Occurrence and / or activity must not be influenced weather or seasonality

Flowers or fruits are seasonal; most animal activity is influenced by rainfall, sunshine or humidity

8.2.5 Organisms proposed, rejected and tested for suitability

Noting the criteria outlines in 8.2.4, SCKPFP attempted to identify specific groups of plants or animals that might be used as indicators of biodiversity, forest condition and/ or ecological functions.

Sensitivity to forest condition. Based on existing knowledge, some groups such as mammals and birds (Greiser Johns, 1997; Goenner, 1998) are clearly robust to logging damage, and are unlikely to be suitable as indicators. Some easily-recognised and prominent species may appear to be good indicators, but are not so. For example, gibbons may prefer old growth forest, but they are also very prominent in highly damaged forest. Deer and pigs are known to everyone and leave distinctive footprints. However, abundance of all deer species seems to have no correlation with forest condition.

Examples of most original forest trees can survive in damaged forests if they are not deliberately felled. Amongst trees, therefore, only the absence of mature commercial tree species and presence of pioneer species clearly indicates degraded forests.

Stingless bees (= “sweat” bees) are said to be characteristic of old growth forests, as they use dipterocarp tree resin to make distinctive nest entrance tubes, and nests are normally made inside tree holes. However, these bees can also be found nesting in towns (such as Banjarbaru) where there are no resin-producing trees.

Caldecott (1997) suggested liverworts, mosses, leeches, crustaceans and amphibians as potential indicators of good quality forest, as they are relatively easily seen and are very sensitive to dryness induced by any disturbance to the natural forest structure. However, even these organisms are not necessarily ideal as their numbers can be affected by natural annual variation in rainfall, irrespective of forest disturbance. Liverworts, mosses and liches sensitive to light and humidity were found in sheltered pockets of good forest in areas otherwise heavily damaged by logging in the PT AYI area (Wolseley et al., 2001). In 1999, leeches were absent from most parts of the PT AYI area visited by the SCKPFP ecologist,


46

seemingly as a result of high mortality during the 1997-98 drought. Amphibians characteristic of non-forest habitat were found some of the best forest areas in the PT AYI concession (Iskander et al., 2001). Seedlings of commercial trees and possibly some palms appear to have been wiped out on sloping land, probably during the 1997 drought, irrespective of logging damage.

Ease of detection. All animals which move away in human presence and which can range widely are less likely to be suitable as indicators than sedentary animals and plants. The only noisy animals which can be identified readily by their calls are hornbills and primates. All nocturnal animals are judged as unsuitable. Plants which are confined to tree tops (such as many ferns and orchids) are unlikely to be suitable as they cannot readily be seen, even with the aid of binoculars.

Recognisable by non-specialists. This factor is generally not related to particular biological groupings. For example, some tree species are easily-recognised but most are not. Strangling figs, often regarded as a “keystone” resource of tropical rain forests, are very distinctive and generally not cut in production forests. However, they vary in their abundance and size irrespective of the quality of forest management, so are unsuitable as indicators.

Non-seasonal. All organisms which are seasonal in abundance (including wild pigs, butterflies and most fungi) were rejected.

SCKPFP selected several diverse groups of plants and animals for investigation, including assessment of their potential as indicators of forest condition. The chosen groups and main conclusions from the studies are summarised in Table 7.

Table 7. Animal and plant groups investigated as possible indicators of forest condition

Group (Report) Main conclusions in relation to suitability as indicators

Lichens (Wolseley et al, 2001)

Specialist knowledge required for identification. Even sensitive species can survive on relict old trees in highly damaged forests.

Mosses (Wolseley et al, 2001)

Specialist knowledge required for identification. Even sensitive species can survive in damp areas in highly damaged forests.

Rattan (Mogea & Subekti, 2001)

Specialist knowledge required for identification of most species. Abundance affected by over-harvesting of commercial species, even in good quality forest.

Orchids (Nasution, 2001)

Requires specialist knowledge for identification; very few can be recognised without flowers; and most orchids are not flowering most of the time. Even sensitive species can survive on relict old trees and riversides in highly damaged forests.

Lianas (Gardette, 2001)

Specialist knowledge required for identification of most species, but 2 or 3 easily-identified genera are good indicators of disturbed forest.

Trees (Sidiyasa & Zainal, 2001)

Some species easily-recognised but most are not. Only pioneer species and some old, large trees are suitable as indicators of forest condition.


47

Frogs (Iskandar et al, 2001; Iskandar, 2002)

Available field guide permits identification by non-specialists, but field work is demanding and unpopular amongst field staff. At least 21 nights of intensive collecting work is needed each sampling period for valid comparisons between samples. Rainfall & season may affect results. Some non-forest species may enter good quality forest near to roads.

Termites (Wolseley et al, 2001)

Specialist knowledge required for identification. Abundance & diversity affected by unknown factors (possibly soil pH) other than forest condition.

Soil invertebrates (Suhardjono, 2001)

Specialist knowledge required for identification. Abundance & diversity appears to be affected by tree species composition & leaf litter depth rather than overall forest condition or plant species diversity. Leaf litter under legume trees may contain more invertebrates than leaf litter under other tree types.

Freshwater fish (Tjakrawidjaja & Pramudyagarini, 2001)

Specialist knowledge required for identification. Presence & abundance affected by seasonality, rainfall & over-fishing, probably more than forest condition.

The main overall conclusions from Table 7 are that obtaining reliable and comparable data on any of these groups requires : (a) that field work be done or closely supervised by experienced specialist experts from national or international taxonomic institutions, and (b) long periods for expert identification of specimens in museums, laboratories or herbaria, and for analysis of results. Furthermore, for most plant and animal groups, differences between sites and changes over time at one site may reflect factors not related to timber harvesting;

8.2.6 Possible approaches to designing a forest condition monitoring programme

One way to monitor biological changes due to logging in a particular forest is to measure selected parameters in a sample area, log the area, and then measure the same parameters (perhaps annually) after logging. This method tends to be more useful for physical parameters than for biological parameters. Inevitably, there will be loss of original plants and animals, and partial replacement by pioneer and weed species. Monitoring will quantify that process, but it will take decades before details of the recovery process for original species will be clear. This sort of methodology is impossible for the PT AYI area and many other production forest concessions in Kalimantan, where the only remaining virgin forest consists of rather small patches of atypical forest.

A second possible way to monitor biological changes related to logging is through “artificial time series” whereby selected parameters are measured in virgin forest and in samples of forest which were logged in different years. This concept appears to be popular amongst zoologists and botanists in tropical forests. There are three constraints, however, with this approach : (a) any differences observed might be due not only to logging and time, but also to differences in the original forest composition, (b) it is rarely possible to be sure when a particular patch of forest was logged and the volume of timber extracted, and (c) if the aim is to improve forest management, then the emphasis of monitoring and rectification work should be on logging methods and damage caused rather than time after logging.


48

A third idea, taking note of point (c) above, is to investigate selected parameters in samples of forest which are logged by different methods, and with different volumes of timber extracted/hectare. This approach will take much careful research effort by, or supervised by, experienced scientists or foresters in order to yield good data, and has the risk of being rather academic. One can argue that any efforts to reduce logging damage and to limit volume extracted per hectare will be beneficial to forest recovery, and that there is no need to prove this through academic research.

A fourth concept is to monitor selected plants that occur only in very damaged forest or non-forest habitats with the aim of detecting trends in their replacement, through natural regeneration, by non-pioneer and non-weed species (8.3).

8.3 Does the presence and abundance of pioneer plants reflect forest condition?

8.3.1 Concept

By mid 2001, it was apparent that the groups of plants and animals surveyed in upper Tabalong (see Table 7) would not be suitable for monitoring as indicators of biodiversity, forest condition or ecological functions. The possible exceptions were pioneer species of trees and lianas.

Based on that, it was planned to compare the abundance of pioneer plant species annually in a chosen sample area, in order to initiate a programme for monitoring whether the forest condition is stable, or declining (towards domination by widespread secondary growth), or improving (towards conditions normal in old growth forest).

This approach has merit from several perspectives : (a) it can be started at any time (before logging or after), (b) it is not necessary to know the original forest composition, (c) data obtained provides, with minimal analysis, an indication of condition of dipterocarp forests (the more pioneers, the further is the forest from its original condition), (d) specialist taxonomic skills are not required (a small number of well-known pioneers can be learned by anyone familiar with the forest), and (e) pioneers incorporate several taxonomic groups and life forms (trees, lianas, herbs etc.).

8.3.2 Field checks

Pioneer plant species present in the PT AYI area that obviously indicate poor forest condition (or non-forest) and that can be recognized easily by concession field staff are listed in Table 8.

Table 8 : Pioneer plants of upper Tabalong that indicate poor forest or non-forest

Plant type Explanatory notes Alang-alang grass (Imperata cylindrica)

Indicator of severe loss of forest. Prospects for forest regeneration are poor once alang-alang has invaded.

Grasses other than alang-alang Any form of grass growth is incompatible with dipterocarp forest regeneration.

Any fern of the family Gleicheniaceae (any Gleichenia &

Invader of exposed areas where top soil has been removed. Strong supressor of tree regeneration


49

Dicranopteris species)

“Bracken” thickets (clusters of terrestrial Pteridium ferns)

Invader of sandy areas where top soil has been removed. Strong supressor of tree regeneration.

Chromolaena odorata Introduced weed; colonizer of open areas with topsoil removed

Rubrus plants Native colonizer of highly degraded sites, mainly roads and burned areas

Scrambling and creeping plants, e.g. Merremia peltata, Erycibe species & Jacquemontia tomentella

Invaders of abandoned roads. Strong supressor of tree regeneration if the plants grow off the road surface into forest.

Tetrastigma climbing plants Native colonizer of rather open, infertile sites, including roadsides

Wild banana plants (Musa species) Indicator of forest loss greater than normal gaps caused by timber extraction

Melastoma plants Native colonizer of highly degraded sites, mainly roads

Dendrocnide species (local name jelatang), a shrub or small tree with numerous stinging hairs

Colonizer of rather open, degraded sites, including roadsides and burned areas

Climbing bamboo (Dinochloa species)

Strong supressor of tree regeneration.

Uncaria lianas Uncaria lianas grow mainly in forest gaps and near rivers. Their hooks make this amongst the most distinctive of liana genera. Large numbers indicate excessive disturbance to the forest canopy.

Macaranga trees Moderate numbers of Macaranga trees can be beneficial in forest regeneration, in colonising gaps and providing shade for dipterocarp saplings. Large numbers of Macaranga trees away from main roadsides indicates excessive intensity of harvesting or logging damage.

Trema trees Native; colonizer of open, degraded sites such as roadsides

Neonauclea trees Native; colonizer of open, degraded sites such as roadsides

Duabanga moluccana trees Native; colonizer of open, degraded sites such as roadsides

Through field work done in the PT. AYI production forest area (12, 13 , 24 and 25 October 2001), it was found that (a) presence of pioneer plants indicates locations of old logging roads and major skid trails, and not necessarily overall forest quality in the area selected, (b) the majority of any transect through logged forest lacks any pioneer plants unless the forest has been very extensively damaged, (c) low quality secondary forest resulting from heavy logging more than 20 years ago (lacking commercial trees and low in species diversity) may contain hardly any pioneer plants once the canopy has closed, thereby falsely “indicating” good quality forest, and (d) results of any “forest condition” monitoring transect may vary significantly with exact location of the transect.

8.4 Conclusions

8.4.1 Biodiversity versus endangered, rare and threatened species

It is important to recall that a logged forest can contain more species than an undisturbed forest, due to influx of non-forest and forest-edge specialists. Thus,


50

merely collecting lists of species in accessible sites will not reveal much about “biodiversity” in a particular area.

The majority of plant and animal species which occur in any particular area of dipterocarp forest also occur in many other areas of Borneo island or even South-east Asia. It is not so much the total numbers of species that reflect the biological significance of a particular area, as the presence of breeding populations of locally endemic, rare, threatened and endangered species.

In order to support conservation of biodiversity in production forests, therefore, it is best to place emphasis on identifying sensitive, endemic, rare, threatened and endangered taxa within a particular area and on seeking means to help conserve them in site. This is addressed elsewhere (Grieser Johns, 2002).

8.4.2 Forest condition and ecological functions

Based on field checks of pioneer plants (9.3.2), the concept of using pioneer plants as indicators for forest condition was abandoned. It was decided that use of pioneer plants to monitor changes over time in forest quality could yield misleading results.

Mature dry land forests in Kalimantan are characterised by the presence of many large trees rather than by any other feature. The only remaining possibility for a simple method to monitor forest condition that could be used by concession staff, and that does not require specialist knowledge or skills, appears to be density per hectare of large trees (for example, trees > 60 cm dbh). An advantage of using density of large trees to monitor forest condition is that forest concession staff are fully accustomed to the necessary survey methods.


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9 References Appanah, S. & Turnbull, J M (Eds) 1998 A Review of Dipterocarps. Taxonomy, ecology

and silviculture. CIFOR, Bogor.

Basir A 1999. Hasil hutan nir kayu (HHNK) di PT. Aya Yayang Indonesia dan di Kalimantan SelatanSCKPFP Internal Working Document. Banjarbaru, Indonesia

Basir A 2000 Field Reports 1,2 3 and 4 on Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPS) in PT Aya Yayang Indonesia. SCKPFP internal report.

Barden, A, Noorainie A A, Mulliken, T & Song M (undated) Heart of the matter : Agarwood use and trade and CITES implementation for Aquilaria malaccensis. (Obtained via World Conservation Monitoring Centre, U.K., website)

Boden, D 2001 Site and forest classification studies in the PT Aya Yayang Indonesia concession. Consultant Report, March 2001.

BOYLE, T, LAWES, M., MANOKARAN, N., PRABHU, R., GHAZOUL, J., SASTRAPRADJA, S., THANG, H.-C., DALE, V., EELEY, H., FINEGAN, B., SOBERON, J. & STORK, N. E. 1998. Criteria and indicators for assessing the sustainability of forest Management: a practical approach to assessment of biodiversity. CIFOR special publication, Bogor, Indonesia.

Caldecott, J O 1997 Biodiversity in Sustainable Forest Ecosystem Management. Specialist report for Europan Commission Project B7-5041/I/1992/10. Development of Mapping and GIS for the Effective Planning, Management, Conservation and Sustainable Development of Forest Resources in Peninsular Malaysia.

Gardette, E 2001 An assessment of lianas in the PT. Aya Yayang Indonesia production forest. SCKPFP Environmental Working Paper No. 17.

Goenner, C 1998 Assessing Biodiversity for Forest Certification – different approaches and practical experiences from a case study in East Kalimantan. Promotion of Sustainable Forest Management Systems, Ministry of Forestry and Estate Crops in Cooperation with GTZ.

Grieser Johns, A 1997 Timber production and biodiversity conservation in tropical rain forests. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

Grieser Johns, A 2002 Endangered, Rare and Threatened Species in South and Central Kalimantan : categorization, identification and monitoring processes. SCKPFP Environmental Working Paper No. 43.

Hildebrand, F H 1949 Daftar Nama Pohon-pohonan Banjarmasin - Hulu Sungai (Kalimantan Tenggara). Unpublished report, Balai Penyelidikan Kehutanan, Bogor.


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Iskandar, D T 2002 Amfibi dan reptil di Hulu Tabalong. SCKPFP Environmental Working Paper No. 30.

Iskandar, D T, Payne, J, Daru Y Setyanto & A Subekti 2001 Frogs and forest condition: results of a survey in the P T Aya Yayang Indonesia Production Forest. Final Report. SCKPFP Environmental Working Paper No. 1.

Kessler, P J A 2000 Economically Used and Protected Tree Species – Berau. A Field Guide. Berau Forest Management Project, PT Inhutani I.

Kiyono, Y & Hastaniah 2000 The role of slash-and-burn agriculture in transforming dipterocarp forest into Imperata grassland. Pp. 199-208 in Ecological Studies 140. E. Guhardja et al (Eds.). Springer-Verlag, Tokyo.

Lindenmayer, D B, Margules, C R & Botkin, D B 2000 Indicators of biodiversity for ecologically sustainable forest management. Conservation Biology 14: 941-950.

Mogea, J & Alfan S 2001 Rattan Diversity of the Upper Tabalong area. SCKPFP Environmental Working Paper No. 14.

Martin-Smith, K, Laird, L M, Bullough, L & Lewis, M G 1999 Mechanisms of maintenance of tropical freshwater fish communities in the face of disturbance. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B 354:1803-1810.

Nasution, R E 2001 Orchids in the PT Aya Yayang Indonesia production forest. SCKPFP Environmental Working Paper No. 16.

Newbury, D M, Clutton-Brock, T H & Prance, G T (eds) 1999 Changes and disturbance in tropical rainforest in South-east Asia. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. Biological Sciences. 354 (1391): 1721-1897.

Nunuk Kasyanto & Payne, J 2001 A survey of song birds in South Kalimantan. SCKPFP Environmental Working Paper No. 26.

Payne, J 2001a Trees in Hulu Tabalong : recommended local names & field key to genera of non-dipterocarps. SCKPFP Environmental Working Paper No. 27.

Payne, J 2001b Non timber forest products (NTFPs) and sustainable forest management in upper Tabalong : (1) Descriptions. SCKPFP Environmental, Industry & Economics and Socio Agriculture Working Paper No. 1.

Payne, J 2001c Non timber forest products (NTFPs) and sustainable forest management in upper Tabalong : (1) Review and Analysis. SCKPFP Environmental, Industry & Economics and Socio Agriculture Working Paper No. 2.

Payne, J 2002a Amounts, impacts & implications of illegal timber removal from the PT AYI forest concession, 1999-2002. SCKPFP Forest Management, Industry & Economics and Environmental Working Paper No. 1.

Payne, J 2002b Forest protection and local development in upper Tabalong. SCKPFP Environmental Working Paper No. 34.


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Payne, J & Courboules, J 1999 Report on a visit to Tutui-Sinangoh River, Aya-Yayang Concession, 10-16 May 1999. Internal SCKPFP field report.

Payne, J & A Subekti 2000 Inventory of ladang incursion along main road of PT AYI. SCKPFP Environmental Working Paper No. 15.

Payne, J, Giambelli R A & Rosyani 2001 Ecological and social assessment of Kasali Hills in relation to impacts of logging. SCKPFP Environmental & Social – Agriculture Working Paper No. 1.

Robinson J G, Redford KH & Bennett E. L. 1999 Wildlife harvest in logged tropical forests: An unrecognised by-catch. Unpublished draft paper. (9 pp)

Rosdy Abaza, Indra K & Khairal A 2002a Gua di Gunung Tanggur, Sungai Missim, Hulu Tabalong. SCKPFP Lembar Kerja Lingkungan No. 42.

Rosdy Abaza, Indra K & Khairal A 2002b Survey Gua di Sungai Ayu dan Sungai Pasuang, Kabupaten Tabalong. SCKPFP Lembar Kerja Lingkungan No. 50.

Ruhiyat, D 1996 Biomass estimation of tropical forest in East Kalimantan, Rimba Kalimantan (Bulletin of the Faculty of Forestry, Mulawarman University). 1:42-57

Sidiyasa, K 2001 Tree identification training in the PT Aya Yayang Indonesia production forest. SCKPFP Environmental Working Paper No. 24.

Sidiyasa, K & Zainal Arifin 2001 Flora of the PT Aya Yayang Indonesia production forest concession, South Kalimantan. SCKPFP Environmental Working Paper No. 38.

Sist, P 2001 Why RIL won’t work by minimum-diameter cutting alone. ITTO Tropical Forest Update 11(2): 5.

Sist, P., Nolan, T., Bertault, J-G. and Dykstra, D 1998 Harvesting intensity versus sustainability in Indonesia. Forest ecology and management 108: 251-260.

Sist P., Dykstra D.P. and Fimbel R., 1998. Reduced impact logging guidelines for lowland and hill dipterocarp forests in Indonesia. Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) Occasional Paper No. 15, 14 pp + 2 App (5pp). Bogor, Indonesia

Soehardjono, Y R 2001 Survey invertebrata tanah di hutan produksi & hutan tanaman industri di hulu Tabalong. SCKPFP Lembar Kerja Lingkungan No 28.

Tjakrawidjaja, A & Pramudyagarini 2001 Freshwater fish of upper Tabalong. SCKPFP Environmental Working Paper No. 29.

Subekti, A & Payne, J 2001 The availability of rattan, damar, medicinal plants and honey bee trees in PT AYI concession area. SCKPFP Environmental Working Paper No. 12.


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Toma, T, Paulus Matius, Hastaniah, Kiyono, Y, Watanabe, R & Okimori, Y 2000 Dynamics of burned lowland dipterocarp forest stands in Bukit Soeharto, East Kalimantan. Pp. 107-119 in Ecological Studies 140. E. Guhardja et al (Eds.). Springer-Verlag, Tokyo.

Uway Warsita Mahyar 2001Medicinal and other useful plants of the upper Tabalong area. SCKPFP Environmental Working Paper No. 39.

Widianto, H, T Simanjuntak & Budianto Toha 1997 Ekskavasi situs Gua Babi, Kabupaten Tabalong, Provinsi Kalimantan Selatan. Pusat Penelitian Arkaeologi Nasional, Balai Arkaeologi Banjarmasin.

Wolseley, P, Jones, D T & Ellis, L 2001 Species composition of Lichens, Bryophytes and Termites under different forest conditions in Hulu Tabalong, South Kalimantan. SCKPFP Environmental Working Paper No. 25.

Yamakura, T, Hagihara, A, Sukardjo, S, and Ogawa, H 1986 Above ground biomass of tropical forest stands in Indonesian Borneo. Vegetatio 68:71-82


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Appendix 1

Major guide books to the tree flora and vertebrate fauna of Borneo / Kalimantan

* = available in SCKPFP library

Title Author/Editor Publisher Date Information type


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A checklist of the orchids of Borneo

JJ Woods and P J Cribb

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, U.K.

1994 Annotated checklist for all known Borneo species up to 1994.

* Manual of the larger and more important non dipterocarp trees of Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. Volumes 1 & 2

G. Argent and others

Forest Research Institute, Samarinda, Indonesia

(1999) Manual with descriptions, keys and drawn illustrations

* Manuals of dipterocarps for foresters. Borneo Island Light Hardwoods

M F Newman, P F Burgess and T C Whitmore

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and CIFOR

1996 Trees. Manual with descriptions, keys and drawn illustrations, plus interactive key on diskettes. Bahasa Indonesia version available.

* Manuals of dipterocarps for foresters. Borneo Island Medium and Heavy Hardwoods

M F Newman, P F Burgess and T C Whitmore

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and CIFOR

1998 Trees. Manual with descriptions, keys and drawn illustrations, plus interactive key on diskettes. Bahasa Indonesia version available.

* Pohon-pohon Hutan Kalimantan Timur. Pedoman mengenai 280 jenis pohon pilihan di daerah Balikpapan- Samarinda

P J A Kessler, Kade Sidiyasa & J A Kartawinata

MOFEC-Tropenbos-Kalimantan Project

1999 Trees. Manual with descriptions, keys and drawn illustrations. English version (Trees of the Balikpapan-Samarinda Area, East Kalimantan, Indonesia) also available.

* Seedlings of secondary forest tree species of East Kalimantan, Indonesia

S Bodegom, P B Pelser & P J A Kessler

MOFEC-Tropenbos-Kalimantan Project

1999 Useful for descriptions and illustrations of seedlings of secondary forest trees, which are absent from other books. English & Bahasa Indonesia text in the same book.

The Ecology of Indonesia Series Volume III. The Ecology of Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo

K MacKinnon, G. Hatta, H. Halim & A. Mangalik

Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd.

1996 The only general text on the ecology of Kalimantan. Based mainly on published literature from Sabah and Sarawak, plus information obtained in Kalimantan in 1988-90. Available in Bahasa Indonesia version.

Freshwater fishes of western Indonesia and Sulawesi / Ikan air tawar Indonesia bagian barat dan Sulawesi

M. Kottelat, A J Whitten, Sri Nurani Kartikasari & Soetikno Wirjoatmodjo

Periplus Editions Ltd / EMDI

1993 Keys, brief descriptions and line drawings. English & Bahasa Indonesia text in the same book.

* A Field Guide to the Frogs of Borneo

R F Inger & R B Stuebing

Natural History Publications (Borneo), Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia

1997 Field guide with descriptions, key and colour photographs. Almost comprehensive for Borneo species. A Bahasa Malaysia version is available.

* A field guide to the snakes of Borneo

R B Stuebing & R F Inger

Natural History Publications (Borneo), Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia

1999 Field guide with descriptions, key and colour photographs. Not comprehensive for all known Borneo species. No Bahasa Indonesia version available.

* Burung-burung di Sumatera, Jawa, Bali & Kalimantan

J MacKinnon, K Phillips & B van Balen

Puslitbang Biologi – LIPI, Indonesia

2000 Field guide with colour illustrations and descriptions of all bird species recorded from Borneo. Original English version (A Field Guide to the Birds of Sumatera, Java, Bali and Borneo) published 1994.

Panduan Lapangan Mamalia di Kalimantan, Sabah, Sarawak & Brunei Darussalam

J Payne, CM Francis, K Phillipps & S N Kartikasari

The Sabah Society & WCS Indonesia Program

2000 Field guide with colour illustrations and descriptions of all mammal species recorded from Borneo. Original English version (A Field Guide to the Mammals of Borneo) published 1985.


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Appendix 2

Ecologist field surveys in upper Tabalong

Dates Area visited Accompanied by

Types of information obtained


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16-18/03/99 1998-99 felling block, Missim, Panaan

PT AYI managers & 3 SCKPFP experts

Initial impressions of forest and management

28/04-01/05/99

Missim River & Gunung Tanggur limestone (west side)

PT AYI staff; SCKPFP mapping expert; Kanwil Kehutanan; Panaan (Banjar) & Missim (Lawangan) residents

Local bird and mammal names; ecology of Missim river and Tanggur limestone, including visit to Penyanggar cave; harvesting of non timber forest products (NTFPs) and ulin wood by local people

10-16/05/99 Sinango River, upper Tutui River & Tanggur limestone (east side)

PT AYI staff; SCKPFP mapping expert; Kanwil Kehutanan; Missim (Lawangan) residents

Composition & condition of forest (including fire damage) in lowlands, riversides, limestone and very old secondary forest (former farm land > 100 years ago); observations on fauna & natural “mineral lick”; data on NTFPs from Lawangan harvesters

28/06-03/07/99

Dambung & Banian & HTI Jenggala Semesta (via Sakuya bridge); HTI Hutan Sembada; Salikong & Mimban (via Rantau Natu & Ayu River; Kumap & Bayur River (including KPPN); Arboretum

PT AYI staff including production director; SCKPFP social experts; Kanwil Kehutanan

Condition of villages & HTIs; condition of forest in Kumap & Bayur River (including fire damage) and Arboretum; illegal logging activities at Mimban and Bayur River

06-09/07/99 Kasali hills (east & west sides); “tegakan benih” at km 70; SPAS site on Tutui River

PT AYI staff including production director

Condition of forest on Kasali hills, Km 70 and SPAS area; absence of demarcation of Kasali hills KPPN; condition of SPAS, & gold dredging on Tutui River

02-06/08/99 1998-99 felling block & Sinango River; 1999-2000 felling block to Kumap River; Lou River; Kahor River & Kasali hills; Missim

PT AYI staff; Kanwil Kehutanan; Daru Y S; SCKPFP road expert

Forest types in 1998-99 & 1999-2000 felling blocks, and at Kumap & Lou Rivers; fire damage near Missim;

10-14/08/99 Arboretum; 1998-99 & 1999-2000 felling blocks; Missim

PT AYI staff; Daru Y S; SCKPFP social expert; Emmy Winarni of UNLAM

Botanical collections; determine work sites with specialist amphibian expert

24-27/08/99 Helicopter survey of PT AYI area (27/08); 1998-99 felling block

Helicopter : SCKPFP experts. Ground : PT AYI staff; Daru Y S; SCKPFP forest management expert; Emmy Winarni of UNLAM; BBTHB staff (expert tree climbing team)

Botanical collections; road construction issues in PT AYI felling blocks; overview of forest condition in upper Tabalong (from helicopter)

20-24/09/99 1999-200 & 2000-2001 felling blocks;

SCKPFP experts & PT

Forest composition


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Sinango river area AYI field staff

27/09-01/10/99

1998-99 & 1999-2000 felling blocks; km 81-89

SCKPFP experts & PT AYI field staff

Forest composition

11-15/10/99 2000-2001 felling block

SCKPFP experts & PT AYI field staff

Forest composition

26-28/10/99 FSES Plot Nos. 1 - 3, and nearby forest areas

SCKPFP site classification expert & PT AYI field staff

Forest composition & structure

2-5/11/99 1999-2000 & 2000-2001 felling blocks

PT AYI field staff Forest composition

10-18/11/99 FSES Plot Nos. 1 - 10, and nearby forest areas

SCKPFP site classification expert & PT AYI field staff

Forest composition & structure

19-22/01/00 Missim, FSES Plot No 4; PT AYI main road & side roads

SCKPFP Environmental expert

Difference in forest type in lowlands compared to hills; information from wild song bird catchers; logging outside block

08-17/02/00 Km 88 – 107 of old PT AYI main logging road (including FSES Plots 11-14)

PT AYI field staff; SCKPFP site classification and environmental experts

Vegetation in and around FSES Plot Nos. 11 – 14 and between km 88 - 107; fruiting wild trees; presence of banteng

20-26/02/00 FSES Plot Nos. 1,2,3,5,6,8,9,10

PT AYI field staff; SCKPFP site classification and environmental experts; P Kessler (Leiden) & Zainal Arifin (Wanariset Samboja herbarium)

Identifications of trees in the FSES plots; possible classification of forest types

19-24/03/00 Ulu Lou; Ulu Papon; forest between Km 82 and 92 of old PT AYI road; FSES Plot No 16

PT AYI field staff; experts in bryophytes & termites from Natural History Museum (London) & LIPI (Bogor)

Vegetation in and around Ulu Lou, Ulu Papon & km 82 - 92

25-27/03/00 Upper Kanarem and Nyahan River catchments; FSES Plot Nos 17 & 18

PT AYI field staff; SCKPFP site classification expert

Vegetation in and around FSES Plot Nos 17 & 18, and west side of PT AYI concession including biwan forest; the topography of the area around 1O 37’ 17” S, 115O 22’ 00” E is found to be significantly different and more complex than that shown on the 1:50,000 topographical map, the only case found in PT AYI area where actual topography and maps are significantly different.

29/03-01/04/00

Ayu-Pasuang Rivers and forest along Pasuang River; FSES Plots Nos 19 & 20

PT AYI field staff; SCKPFP site classification

Vegetation on limestone of Pasuang River; observations on drought effects & fire damage, especially on Pasuang limestone, and subsequent forest regeneration after 1997; illegal logging


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expert activities along Ayu and Pasuang Rivers; discovery of 20-year old coffee farm on upper Pasuang (Ayu) River at 1O 41’ 28” S, 115O 36’ 55” E inside PT AYI concession

02-04/04/00 Biwan forest around km 82

PT AYI field staff; experts in bryophytes & termites from Natural History Museum (London) & LIPI (Bogor

Biology of biwan forest

05-07/04/00 North-west part of PT AYI concession area including upper Pasuang-Missim River area; FSES Plot Nos 21 & 22; helicopter survey of north-west part of PT AYI area (06/04)


Discovery of dipterocarp-poor mature forest on north-western volcanic hills with Pterygota species trees; meranti-rich forest east of upper Pasuang River; observations of fire damage in remote sites; western PT AYI concession boundary line as cut on the ground found to be over 1 km further east than boundary shown on maps; no distinct Agathis forest seen from helicopter

15-25/05/00 Km 54 – 63 forest within 1 km of road; km 78 towards Tutui River; forest around SPAS site & west of Tutui River towards Tanggur

PT AYI field staff Forest composition & condition along main PT AYI road, and between Tutui River and Tanggur limestone; FSES Plot No 23 completed; extent of underbrushing of forest between km 54 – 62 in preparation for illegal ladangs, including Arboretum

29/06-03/07/00

Forest north-west of km 70 and around km 90


Tree inventory transects done in forest sites identified as different, based on satellite images

04-08/07/00 FSES Plot Nos 14 &23, Arboretum and moss/termite plot areas

PT AYI field staff and Kade Sidiyasa & Zainal Arifin (Wanariset Samboja herbarium)

Forest biology and tree identifications; extent of damage to Arboretum

12-19/07/00 FSES Plot No 4, 7 & 24; PT AYI Permanent Sample Plot at km 70; Missim River, riverine forest, secondary forest on alluvium, limestone hill slopes; Arboretum

PT AYI field staff and Kade Sidiyasa & Zainal Arifin (Wanariset Samboja herbarium)

Forest biology and tree identifications; limestone, riverine and alluvial forest flora; extent of damage to Arboretum

24-27/07/00 Panaan, Rakutat via Tabalong Kiwa river; 2000 felling block (km 82-92, new road)

SCKPFP experts; PT AYI staff; Anne Bouvier of The Rainforest Foundation

Present and past land use in Panaan – Rakutat area; vegetation in year 2000 felling block

30/07-04/08/00

Year 2000 felling block; Ayu-Pasuang river area by boat from Binjai

PT AYI field staff; SCKPFP environmental expert; Drs. Rusdy Nasution & Johanis Mogea from

Vegetation along Ayu River between Binjai & Pasuang; miscellaneous wildlife information; illegal logging in Ayu-Pasuang area


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Herbarium Bogoriense

19-25/10/00 Kasali hills; hill forest between km 87.5 – km 82; lowland forest north-east of Sinango River

PT AYI field staff; Dr Eric Gardette, liana specialist

Vegetation on Kasali hills; km 87.5 – km 82; and lowlands north-east of Sinango River; new developments of illegal logging and ladangs in PT AYI area

06-12/11/00 Kasali hill, east and west sides, via raft over Tutui River at Sakuya

PT AYI field staff Vegetation on Kasali hills as far as upper Bianon River; no sign was found on the ground of the existence of a KPPN marked on PT AYI maps

22-27/01/01 Ladangs between km 54-63; 2000 felling block; Helicopter survey of PT AYI area (25/01); Kumap River, Sungai Bayur KPPN, to km 63

PT AYI field staff; SCKPFP forest advisers (helicopter survey only)

Update on ladangs & Atboretum; condition of forest in north-eastern areas of PT AYI and adjacent “protection forest” along East Kalimantan border, and limestone of Ayu-Pasuang River area; Bayur River forest composition & condition, and forest between KPPN & km 63; history of KPPN and adjacent forest; possible error noted in location of 386 m tall hill west of Sungai Bayur, which in the field appears to be south of the site marked on the 1:50,000 topo map

11-13/10/01 Km 64-74, west & east of road

PT AYI Litbang field staff

Investigate relationship of presence of pioneer plants to overall forest condition

22-26/10/01 “Idle land” east of Bentot - Panaan, Kasali hills, Arboretum

PT AYI Litbang field staff

Vegetation of “idle land”; forest condition on Kasali after recent new logging activity; condition of Arboretum in face of illegal logging

1-3/11/01 Land north of Mahe; 2002 felling block; land south of Kasali hills

Current vegetation on former (pre World War 2) rubber plantation and land south of Kasali hills; forest condition

8-10/12/01 Land between PT AYI main road and Tabalong Kiwa river

Current vegetation

30/01-1/02/02

Binjai; Panaan; FSES Plot No. 3

Vegetation; condition of forest 2 years after illegal logging


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Appendix 3

Specialist surveys of flora and fauna in upper Tabalong


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Taxonomic or life-form group

Name of specialist(s)

Institution Date of field work Reference

Amphibians & reptiles, with emphasis on frogs

Djoko T Iskandar, Daru Y Setyanto

Mathematics & Science Faculty Bandung Institute of Technology

6 –2 7 August 1999, July-August 2001

SCKPFP Environmental Working Papers Nos. 1 & 30

Rattans & other palms

Johanis P Mogea Litbang Biologi LIPI Bogor (Herbarium Bogoriense)

1 – 15 August 2000 SCKPFP Environmental Working Paper No. 14

Orchids Rusdy E Nasution Litbang Biologi LIPI Bogor (Herbarium Bogoriense)

1 – 15 August 2000 SCKPFP Environmental Working Paper No. 16

Lianas (all families) Eric Gardette Indepdendent (France) 19 October – 12 November 2000

SCKPFP Environmental Working Paper No. 17

Lichens P Wolseley Natural History Museum, London

19 March – 4 April 2000


Bryophytes (mosses & liverworts)

L Ellis Natural History Museum, London



Termites D T Jones Natural History Museum, London



Song birds (South Kalimantan)

Nunuk Kasyanto Yayasan LORIES, Samarinda

10 – 30 March 2001


Trees and other flora (all families)

Kade Sidiyasa, Zainal Arifin, Paul Kessler

Balai Penelitian Kehutanan Samarinda/MOF-Tropenbos Kalimantan Project (Wanariset Samboja herbarium)

February 2000 (Kessler/Zainal), 3 – 20 July 2000 (Kade/Zainal), 20 February – 1 March 2001 (Kade/Zainal)

SCKPFP Environmental Working Papers Nos. 24, 27 & 28

Medicinal & othee useful plants (all families)

Uway W Mahyar Litbang Biologi LIPI Bogor (Herbarium Bogoriense)

11 – 23 July 2001 SCKPFP Environmental Working Paper No. 39

Freshwater fish Agus H Tjakrawidjaja

Puslitbang Biologi (Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense, Cibinong)

13 – 28 June 2001 SCKPFP Environmental Working Paper No. 29

Soil invertebrates (all groups)

Yayuk R Soehardjono

Puslitbang Biologi (Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense, Cibinong)

13 – 28 June 2001 SCKPFP Environmental Working Paper No. 28


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Appendix 4

Examples of habitats in upper Tabalong


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Figure 2. A patch of hill dipterocarp forest remaining in the HTI “Murni” of PT. AYI about 2 km east of Panaan village (2001).

Figure 3. Hill dipterocarp forest logged two years previously, showing prolific growth of pioneer plants such as Macaranga and Melastoma (PT. AYI 1998-99 felling block; 2000)

Figure 4. Lowland dipterocarp forest showing a good example of the rare tree Canarium decumanum with its pale smooth bark (Arberetum; 2000)


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Figure 5. Valley bottom dipterocarp forest, showing numerous small and medium-sized trees, lush undergrowth and remains of a Shorea johorensis tree (right of centre), felled by gold miners for the buttresses (used to make pans); between Gunung Tanggur and Missim River (1999)

Figure 6. Lowland dipterocarp forest, showing Gunung Tanggur limestone in the background (west of Upper Tutui River; 1999)

Figure 7. Biwan (Endertia spectabilis) forest, with typical features of coppicing from the tree trunk, and moist, rocky soils (north side of Sinangoh River; 2001

Figure 8. Canopy of a biwan tree with unripe fruits (November 2001).


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Figure 9. Dipterocarp-poor hill forest: this is old secondary forest (with charecteristic strangling fig and sungkai Peronema canescens tree) in the Upper Tutui River, presumably site of a Lawangan settlement about a century ago (1999)

Figure 10. Dipterocarp-poor hill forest, typical of that on the South and Central Kalimantan border hills, here showing Octomeles sumatrana (2000)

Figure 11. Riverine forest at junction of the Sinangoh and Tutui Rivers; ulin wood harvesters trail is visible on right (1999).

Figure 12. The rare and beautiful Ficus albipila tree (superficially similar to Koompassia excelsa), previously recorded in Borneo only from Banjarmasin (19th century record) and eastern Sabah; the species occurs along the Missim and Ayu-Pasuang Rivers


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Figure 13. Forest on the lower slopes of Gunung Tanggur limestone (1999)

Figure 14. Secondary forest on non-alluvial soil, dominated by the Borneo endemic tree Macaranga glandibracteolata (Km 83, PT. AYI road; 2000)

Figure 15. Secondary forest on moist alluvial soil (Missim) showing lush growth of small trees and herbs (1999)

Figure 16. Forest on the Upper part of Gunung Tanggur limestone, showing absence of large trees (1999)


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Figure 17. Roadside growth At km 56, PT. AYI road, showing a young Dillenia reticulata tree, with secondary forest burned by ladang makers behind (2001).

Figure 18. Roadside growth at km 76, PT. AYI road, showing good regrowth of various pioneer trees near the road, and a remnant Shorea laevis (bangkirai) tree (top right) in the logged hill dipterocarp forest behind (2001)

Figure 19. Jungle rubber” near Binjai, Ayu River, with a Durio kutejensis (pampakin) tree in the foreground

Figure 20. Scrub and alang-alang grass landscape South of Amparibura, the typical vegetation over much of the land between Tanjung and Panaan, which contributes nothing to species conservation or to the economy or welfare of local people (2001)


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Figure 21. A typical stream within hill dipterocarp forest in Upper Tabalong, with exposed rock and coarse gravel as the main substrate ( Arboretum; 2001)

Figure 22. Upper Missim above the Pasuang junction, with limestone and alluvium forming the riverbanks (1999)

Figure 23. One of many patches of burned forest scattered over the Upper Tabalong far from any road or human habitation, ranging in extent from less than 1 hectare to saveral hectares. This one is half way between the Upper Tutui River and Gunung tanggur limestone.

Figure 24. Entrance to cave in the Gunung Tanggur limestone.


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Figure 25. Vatica javanica scaphifolia (Dipterocarpaceae) a tree recorded only from the Balikpapan-Samarinda area and the PT. AYI Arboretum.

Figure 26. An infant honey bear (Helarctos malyanus), one of the few threatened mammal species found in Upper Tabalong

Figure 27. A natural concentrated mineral source (probably rich in magnesium) on the bank of the Upper Tutui River (at 10 32’ 50” S, 1150 29’ 16” E), visited by mammals, pigeons and large flying insects.

Documents

REP126 Ecology and Biodiversity of upper Tabalong,J Payne,Ap