14 dr jonathan davies

1. PRIORITIES FOR RESEARCH IN THE
WETLAND FORESTS OF BRUNEI
Paper presented at:
THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON WETLAND
FORESTS
“FORESTS FOR SUSTAINABLE LIVING”
22-23 MARCH 2012, THE RIZQUN INTERNATIONAL HOTEL
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, BRUNEI DARUSSALAM

2. STRUCTURE OF PRESENTATION
BRIEF OVERVIEW OF EACH WETLAND FOREST TYPE
RESEARCH PRIORITIES
DETAILS ON RESEARCH PRIORITIES
GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS ON RESEARCH
ACTIVITIES

3. OVERVIEW OF WETLAND FORESTS IN BRUNEI
FOUR TYPES OF WETLAND FOREST
MANGROVE
Classified into 5 types
FRESHWATER SWAMP FOREST
Unclassified (only levee and backswamp)
PEAT SWAMP FOREST
6 major types distinguished
KERAPAH
(Develops within waterlogged kerangas areas)
Based on Anderson & Marsden (1984)

5. SUMMARY OF AREA OF WETLAND FORESTS IN BRUNEI
WETLAND AREA (ha) PERCENTAGE
FOREST TYPE OF AREA OF
BRUNEI
MANGROVE 19,217 3.55
MANGROVE/PEAT 3,343 0.58
SWAMP FOREST
TRANSITION
PEAT SWAMP 95,410 16.55
FOREST
FRESHWATER 12,761 2.22
SWAMP FOREST
TOTAL 130,731 22.70
Based mainly on Anderson & Marsden (1984) data

6. MANGROVES: MAINLY TEMBURONG DISTRICT:
ALL SUB-TYPES PLUS PSF:MANGROVE TRANSITION

7. SELIRONG ISLAND 1.1: RHIZOPHORA

8. OTHER MANGROVE SUBTYPES
NYIREH BUNGA
(Xylocarpus granatum)
NYPA / DUNGUN
Nypa fruticans /
Heritiera globosa
(Bornean endemic)

9. MANGROVE : PEAT SWAMP FOREST TRANSITION
COAST INLAND
Oncosperma
Mixed peat swamp forest
Nypa TRANSITION

10. SUGGESTED RESEARCH PRIORITIES FOR MANGROVE
UPDATED STATUS: INTACT , DISTURBED & CLEARED
ECONOMIC VALUATION: esp IMPORTANCE AS FISH
AND SHELLFISH BREEDING, FEEDING & NURSERY AREAS (BRUNEI
BAY incl. SABAH & SARAWAK?)
DISEASES / INFESTATIONS
REHABILITATION STRATEGIES:
LOGGED AREAS OF RHIZOPHORA: colonisation
by fern Acrosthicum inhibits good
regeneration of Rhizophora
RE-VEGETATION ALONG CLEARED TIDAL
CREEKS & SURVEY OF ACID SO4 SOIL
DISTRIBUTION
(PROBLEM WITH ACID SULPHATE SOILS)
Sg DAMUAN (1998): The pH of the soil mean of 2.54

11. DISEASES & INFESTATIONS
DEFOLIATION OF RHIZOPHORA
BRUNEI BAY MARCH 2011

12. DISTURBANCE OF ACID SULPHATE SOILS:
OCHRE DEPOSITS IN CLEARED AREA OF MANGROVE ALONG Sg DAMUAN,
1998 (CANALISATION)
LARGE AREAS OF Rhizophora CLEARED RECENTLY: HOW TO REHABILITATE??

13. ACID SULPHATE SOIL LOCATIONS UNDERLYING MANGROVE AND PEAT
GREALISH et al. (2008)

14. DISTURBED ACID SULPHATE SOILS:
REHABILITATION / REVEGETATION POSSIBILITIES:
Cerbera odollam

15. BRUNEI BAY-WIDE STUDY ON MANGROVE SUPPORT TO COASTAL
FISHERIES

16. RIVERINE VEGETATION
ZONATION:
REHABILITATION
OF CLEARED
AREAS:
SUITABLE SPECIES?
GLUTA VELUTINA/

17. RESEARCH IN PROPAGATION OF
SUITABLE SPECIES
Barringtonia conoidea
ALL 4 SPP PROMISING
CANDIDATES Gluta velutina
MIXED FRESHWATER
TIDAL ZONE:
Barringtonia
racemosa
Horsfieldia
iriya

18. FRESHWATER SWAMP FOREST
MANY DIFFERENT SUB-TYPES
Related to depth and frequency of flooding,
nutrient status of incoming water & type of soil

19. FSF ALONG MAJOR
RIVERS
FSF dominated
by Pternandra
corulescens & Syzygium
FSF dominated by
Vatica umbonata,
dry period

20. FSF DOMINATED BY RAMIN,
Gonystylus bancanus, TASEK
MERIMBUN

21. NUTRIENT-POOR FSF, BUKIT SAWAT

22. SUGGESTED RESEARCH PRIORITIES FOR FRESHWATER
SWAMP FOREST
VEGETATION TYPES IN RELATION TO EDAPHIC AND
HYDROLOGICAL FACTORS
(Water quality and depth and frequency of flooding, soil type)
IMPORTANCE OF FSF AND TRIBUTARIES FOR SPAWNING,
FEEDING AND NURSERY AREAS FOR FISHES:
e.g. IKAN TAPAH (Wallago leerii)
IMPORTANCE OF FRESHWATER FISHES FOR LOCAL PEOPLE
REHABILITATION POSSIBILITIES

23. FISHERIES & FRESHWATER
SWAMP FOREST
WALLAGO LEERII:
SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE
THOUGHT TO SPAWN IN TRIBUTARIES
OF MAJOR RIVERS

24. CREEK, BELAIT RIVER – LUAGAN LALAK
MIGRATION OF FISHES AND USE OF FSF RESOURCES
IMPORTANCE OF FISHERIES TO LOCAL PEOPLE

25. REHABILITATION POSSIBILITIES
IDENTIFICATION & PROPAGATION OF SUITABLE SPECIES
Vatica umbonata
Calophyllum macrocarpum
Teijsmanniodendron pteropodum

26. KERAPAH
AREA AND LOCATIONS NOT MAPPED, VEGETATION COMMUNITIES
DISTURBED KERAPAH ON SAND RIDGE, LUMUT PIPELINE ROAD

27. PEAT SWAMP FOREST
MOST PEATLANDS FOUND IN LOWER BELAIT DISTRICT: SOME
SHARED BETWEEN SARAWAK AND BRUNEI

28. MOSTLY OCCUR AS PEAT DOMES
LOWER
BELAIT
DISTRICT
Anderson and Marsden (1984)

29. PEAT DOMES
Profile from
Baram basin
VERY FEW STUDIES ON PEAT
DOMES IN BRUNEI
DEPTH STUDIES
Profile from shared peat
dome between Baram &
Belait rivers

30. Vegetation Communities on Peat
Sequence of vegetation with peat depth in northwest Borneo
(Sarawak & Brunei)
Modified from Anderson (1961),
shown in Whitmore (1984)

31. PHASIC COMMUNTY 3: THE DIPTEROCARP SHOREA
ALBIDA (alan bunga) FOREST FORMING PURE STANDS,
BELAIT DISTRICT, BRUNEI

32. PHASIC COMMUNITY 6
TOP OF HIGHLY DEVELOPED
PEAT DOMES
(ONLY ULU MENDARAM IN
BRUNEI)

33. FSF & PSF OFTEN OCCUR AS MOSAICS
WITH OTHER FOREST TYPES

34. SUGGESTED RESEARCH PRIORITIES FOR PEAT SWAMP
FOREST IN BRUNEI
Carbon dynamics of intact and degraded
areas (SMART-MIT)
Hydrological dynamics Peatlands within whole
catchments: effect of upstream activities on
downstream peat areas
Economic valuation – values taken into
account in land use planning
Whole dome studies: profiles (depth) &
factors controlling vegetation
Rehabilitation strategies, including research
on propagation of potential reforestation
species (UBD, BAP) - Shorea albida

35. Paleaobotanical studies
Biodiversity: fish fauna
Resource use by people
Effects of projected climate change incl. sea
level rise
Permanent plots - intact and disturbed
areas: Subsidence, succession…
Sustainable forestry and agriculture on
rehabilitated peatlands: low impact use:
multi-cropping?

36. WHOLE DOME STUDIES
LOWER BELAIT:
TWO COMPLETELY UNDISTURBED

37. UPPER BELAIT VALLEY: INTACT PEAT BLOCKS IN A MOSAIC WITH
OTHER UNDISTURBED FOREST TYPES:
LINKAGES BETWEEN ECOSYSTEMS & MOVEMENT OF FAUNA
(Sg INGEI FAUNAL SURVEY PROJECT)

38. WHAT FACTORS CONTROL TYPE OF VEGETATION ON A DOME?
Sarawak data from Tie (pers comm)

39. PALAEOBOTANIC STUDIES:
WHAT IS THE VEGETATION SEQUENCE FOR PEAT OVER SAND?
ANDERSON & MULLER (1975):
BARAM BASIN STUDY OF PEAT
OVER MANGROVE CLAY

40. RESEARCH ON SHOREA ALBIDA (ALAN)
“EXTREME” MAST-FRUITING SPECIES
Last mast fruiting not known
THREE TYPES OF COMMUNITIES Ided:
ALAN BATU
ALAN BUNGA
PADANG ALAN
WORK BY: Sukmaria & Salim (nd)
DBH, tree height and crown width
were significantly different between all
Alan populations
The Alan populations appear to be
genetically similar
Morphological variations did not seem
to be related to biochemical or genetic
variations

41. BUT: “LOCALISED GREGARIOUS FRUITING”
MARCH 2010
WHAT FACTORS
CONTROL
FLOWERING?
WHY LOCALISED
FLOWERING?
POSSIBLE TO
RESTORE
LOGGED OVER
ALAN BUNGA
AREAS?

42. POTENTIAL REFORESTATION SPECIES
SHOREA ALBIDA
SHOREA PACHYPHYLLA
VATICA UMBONATA
DRYOBALANOPS RAPPA
DYERA POLYPHYLLA
OTHERS:
COMBRETOCARPUS ROTANDATUS
JACKIA ORNATA
AGLAIA RUBIGINOSA
LITSEA spp

43. SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY & AGRICULTURE ON REHABILITATED
PEATLANDS
Jelutong plantations?
(Central Kalimantan)
Forestry: Shorea spp., Dryobalanops rappa
Crops? Sago? Multi-cropping?:
Closed canopy desirable?
Jauliainen et al. (2012): CO2 emissions
Inevitable in any agricultural development
on peat

44. BIODIVERSITY
SURVEYS:
BLACKWATER FISH
DIVERSITY SURVEYS
Fishes from blackwater sites,
Peninsula Malaysia
Paedocypris
World’s smallest vertebrate
(Kottelat et al. 2005)

45. HEART OF BORNEO INITIATIVE
95% OF WETLAND FORESTS WITHIN HoB AREA
TWO OF HoB BRUNEI OBJECTIVES:
• To conserve representative forest and freshwater habitats, as
well as the full range of biological diversity therein; for the
enjoyment and benefit of future generations of Bruneians.
• To re-establish forest connectivity
and the greening of
degraded areas, through forest rehabilitation, afforestation,
reforestation other rehabilitative means.
INTERVENTIONS: BIODIVERSITY SURVEYS
Survey of endangered cats in Brunei
Survey of amphibians in Brunei
Survey of insect biodiversity in Brunei
Large mammal survey in the Inter-riverine Zone
Survey of fish and aquatic invertebrates in Brunei

46. IMPORTANT ROLE OF MONITORING:
FOR PHENOLOGY OF POTENTIAL REFORESTATION SPP.
(COLLECTION OF SEEDS & FRUITS): USE OF PERMANENT PLOTS?
MONITORING HEALTH OF ECOSYSTEMS
RECORDING OCCURRENCE OF SPECIES
e.g. PENAGA NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY
BRUNEI NATURE SOCIETY
PHNS DATA TO BIRDLIFE: IMPORTANT
BIRD AREAS (IBAs)
MONITORING HEALTH OF ECOSYSTEMS IDENTIFIES ISSUES WHICH
MAY NEED RESEARCH INPUT

47. MONITORING: PERMANENT PLOTS
PHENOLOGY OF POTENTIAL
REFORESTATION SPECIES: WHEN
TO COLLECT SEEDS & FRUITS
PEAT: DISTURBED AREAS:
SUBSIDENCE MEASURING POLES,
SUCCESSION
SET UP IN DIFFERENT VEGETATION COMMUNITIES
IN WETLAND FORESTS; e.g. the 6 phasic
communties on peat domes

48. SUMMARY
MAIN TRENDS IN SUGGESTED PRIORITIES:
BASE LINE DATA ON FUNCTIONING OF UNDISTURBED ECOSYSTEMS:
(INTACT NATURE & ACCESSIBILITY)
CARBON DYNAMICS
Including mangroves and FSF as well as PSF
BIODIVERSITY VALUES
INTER-LINKAGES OF ECOSYSTEMS AT LOCAL & CATCHMENT LEVEL
ECONOMIC VALUATION & RESOURCE USE BY LOCAL PEOPLE
RESTORATION & REHABILITATION OF WETLAND FORESTS
VEGETATIONAL HISTORY

49. GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS
DEVELOPMENT OF A NATIONAL WETLAND INVENTORY
DEVELOPMENT OF A RESEARCH PLAN FOR WETLAND FORESTS
(In collaboration with regional and international institutions: e.g. FRIM,
universities)
REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION IN RESEARCH:
HEART OF BORNEO INITIATIVE; ASEAN (APFP); University to University
Partnerships, British High Commission….
REGULAR CONSULTATION WITH RELEVANT GOVERNMENT IMPLEMENTING
AND PLANNING AGENCIES DURING LIFE OF PROJECTS
INFORMATION PRESENTED IN SUCH A WAY AS TO EASILY FEED INTO
GOVERNMENT PLANNING PROCESSES AND TO FULFIL INTERNATIONAL
OBLIGATIONS
CBD: NATIONAL BIODIVERSITY STRATEGY
UNFCC: CARBON ACCOUNTING: EMISSION REDUCTION TARGETS etc
LAND USE MASTER PLANS & NATIONAL PROTECTED AREAS SYSTEM

50. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION
TERIMA KASIH