Equatorial Forest Case Study: Borneo Climate & Deforestation

CLIMATE

The Sabah region of Borneo has an equatorial climate and is generally warm and humid all year round. 

Temperatures  averaging 27°C to 32°C, rarely rise above (32°C). Relative humidity is usually 70-85%.

Diurnal range is low, (3 to 4 degrees) slightly higher in areas of higher altitude.

Rainfall is common throughout the year, and varies from 150 cm to over 450 cm per year. In most parts of Sabah the wettest months occur from October through February and the driest months during from March to September. That said, there is often there is no significant division between the two “seasons.”

Latitude:  near the Equator so the sun’s rays travel through a small amount of atmosphere therefore allows more insolation (solar radiation) to reach the surface = high temperature

Heavy cloud cover means few rays are reflected back out to space = high humidity and low diurnal rang

iGCSE Geography revision notes:Equatorial Forest Case Study

Fauna and Flora

There are about 15,000 species of flowering plants

3,000 species of trees

221 species of terrestrial mammals

420 species of resident birds 

440 freshwater fish species 

Last remaining habitat of orangutan 

Home to the Sumatran rhinoceros

Emergent’s LayerThe Capuche tree is an individual tree with open space around. It reaches 40m high.Hot and windy. Wind causes evapotranspiration which robs the leaves of moisture.Leaves are smaller to reduce this. Trees are wind pollinated so they are fluffy. Little animal life only eagles 
Canopy LayerDark and humidTrees have pivoting leaves which follow the sun across the sky. Very large leaves to maximize photosynthesis.little space so plants grow on tree branches, called epiphytes e.g. Orchidhigh biodiversity such as parrots humming birds, insects and monkeys
Under Canopy Layerlittle vegetation, bare trunks, no leavesAll energy is focused on reaching the canopy layer to photosynthesise otherwise they die. Lianas grow around the tree.Snakes and insects use the tree trunks as transport links form the ground upwards
Shrub LayerThin in fertile soil due to lack of sun light and leachingButtress roots hang 2-3m high above the soil to stabilize them in high windsHot and humid which encourages the growth of bacteria and fungi

DEFORESTATION OF TRF IN BORNEO

Scale:

  • The region has lost over half of its forests, and a third of these have disappeared in just the last three decades. 
  • Current deforestation rate of 1.3 million hectares per year
  • deforestation is accelerating and more than 8 million hectares were lost between 2000 and 2010, accounting for 12 percent of its 2000 cover
  • Borneo TRFs are said to be 130 million years old, the oldest on the planet.

Causes of deforestation 

  • TIMBER: over 29,000 km² of TRF in Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo) were cut down between 1985 and 2001 to supply global timber demand.
  • Most timber is logged illegally as protection laws are poorly enforced
  • COAL (mining)- Kalimantan holds 53% of Indonesia’s recoverable coal reserves
  • MINERALS (mining) Borneo is rich in tin, copper, gold, silver, & diamonds
  • Palm Oil plantations: palm oil production expanded from 600,000 hectares in 1985 to over 6 million hectares by 2007
  • a growth in illegal wildlife trade, as cleared forests provide easy access to more remote areas
  • Illegal logging: some 56% of protected lowland tropical rainforests in Kalimantan were cut down between 1985 and 2001 to supply global timber demand
  • Additional 10% deforested for agro-industrial crops (about 10 % of the entire Borneo island) mostly rubber trees or acacias for the pulp and paper industry
  • mining (for coal or for gold and other minerals),
  • infrastructure development (roads, human settlements, etc.) 
  • Fires can cause extensive damages during El Nino-related drought events

Management/ solutions

GeneralSome areas of Borneo have been designated as national parks, for example, when Kutai National Park was formed in Kalimentan, over 300,000 hectares of forest where made safe from development
Selective LoggingBusinesses operating in the area have already taken steps to locate and manage their operations more sustainably. For example, of the 8.6 million ha allocated in concessions within the Heart of Borneo, 8% of this area is already certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) or the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), indicating that they are already being sustainably managed. Individual trees are felled only when they are mature so that the canopy if preserved which protects the ground belowEvery tree is selectively logged, up to 30 other trees can be damaged or destroyed getting the logged tree out of the forest
Reducing DebtConservation swaps.  A country that is owed money by another country cancels part of the debt in exchange for an agreement by the debtor country to pay for conservation activities there. 
Promoting responsible Management and UseThe forest and Land Restoration Initiative in Kalimentan has started an aim to restore 900,000 hectares of forest each year by afforestation and reforestation. It involves local government and villagers. Teak is planted as it is valuable and fast growing so can be logged sustainably.Incentives are given to local farmers to replant trees but they are often not big enough to achieve that aim
Ecotourism The Tabin Wildlife Resort in the north of Borneo is a wildlife reserve. Rungs are spread across the canopy and ground level for visitors yet does not disturb the wildlife.

Impacts

Global Warming and HealthBurning forest emits a lot of CO2 into the atmosphere which absorbs radiation and contributes to global warmingWhen forests are removed less O2 is given offSmoke from burning forests is also a health hazard, responsible for one in five deaths in South East Asian Island region. Deforestation and forest degradation account for up to 20 per cent of global man-made CO2 emissions.
BiodiversityLoss of plant species which could have been used for medicines and raw materials in industryA 2010 TRAFFIC report estimated that one group in the Malaysian state of Sabah was responsible for taking 22,000 pangolins over 18 months.In Japan, the Super Red Arowana can fetch prices ranging between $2,000-$200,000
Death of life and CultureForest clearance in Sarawak for HEP development, oil palm plantations and logging may threaten hunter gatherer way of life for the Penan People who feed on the fruits and nuts and animals in the area56% of protected lowland tropical rainforests in Kalimantan were cut down between 1985 and 2001 to supply global timber demandIn Kalimantan, the Dayak people are also under threat. They are shifting cultivators who need to be able to move to different areas of the forest once their current plot has had its soil leached. When there is plenty of forest this is sustainable. Now deforestation is forcing them to return to each plot before sufficient years of fallow have passed. As a result crop yield deteriorate. Tension between the Dayak and the migrants who were moved to Kalimantan Account for over 90 per cent of the world’s total oil palm production area Indonesian government has responded by setting a target to increase oil palm production from 20 million tonnes in 2009 to 40 million tonnes in 2020.oil palm production expanded from 600,000 hectares in 1985 to over 6 million hectares by 2007.
HabitatsNumbers of orang-utan have fallen 50% in the last 50 years due to reduced forest cover. Poaching is easier. Sold as pets. 
Soil FertilityCleared land is intensely farmed, loses fertility within 20 years. Kalimantan holds 53% of Indonesia’s 4,300 million tons of recoverable coal reserves, and Sabah and Sarawak hold 99% of Malaysia’s 1,724 billion tons of coal deposits.
Borneo also holds rich metal and mineral resources, including tin, copper, gold, silver, coal, diamonds, and different types of sand and stone.
Together, the forestry and mining sectors are the main contributors to forest loss in Borneo.

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