Lang Sen Wetland Reserve (

Vietnamese language Vietnamese ( vi, tiếng Việt, links=no) is an Austroasiatic languages, Austroasiatic language originating from Vietnam where it is the national language, national and official language. Vietnamese is spoken natively by over 70 million people, ...

: ''Khu bảo tồn đất ngập nước Láng Sen'') is a wetland area in Dong Thap Muoi, Long An Province,

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

Description

The reserve covers an area of 5030 hectares. The area features the diverse topography and

geomorphology Geomorphology (from Ancient Greek: , ', "earth"; , ', "form"; and , ', "study") is the scientific study of the origin and evolution of topographic and bathymetric features created by physical, chemical or biological processes operating at or n ...

of a typical

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

. Lang Sen area is heavily covered with flora varied to the seasonal tides of the

Mekong The Mekong or Mekong River is a trans-boundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's List of rivers by length, twelfth longest river and List of longest rivers of Asia, the third longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , ...

river (

Bassac River The Bassac River ( km, ទន្លេបាសាក់; Tonlé Bassac) is a distributary of the Tonlé Sap and Mekong River. The river starts in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and flows southerly, crossing the border into Vietnam near Châu Đốc. The n ...

), especially planted

cajuput Cajuput oil is a volatile oil obtained by distillation from the leaves of the myrtaceous trees ''Melaleuca leucadendra'', ''Melaleuca cajuputi'', and probably other '' Melaleuca'' species. The trees yielding the oil are found throughout Maritime ...

forest which attracts a diverse fauna to inhabit here. According to the preliminary survey, there exists 156 wild species belonging to 60 families; 149

vertebrate Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () ( chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, ...

species belonging to 46 families, of which 13 species are listed in Vietnam's Red Data Book; the aquatic species are abundant. Among new species discovered are the Wild Mekong, a gecko with bright orange legs, a yellow neck, and a blue-grey body with yellow bars on its bright orange sides.http://www.wwf.org.uk/wwf_articles.cfm?unewsid=5518 Wild Mekong: new species discovered every two days

Diversity

The diversity of the flora and fauna here has been damaged by the agricultural activities of the local residents, reducing the number of endemic species once lived here. Since 1998, several researches and surveys have been implemented by local and international organizations in order to collect appropriate proof for the establishment of a natural reserve. In early 2004, this wetland area became a wetland reserve by the decision of the Vietnamese government. It was also chosen as one of two typical areas of wise biological diversity reserve in Mekong Basin sponsored by

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

GEF Gef ( ), also referred to as the Talking Mongoose or the Dalby Spook, was the name given to an allegedly talking mongoose which was claimed to inhabit a farmhouse owned by the Irving family. The Irvings' farm was located at Cashen's Gap near ...

UNDP The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...

, and MWBP.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lang Sen Wetland Reserve Nature conservation in Vietnam Nature reserves Ramsar sites in Vietnam