The Southwest Borneo freshwater swamp forests

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...

(WWF ID: IM0153) covers a number disconnected patches of

freshwater swamp forest Freshwater swamp forests, or flooded forests, are forests which are inundated with freshwater, either permanently or seasonally. They normally occur along the lower reaches of rivers and around freshwater lakes. Freshwater swamp forests are found ...

along the southwestern coasts of

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...

. The swamps are generally set back a few kilometers or two from the sea by the saltwater-affected

Sunda Shelf mangroves The Sunda Shelf mangroves ecoregion, in the mangrove biome, are on the coasts of the islands of Borneo and eastern Sumatra in Malaysia and Indonesia. They are home to the proboscis monkey. As well as being an important habitat for terrestrial ...

The relatively fertile, flat soil has led to much of this ecoregion being converted to agriculture.

Location and description

The freshwater swamp forests of the southwest coast of Borneo occur where rivers on flat alluvial plains meet the coastal mangroves. The resulting sediment and periodic inundation produce more nutrient-rich, less acidic soil, and taller trees than then peat swamps

Climate

The climate of the ecoregion is ''

Tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate, humid tropical climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southea ...

'' (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

(Af)). This climate is characterized as hot, humid, and having at least 60 mm of precipitation every month.

Flora and fauna

The makeup of these forests varies according to patterns of inundation, soil nutrient levels and acidity. There are grassy wetlands, marshes, areas of scrub, and areas of

Pandanus ''Pandanus'' is a genus of monocots with some 750 accepted species. They are palm-like, dioecious trees and shrubs native to the Old World tropics and subtropics. The greatest number of species are found in Madagascar and Malaysia. Common names ...

and palm trees. The mature forest supports a wide variety of tree and shrub species, including the families and genera of ''

Adina ADINA is a commercial engineering simulation software program that is developed and distributed worldwide by ADINA R & D, Inc. The company was founded in 1986 by Dr. Klaus-Jürgen Bathe, and is headquartered in Watertown, Massachusetts, United St ...

'' a shrub, ''

Alstonia ''Alstonia'' is a widespread genus of evergreen trees and shrubs, of the family Apocynaceae. It was named by Robert Brown in 1811, after Charles Alston (1685–1760), professor of botany at Edinburgh from 1716 to 1760. The type species ''Alsto ...

'' (some species of which are of commercial value for timber), ''

Campnosperma ''Campnosperma'' is a genus of rainforest trees in the Cashew Family (Anacardiaceae). They are found in the East Indies, south Asia and the Seychelles. Species , the ''Plants of the World Online'' accepts 14 species: * '' Campnosperma auriculatu ...

'', '' Coccoceras'', ''

Dillenia ''Dillenia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Dilleniaceae, native to tropical and subtropical regions of southern Asia, Australasia, and the Indian Ocean islands. The genus is named after the German botanist Johann Jacob Dillenius, ...

'', ''

Dyera ''Dyera'' is a genus of tropical trees up to 80 m in height. They are in family Apocynaceae, native to southeast Asia. It was first described as a genus in 1882, by Joseph Dalton Hooker.Middleton, D.J. (2007). Apocynaceae (subfamilies Rauvolfioid ...

'', ''

Erythrina ''Erythrina'' is a genus of plants in the pea family, Fabaceae. It contains about 130 species, which are distributed in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. They are trees, with the larger species growing up to in height. The generic na ...

'', ''

Eugenia ''Eugenia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the myrtle family Myrtaceae. It has a worldwide, although highly uneven, distribution in tropical and subtropical regions. The bulk of the approximately 1,100 species occur in the New World tropics, ...

'', ''

Ficus ''Ficus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending in ...

'', ''

Gluta ''Gluta'' is a genus of plant in the subfamily Anacardioideae of the family Anacardiaceae. Species can be found in Madagascar, India, Indo-China, Malesia through to New Guinea. Before the work of Ding Hou,Ding Hou (1978) in: ''Blumea'', 24(1): 1 ...

'', ''

Lophopetalum ''Lophopetalum'' is a genus of plants in the family Celastraceae. Species include: * ''Lophopetalum arnhemicum'' Byrnes * ''Lophopetalum beccarianum'' Pierre * '' Lophopetalum duperreanum'' Pierre * ''Lophopetalum floribundum'' Wight * ''Lophop ...

'', ''

Memecylon ''Memecylon'' is a plant group in Melastomataceae. It consists of 350-400 species of small to medium-sized trees and shrubs occurring in the Old World tropics. ''Memecylon'' is a monophyletic group basal to the Melastomataceae clade. ''Memecylon ...

'', '' Pentaspadon'', ''

Shorea Fruit of a ''Shorea'' species ''Shorea'' is a genus of about 196 species of mainly rainforest trees in the family Dipterocarpaceae. The genus is named after Sir John Shore, the governor-general of the British East India Company, 1793–1798. Th ...

'', and ''

Vatica ''Vatica'' is a genus of plants in the family Dipterocarpaceae. Species , ''Plants of the World Online'' accepted the following species: * '' Vatica abdulrahmaniana'' * '' Vatica acrocarpa'' * '' Vatica adenanii'' * '' Vatica affinis'' * ...

''. Diversity of faunal species is higher than in the peat swamp. The most common primate in the freshwater swamp is the vulnerable Crab-eating macaque ''(

Macaca fascicularis The crab-eating macaque (''Macaca fascicularis''), also known as the long-tailed macaque and referred to as the cynomolgus monkey in laboratories, is a cercopithecine primate native to Southeast Asia. A species of macaque, the crab-eating macaqu ...

)''. The freshwater swamp is also home to the critically endangered Bornean orangutan ''(

Pongo pygmaeus The Bornean orangutan (''Pongo pygmaeus'') is a species of orangutan endemic to the island of Borneo. Together with the Sumatran orangutan (''Pongo abelii'') and Tapanuli orangutan (''Pongo tapanuliensis''), it belongs to the only genus of grea ...

)''. Over 360 species of birds have been recorded in this ecoregion.

Protected areas

Over 14% of the ecoregion is officially protected. These protected areas include: *

Kutai National Park Kutai National Park is a lowland national park located on the east coast of Borneo Island, in the East Kalimantan province of Indonesia, ranging approximately 10 to 50 km north of the equator. Geography The park is located north of th ...

Tanjung Puting Tanjung Puting National Park is a national park in Indonesia located in the southeast part of West Kotawaringin Regency in the Indonesian province of Central Kalimantan (Central Borneo). The nearest main town is the capital of the Regency, Pan ...

Lake Sentarum National Park The Lake Sentarum National Park ( id, Taman Nasional Danau Sentarum) is a national park protecting one of the world's most biodiverse lake systems, located in the heart of Borneo Island, Kapuas Hulu Regency, West Kalimantan Province, Indonesia. ...

References

{{Borneo Indomalayan ecoregions Ecoregions of Malaysia Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests