Binsuluk Forest Reserve
| Binsuluk Forest Reserve | |
|---|---|
Map showing the location of Binsuluk Forest Reserve Map showing the location of Binsuluk Forest Reserve Binsuluk Forest Reserve Location in Borneo | |
| Location | Sabah, Malaysia |
| Nearest city | Beaufort, Beaufort District |
| Coordinates | 5°28′43′′N 115°40′52′′E / 5.4786°N 115.6811°E / 5.4786; 115.6811 |
| Area | 121.06 km2 (46.74 sq mi) |
| Established | 1984 |
| Governing body | Sabah Forestry Department[1] |
Binsuluk Forest Reserve, also Binsulok Forest Reserve,[2] is a protected forest reserve on the Klias Peninsula, in Beaufort District of Interior Division, Sabah, Malaysia.[3] It was designated as a Class 1 Protection Forest by the Sabah Forestry Department in 1992.[4] [5] Its area is 12,106 hectares (121.06 km2).[4] The reserve is mostly flat, consisting mostly of peat swamp forest, with a small area of mangroves.[1] The peat forests within this reserve, along with those in the nearby Klias Forest Reserve, are the last peat forests in Sabah.[6]
Being mostly peat forest, the reserve faces high fire risks. Large fires occurred in 1997–98, burning most of the park.[7] In 2016 large fires in peat bogs, which were caused by fires spread to Binsuluk and other forest reserves from nearby open burning, contributed to the 2016 Malaysian haze.[8] [9] Over half of the reserve were burnt during this event.[6] Open burning caused yet another forest fire in 2020, this time burning 274 hectares (2.74 km2).[10]
Flora
[edit ]Binsuluk and Klias Forest Reserves have a combined species richness of at least identified 134 tree species. Four species of Nepenthes pitcher plants have been recorded.[2] Some tree species are Dryobalanops rappa , Shorea platycarpa , Dactylocladus stenostachys and Gonystylus bancanus . However the status of these species is uncertain given the fires and logging activities.[1] An IUCN assessment in 2019 did not include Binsuluk as part of the species habitat for Dryobalanops rappa.[11]
Fauna
[edit ]Binsuluk Forest Reserve is home to mammals including wild boar, sambar deer and macaque monkeys.[1] There are five amphibians found between the two forest reserves, Hoplobathracus rogulosa , Rana erythraea , Rana glandulosa , Polypedates coletti , and Polypedates leucomystax . Saltwater crocodiles are present on the peninsula. 66 butterfly species have been discovered within the peat forests.[2]
References
[edit ]- ^ a b c d "Binsuluk". Sabah Forestry Department. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
- ^ a b c "Klias peninsula". BirdLife. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ^ Sheldon, Frederick H (October 2015). "Gazetteer and site-based history of the ornithology of Sabah, Malaysian Borneo". Occasional Papers of the Museum of Natural Science, Louisiana State University. 1 (86): 7. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
- ^ a b "Binsuluk Protection Forest Reserve". Malaysia Biodiversity Information System (MyBIS). Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources (Malaysia) . Retrieved 7 April 2021.
- ^ "FORESTS (CONSTITUTION OF FOREST RESERVES AND AMENDMENT) ENACTMENT 1984 (No. 4 of 1984)" (PDF). State of Sabah. July 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ^ a b "Forest fire ravages most of Binsuluk reserve". The Star. 14 April 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ^ Henry Bernard; Nellcy Joseph; Esther Lonnie Baking; Tung Siaw Ean; Yasuyuki Tachiki; Felicity Oram; Jaya Seelan Sathiya Seelan; Faisal Ali Anwarali Khan (21 November 2019). "Animal use of rehabilitated formerly fire damaged peat-swamp forest in western Sabah, Malaysia" (PDF). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. 67: 660–661. doi:10.26107/RBZ-2019-0047.
- ^ Tang Ruxyn (5 April 2016). "Who And What Is Causing This Terrible Haze In Sabah?". Says. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ^ "200ha of Binsuluk forest reserve still burning - Wan Junaidi". New Straits Times. 6 April 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ^ "Authority believes open burning among causes of Binsuluk forest fire". Malay Mail. 29 March 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ^ Hamidi, A.; Robiansyah, I.; Randi, A.; Hoo, P.K.; Khoo, E.; Kusumadewi, Y.; Julia, S.; Maycock, C.R. (2019). "Dryobalanops rappa". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2019: e.T36431A143153322. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T36431A143153322.en .