Seven years ago the part of the monsoon forest in Bali Barat
National Park was devastated by a forest fire that charred everything in its
path. A monsoon forest is characterized
by mostly tall deciduous trees, meaning these gentle giants lose their leaves
during the dry season, which can be up to 8 months of the year, but flourish
once the monsoon rains strike, woody vines and air plants. The forest truly sparkles when in full bloom,
with varied hues of green, happy monkeys crawling over the branches eating to
their delight, and birds squawking in the hidden canopies. It is quite a sight. Sadly, this beauty is under attack within
this region of Bali. In spots where the
canopy is broken by fire or human intervention, and rays of sun are let through,
there lies an invader who is stealing from its native neighbours. Lantana
camara is an invasive shrub species that was introduced to Bali to use for
yard decoration due to its colourful flower and ability to grow under any
condition. Because of its uncanny
ability to establish itself so easily in numerous ecotypes, especially in areas
of disturbance, we are now seeing it all over the island. Here in the monsoon forest of Bali Barat
National Park, Lantana has taken over
many empty patches of land within and around the forest by out-competing the
native species for nutrients and sunlight.
Parts of the once highly diverse forest are now becoming a Lantana only shrub land, and it is
happening fast. Sierra, with Biosphere
Foundation, the staff off P.T.
Trimbawan Swastama Sejati (a part of Sustainable Management Group) and
Dr. Albertu Wawo of LIPI have been devising a remedy for the problem, using one weakness the plant has, it is inhibited by
shade.
In, 2013, Sierra started a study site within the fire-disturbed land,
with three study plots. At first,
measurements were taken of each Lantana
plant, in order to compare to this years measurements to gather an idea of how
quickly, or large, it can grow in one year.
This data is still being worked on.
This year, after measuring, we removed all the Lantana from the three plots, it was A LOT, and I mean A LOT of Lantana.
Once removed, 1200 native trees of six different species were planted in
two of the three cleared plots. The idea
is to plant enough sun-loving, fast-growing trees that will shade out the Lantana, and allow for other
shade-loving slow-growing native trees to grow.
Today, the trees look beautiful in their new, native, Lantana-free land. The forest is beginning to transform into its
natural state. Good work Friends of
Menjangan and all those who helped allow the project to happen!
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| Julian and myself measuring and tagging the new trees. |
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| Sierra, Pak Albertus, and crew after a long, hot day in the forest. |
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| A cleared plot with the freshly planted trees. You can see how much Lantana was present due to the amount of exposed soil. |
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| The saplings in their plastic bags, ready to be planted in the soil with room to breathe! |
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| Carefully removing the trees from their transportation, Hati Hati! |
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| More little trees. |
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| Sierra preparing for a day of measuring and reinforcing the trees. |
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| Material used to help tie the trees to bamboo sticks so they grow up and not out. |
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| This is the infamous, Trengulli. It was very small when we planted it, and now within one month has grown to a substantial size. Beautiful tree. |
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| Sierra measuring and inspecting. |
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| Pak Albertus excited about a day of planting, and spending time in the forest. He knows so many different plant species, it was fun to learn from him! |
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| Maybe about 25 trees hauled into the forest on the back of a bike. |
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| Myself, and the crew! |
