The Eastern Java–Bali montane rain 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 o ...

(WWF ID: IM0112) covers the higher altitude mountain rainforests on the eastern side of the island of

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mo ...

, and most of the center of the island of

Bali Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nu ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. The region has a number of active volcanoes, but is under pressure from growing human populations pushing into higher elevations and more marginal land. With elevations rising from sea level to , and precipitation varying between rainforest and drier forest levels, the area has many different forest types – evergreen, deciduous and semi-alpine.

Location and description

The islands of Java and Bali are the products of relatively recent volcanism – Java is less than 24 million years old, and Bali less than 3 million years. During recent ice ages when sea levels were lower the islands were connected to Sumatra and Borneo. There are 20 volcanoes on the islands that have been active during human history. The geology is volcanic rock, alluvial soils, and some areas of uplifted coral limestone. The ecoregion is surrounded by the lower elevation

Eastern Java-Bali rain forests Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

ecoregion.

Climate

The climate of the ecoregion is ''

Tropical monsoon climate An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ...

'' (

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, nota ...

(Am)). This climate is characterized by relatively even temperatures throughout the year (all months being greater than average temperature), and a pronounced dry season. The driest month has less than 60 mm of precipitation, but more than (100-(average/25)) mm. This climate is mid-way between a tropical rainforest and a tropical savannah. The dry month usually at or right after the winter solstice in the Southern Hemisphere.

Flora and fauna

The forest types in the ecoregion are driven by four main factors: elevation, soil, aspect (shape/slope of the terrain), and precipitation. At lower elevations (below about 1,000 meters), the forest types are evergreen rainforest and moist deciduous. Typical tree species in the evergreen rainforest are ''(

Artocarpus elasticus ''Artocarpus elasticus'' of the Mulberry Family (Moraceae) and commonly called terap nasi or terap, is a rainforest tree of maritime and mainland Southeast Asia, growing up to (occasionally as much as 214 feet (65 meters)) in height with a diam ...

)'' (''Artocarpus'' from the Greek 'bread' and 'fruit'), Yellow mahogany ''(

Dysoxylum caulostachyum ''Dysoxylum parasiticum'', known as yellow mahogany, is a species of rainforest trees in the family Meliaceae. The specific epithet ' is from the Latin meaning "parasitic", referring to the idea (now known to be incorrect) that the flowers are pa ...

)'', Longkong ''(

Lansium parasiticum ''Lansium parasiticum'', commonly known as langsat (), lanzones (), or longkong in English; duku in Indonesian or dokong in Terengganu Malay, is a species of tree in the Mahogany family with commercially cultivated edible fruits. The species ...

)'' (a member of the mahogany family that has commercially edible nuts), and ''(

Planchonia valida ''Planchonia valida'' grows as a tree up to tall, with a trunk diameter of up to . The bark is grey brown. The flowers are green. The tree grows in a variety of habitats from sea level to elevation. ''P. valida'' is found in the Andaman an ...

)''. 60% of the ecoregion is closed broadleaf evergreen forest. Typical trees of the deciduous forests are ''(

Homalium tomentosum ''Homalium tomentosum'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Salicaceae The Salicaceae is the willow family of flowering plants. The traditional family (Salicaceae ''sensu stricto'') included the willows, poplar, aspen, and cottonwo ...

)'', Silk trees ''(

Albizia lebbekoides ''Albizia'' is a genus of more than 160 species of mostly fast-growing subtropical and tropical trees and shrubs in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae. The genus is pantropical, occurring in Asia, Africa, Madagascar, America and A ...

)'', Reonja ''(

Acacia leucophloea ''Vachellia leucophloea'' ( hi, रेवंजा), also called ''reonja'', is a moderate-sized tree native to South and Southeast Asia. Distribution ''Vachellia leucophloea'' grows natively in India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thail ...

)'' (a short tree with white flowers), the Golden shower tree ''(

Cassia fistula ''Cassia fistula'', commonly known as golden shower, purging cassia, Indian laburnum, or pudding-pipe tree,U. S. Department of Agriculture, William Saunders; Catalogue of Economic Plants in the Collection of the U. S. Department of Agriculture; ...

)'', and White Siris ''(

Ailanthus integrifolia ''Ailanthus integrifolia'', white siris, is a tree in the family Simaroubaceae. The specific epithet ' is from the Latin meaning "entire leaves", referring to the leaflet margins. Description ''Ailanthus integrifolia'' grows as a large tree up ...

)''. From 1,000 meters to about 1,800 meters the montane forests feature trees of ''(

Lithocarpus ''Lithocarpus'' is a genus in the beech family, Fagaceae. Trees in this genus are commonly known as the stone oaks and differ from ''Quercus'' primarily because they produce insect-pollinated flowers on erect spikes and the female flowers ha ...

)'', ''(

Quercus An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ' ...

)'', ''(

Castanopsis ''Castanopsis'', commonly called chinquapin or chinkapin, is a genus of evergreen trees belonging to the beech family, Fagaceae. The genus contains about 140 species, which are today restricted to tropical and subtropical eastern Asia. A total ...

)'', and ''(

Lauraceae Lauraceae, or the laurels, is a plant family that includes the true laurel and its closest relatives. This family comprises about 2850 known species in about 45 genera worldwide (Christenhusz & Byng 2016 ). They are dicotyledons, and occur m ...

)''. The upper montane forest features extensive heath ''

Ericaceae The Ericaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the heath or heather family, found most commonly in acidic and infertile growing conditions. The family is large, with c.4250 known species spread across 124 genera, making it th ...

'', with widespread moss. Over 100 mammal species are known in the ecoregion. The mammals include the vulnerable Javan tailless fruit bat ''(

Megaerops kusnotoi The Javan tailless fruit bat (''Megaerops kusnotoi'') is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae. It is endemic to Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the ...

)'', which is near-endemic, and the Javan leopard ''( Panthera pardus melas)''. 215 species of birds have been recorded, 15 of which are endemic.

Protected areas

Only 7% of the ecoregion is officially protected. Notable protected areas include: *

Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park ( id, Taman Nasional Bromo Tengger Semeru; abbreviated as ) is a national park located in East Java, Indonesia, to the east of Malang and Lumajang, to the south of Pasuruan and Probolinggo, and to the sout ...

, in East Java, centered on the active volcano

Mount Bromo The Bromo ( jv, ꦧꦿꦩ), or Mount Bromo ( jv, ꦒꦸꦤꦸꦁꦧꦿꦩ Pegon: , Gunung Bromo) is an active somma volcano and part of the Tengger mountains, in East Java, Indonesia. At it is not the highest peak of the massif, but th ...

. *

Meru Betiri National Park Meru Betiri National Park is a national park in the province of East Java, Indonesia, extending over an area of 580 km2 of which a small part is marine (8.45 km2). The beaches of the park provide nesting grounds for endangered turtle spe ...

, in East Java, reaching down to the seacoast where it protects the nesting grounds of endangered turtles.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eastern Java-Bali montane rain forests Indomalayan ecoregions Ecoregions of Indonesia Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Ecoregions of Malesia Montane forests

Location and description

Climate

Flora and fauna

Protected areas

See also

References