Borneo montane rain forests
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The Borneo montane rain forests are an
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 ...
, of cloud forest, within the
tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Description TSMF is generally found in large, discon ...
biome A biome () is a biogeographical unit consisting of a biological community that has formed in response to the physical environment in which they are found and a shared regional climate. Biomes may span more than one continent. Biome is a broader ...
, of the island 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 ea ...
in
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...
.


Location and description

This ecoregion consists of tropical mountain cloud forest and laurel forest. In the higher elevations, above 1000 m, in the centre of Borneo with sections in
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
,
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 ...
, and
Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely surrounded by t ...
-owned territories of the island. These cooler and moister slopes stick up out of the carpet of thick rainforest that covers the warmer lowlands below, and as well as additional rainfall also derive moisture from low cloud. Soils are poorer and more acidic than the lowlands.


Flora

The isolated higher and cooler forests of the island are home to a rich and distinctive set of plants of both Asian and Australian origin. There are especially large numbers of '' Nepenthes'' pitcher plants (>15 species), rhododendrons, and
orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowerin ...
s. This ecoregion also contains important areas of forest on limestone upland, especially
Mount Api Mount Api ( ms, Gunung Api) is a limestone mountain located in Gunung Mulu National Park in Sarawak, Malaysia. Neighbouring Mount Benarat and Mount Buda are part of the same formation. Mount Api is famous for its striking limestone karst form ...
which has clear altitudinal zones of differing vegetation.
Long Pasia Long Pasia is a village in Sipitang District, Sabah. Long Pasia is a home town of Lun Bawang/Lun Dayeh tribes and has a population of about 1,000 people, and all of them are Christians of Borneo Evangelical Church (SIB). It is located about s ...
in the Meligan Range and the Usun Apau plateau have important areas of high-altitude wetland.


Fauna

The montane rain forests are home to a distinct fauna including large numbers of mammals such as
civet A civet () is a small, lean, mostly nocturnal mammal native to tropical Asia and Africa, especially the tropical forests. The term civet applies to over a dozen different species, mostly from the family Viverridae. Most of the species diversit ...
s (such as the rare Hose's civet ''Diplogale hosei'',
endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...
to these montane forests),
tree shrew The treeshrews (or tree shrews or banxrings) are small mammals native to the tropical forests of South and Southeast Asia. They make up the entire order Scandentia, which split into two families: the Tupaiidae (19 species, "ordinary" treeshrews ...
s, squirrels, and rats and primates such as
orangutan Orangutans are great apes native to the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia. They are now found only in parts of Borneo and Sumatra, but during the Pleistocene they ranged throughout Southeast Asia and South China. Classified in the genu ...
(''Pongo pygmaeus''), gibbons, and
langur The Colobinae or leaf-eating monkeys are a subfamily of the Old World monkey family that includes 61 species in 11 genera, including the black-and-white colobus, the large-nosed proboscis monkey, and the gray langurs. Some classifications sp ...
s. Although most of these primates prefer lower elevations there are especially good numbers of the large macaque monkeys and as the forests are less-disturbed at higher elevations larger animals such as orangutans and
Sumatran rhinoceros The Sumatran rhinoceros (''Dicerorhinus sumatrensis''), also known as the Sumatran rhino, hairy rhinoceros or Asian two-horned rhinoceros, is a rare member of the family Rhinocerotidae and one of five extant species of rhinoceros. It is the o ...
(''Dicerorhinus sumatrensis'') have retreated here from the lowlands. Although there are fewer birds in the Bornean mountains than in the lowlands there is a higher proportion of endemic species, indeed most of Borneo's unique birds live in the montane forests e.g. on
Mount Mulu Mount Mulu ( ms, Gunung Mulu) is a sandstone and shale mountain. At 2376 m, it is the second highest mountain in the state of Sarawak, after Mount Murud. It is located within the boundaries of Gunung Mulu National Park, which is named after ...
in
Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the Malaysian state of Sabah to the northeast, ...
there are 171 different birds in the lowlands and only 12 species at 1300m.


Threats and preservation

The higher elevations of Borneo are inaccessible and therefore over 90% of original habitat remains intact, despite the forest fires of 1997-8 that damaged so much of Borneo's lowland forest. About 25% is in protected areas including a very large block in
Kayan Mentarang National Park Kayan Mentarang National Park ( id, Taman Nasional Kayan Mentarang) is a densely forested national park located in the Indonesian province of North Kalimantan, on the island of Borneo. The national park is named after a great dispersed Mentara ...
, which is home to communities of indigenous people but is threatened by commercial logging and road building. This park and others such as
Betung Kerihun National Park Betung Kerihun National Park ( id, Taman Nasional Betung Kerihun)) is a national park located in the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan, on the island of Borneo. The park was established in 1995, and has a total area of or about 5.5 perce ...
are important refuges for wildlife as lowland habitats are being systematically removed.


See also

* Heart of Borneo


References

{{Borneo Borneo Ecoregions of Asia Ecoregions of Brunei Ecoregions of Indonesia Ecoregions of Malaysia Ecoregions of Malesia * * * * Indomalayan ecoregions Montane forests Natural history of Brunei Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Tropical rainforests of Indonesia