Lake Lindu (Lore Lindu)
Location:
l°20'S, 120°05'E; 50 km SSE of Palu, Kabupaten Donggala/Poso, Central Sulawesi.
Area:
Lake 4,250 ha; Wildlife Reserve 229,000 ha.
Altitude:
Lake 960m; Wildlife Reserve 200-2,356m.
Biogeographical Province:
4.24.12.
Wetland type:
14.
Description of site:
An ancient, permanent, freshwater lake situated in a large Wildlife Reserve (the proposed Lore Lindu National Park). The only other wetland habitats in the proposed National Park are the Lariang and Palu Rivers.
Climatic conditions:
Humid tropical climate with an average annual rainfall of 2,330 mm. The temperature varies from 16-29°C, the relatively humidity, from 44-100%.
Principal vegetation:
No information is available on the aquatic vegetation. The reserve contains extensive tracts of lowland, sub-montane and montane rain forest.
Land tenure:
State owned (PHPA).
Conservation measures taken:
The entire area (229,000 ha) was designated as a Wildlife Reserve (Suaka Margasatwa) in 1973 and 1981. A Recreation Park (Taman Wisata) of 31,000 ha was established around the lake in 1978.
Conservation measures proposed:
The Wildlife Reserve has been proposed as a National Park.
Land use:
Fishing and outdoor recreation; agriculture in surrounding areas.
Disturbances and threats:
The endemic fish Xenopoecilus sarasinorum has become very rare and may, in fact, have been extirminated as a result of the introduction of predatory fishes. Populations of endemic snails have also been very much reduced by these predatory fishes. Over-fishing has become a problem, and there is a considerable amount of logging and hunting in surrounding areas.
Economic and social values:
The reserve has great potential for outdoor recreation, and contains some of the finest megalith monuments in Indonesia, of considerable ethnic and historical interest. The lake is an important source of irrigation water for a large area of agricultural land. It is of special interest as one of the few sites in Indonesia with the disease Schistosomiasis. In the l930s and l940s, the related disease Echinostomiasis was also present. The endemic mussels Corbicula lindoensis and C. subplanata were the primary source of human infection.
Fauna:
The lake and surrounding forests of the Wildlife Reserve contain a wealth of endemic wildlife. Six species of fishes have been recorded including the endemic Xenopoecilus sarasinorum, known only from this lake, and Anabas testudineus. Introduced fish species include Channa striata and Tilapia mossambica.
A wide variety of waterbirds has been recorded including Podiceps ruficollis, Pelecanus conspicillatus, Phalacrocorax melanoleucos, Anhinga melanogaster, Ixobrychus cinnamomeus, I. flavicollis, Ardeola speciosa, Bubulcus ibis, Butorides striatus, Egretta garzetta, E. intermedia, E. alba, Ardea purpurea, Ciconia epsicopus, Plegadis falcinellus, Dendrocygna arcuata, Anas gibberifrons, A. superciliosa. Aythya australis, Haliastur indus, Haliaeetus leucogaster, Ichihyophaga nana, Amaurornis phoenicurus, A. isabellina, Rallus philippensis, R. striatus, R. lorquatus, Poliolimna.s cinereus, Gallicrex cinerea, Gallinula chioropus, G. tenebrosa, Porphyrio porphyrio, Irediparra gallinacea, Pluvialis dominica, Charadrius dubius, Tringa glareola, Actitis hypoleucos, Gallinago megala, Himantopus leucocephalus, Chlidonias hybrida, the kingfishers Alcedo meninting. A. atthis, Ceyx fallax, Pelargopsis melanorhyncha, Halcyon chioris, Cittura cyanotis, Actenoides monachus and A. princeps, and the warbler Acrocephalus orlentalis. Two species of rails endemic to Sulawesi, the Snoring Rail Aramidopsis plateni and Bare-faced Rail Gymnocrex rosenbergii, were observed in primary forest in the reserve in 1987. There have been no published records of the former species for about 45 years, while the latter was previously known from a single specimen and sight record. The endemic Sulawesi Woodcock Scolopax celebensis occurs in the forests around the lake.
Mammals include Cervus timorensis, Macaca tonkeana, Phalanger ursinus, P. celebensis, Macrogalidia muschenbroeki, Sus celebensis, Babyrousa babyrusa and Anoa quarlesi.
Amongst the reptiles, the snakes include Python reticulatus, Elaphe erythrura. E. janseni, Psammodynastes pulverulentus, Xemopeltis unicolor, Ophiophagus hannah and Cylindrophis celebensis (only one specimen known). Eleven species of lizards have been recorded including an undescribed Leiolopisma, the endemic Spenomorphus nigrolabris, Gekko gecko and Mabouya spp. The twelve amphibians known from the area include an undescribed Oreophryne.
There are three endemic snails in the lake, Brotia scalariopsis, B. teradjarum (Thiaridae), and Protancyclus adhaerens (Viviparidae), and two endemic mussels, Corbicula lindoensis and C. subplanata (Corbiculidae).
Special floral values:
No information.
Research and facilities:
Several faunal and floral surveys have been carried out in the Wildlife Reserve.
References:
Direktorat P.P.A. (l980c); MacKinnon & Artha (1982d); Whitten et al. (1987); WWF (1981).
Criteria for Inclusion:
1b, 2a, 2b, 2d, 3b.
Source:
Marcel J. Silvius and Edi Djuharsa.