Sedili Kecil Swamp Forest
Location:
1°39'-1°49'N, 104°07'-104°12'E; along Sungei Sedili Kecil, Jason Bay, eastern Johor.
Area:
c.5,000 ha.
Altitude:
Sea level.
Biogeographical Province:
4.7.1.
Wetland type:
11 & 21.
Description of site:
An area of seasonally flooded freshwater swamp forest. Much of the area has been logged, and only an area some two km wide and six km long along Sungei Sedili Kecil is still untouched. The Sedili river descends gradually from the low hills that confine the southern end of the vast swamp of Jason Bay. It flows north, entering the southern end of Jason Bay. It drains part of the swamp with its main tributaries Sungei Bahan and Sungei Leban; other short tributaries drain the west side of the strip of coastal hills which separate the river from the sea. The flat terrain is mostly swamp forest.
Climatic conditions:
Humid tropical climate with an annual rainfall of 3,000-3,500 mm. The wet season during the northeast monsoon lasts from October to January, with December as the wettest month (over 500 mm). The driest month is April (just over 100 mm), during the southwest monsoon dry period.
Principal vegetation:
Corner (1978) has described the vegetation types in some detail. Up river from the mangrove and nipa zones, Pandanus helicopus encroaches so as almost to obstruct the river until the river narrows to 7-lOm wide. Gluta velutina is scarce. Ficus microcarpa forms no continuous banks, but apparently Sungei Jawi (a tributary of Sungei Banun) is blocked by these trees. Some Shorea spp are present. Horsfieldia irya is common, with trees up to 27m in height. Pandanus affinis is very abundant in the upper reaches of mangrove and nipa, whilst Pandanus malayanus forms small thickets in the water among the taller P. helicopus and is abundant in all the darker tributaries without P. helicopus. Mesua ferruginea is exceedingly abundant, growing from the edge of P. helicopus in thickets up to 5m high, standing in the water at high tide, spreading over the river, and smothering both Barringtonia conoidea and G. velutina. In the swamp forest away from the river's edge, Lophopetalum multinervium and Palaquium xanthochymum are exceptionally abundant. Upstream beyond the P. helicopus, which ends at Sungei Lebai Kator, there seems to be no distinct riverside vegetation but continuous swamp forest. The following taxa are common: Anaxagorea sp. Aporosa frutescens, Artocarpus kemando, Barringtonia reticulata, Calophyllum spp, Campnosperma auriculata, Crudia havilandii, stilted Dillenia sp, Elaeocarpus grill ithii. Eugenia cerina, E. pseudosubtilis, Ganua motleyana, Garcinia nigrolineata, Goniothalamus malayanus, Grewia antidesmaefolia, G. fibrocarpa, hex cymosa. Koompassia malaccensis, Lithocarpus bennettii, Melanorrhoea wallichii, Memecylon paniculatum. Morinda rigida (commonly growing on Illex cymosa), Pternandra coerulescens, Shorea platycarpa, Strombosia sp, Symplocos celastrifolia, and Vitex pera!ala.
Land tenure:
State owned.
Conservation measures taken:
Most of the area falls within the Chandangan Forest Reserve.
Conservation measures proposed:
The area in the north has been proposed as a National Park.
Land use:
Extraction of timber, hunting, agriculture and tourism; mixed horticulture, oil palm plantations and mining in surrounding areas. There is an aquaculture scheme near Negara.
Possible Changes in Land use:
There are plans to convert almost all of the remaining freshwater swamp forest into oil palm plantations and aquaculture ponds.
Disturbances and threats:
Virtually all remaining virgin areas of freshwater swamp forest were licenced out for logging in 1986 and 1987. By early May 1988, logging had already commenced in the northeastern, northwestern and southeastern sectors. Timber extraction will be followed by total clearance for oil palm plantations by FELDA (the Government agricultural development agency), leaving only a strip of forest several hundred metres wide along the river. There is a planned aquaculture development of 320 ha along the Sungei Sedili Kecil and Sungei Bahan rivers, and a major aquaculture project (1,000 ha) has been proposed by Unilever for the northeastern corner. There is some hunting in swamp forest to the south of Sungei Sedili Kecil, and land is being reclaimed for agriculture. The whole area between l°36'N and l°44'N is currently being mined or could be mined in the future.
Economic and social values:
The swamp forest has considerable timber value; it is important in flood mitigation and is of great scientific interest.
Fauna:
No information.
Special floral values:
Pristine freshwater swamp forest such as this is a threatened habitat in Malaysia. The Sedili Kecil Swamp Forest is therefore important as a plant gene pool. The area is of scientific interest for its great diversity of plant species and wide range of vegetation types. Species of particular interest include Cratoxylon arborescens and Palaquium xanthochymum.
Research and facilities:
Extensive floristic investigations were made by Corner from 1929-1940 (Corner, 1978).
References:
Corner (1978); EPU (1980); Howes et al. (1986); Johor State Department of
Fisheries (1978); Wong (1979).
Criteria for Inclusion:
1b, 2b.
Source:
Dato' Leong Hing Nm and Choy Siew Kiong.