Imagine a forest with a vibrant undulating landscape, with lush green trees unusual yet exotic in appearance, interwoven with freshwater streams and channels thriving with life and diversity, founded upon layers of partially decomposed organic matter formed thousands of years ago. A complex territory, where nature, the trees, plants and animals have special traits to help them survive. A place considered home to the uniquely adapted and a threat to intruders. Where plants have to cope with poor nutrients cycling, where fish live in oxygen poor waters, where decomposition rates are almost at a standstill. How is it then that these forests are so productive? That is the fascinating and intriguing Black Water Forest. A mystery locked away within the heart of the last few that
remain.

In a little rubber dingy, I set out to explore one of earth’s least understood ecosystems, tropical peat swamp forests (PSF). Everything seems so still and untouched. The water is dark brown like a cup of tea without milk and clear to the bottom. Beneath the surface, thick carpets of leaves have gathered with an occasional tree trunk or two, so much so that in some areas it has risen above the water forming land that is sponge-like in effect. These leaves release tannins, which give the water its characteristic tea-coloured appearance and the forest its name. The natural cycle of life in a tropical peat swamp forest is unlike any other ecosystem. Almost as if time has stopped, falling plant debris, twigs, branches, tree trunks and animals gather and accumulate, taking years to break down. Consequently the concentration of nutrients and minerals available for organisms is very low. These flooded forests also have poor oxygen levels with high acidity and tannin concentrations. Under such conditions and the stillest water, peat formation begins, as the accumulation of organic matter exceeds that of decomposition.

The uniqueness of the swamps lies in the highly specialised plants that can only be found here. The flora have evolved special adaptations to suit the temperament of the swamps. The leaves are thick and rich in defence compounds like latex, essential oils, resins, tannins and phenols that make the leaves less palatable. Rather than replace the leaf, which requires a lot of energy, the leaves have developed stronger chemical and physical properties to prevent herbivory instead. Some trees have roots that rise above the earth to cope with poor oxygen concentrations.

Bladderwort floats wildly in open channels. Found in nutrient poor waters, this small carnivorous plant with little yellow flowers supplements its diet by eating insects instead. It will consume anything that can fit into its tiny bladders, or little rubbery pouches about 1/8 inch wide.

Underwater, fish are abundant and diverse. Many of these are sought after in the aquarium industry such as the arowana or Dragon Fish (Scleropages formosus) and the brightly coloured Betta species, both of which are confined to peat swamp forest. Within the last 10 years eight new species of fish have been found and like most species in a PSF, are in danger of extinction because many of them are confined to specific drainages and localized distribution, which are easily destroyed.

Within the crevices and burrows formed by the layers of leaves, tiny creatures play, hunt and hide from fish and other predatory fauna. Little is known about this microhabitat and that truly lives here. During my research recently, a new species of chironomid was found. Chironomids are a common species found within most aquatic habitats. The remarkable thing about this new species is that it is the first of its kind to be found with gills. Possibly an adaptation to the low oxygen levels.

The very rare Malaysian False Gharial and Estuarine crocodile are also inhabitants of tropical peat swamp forest and in danger of extinction. Despite the presence of these predatory animals, the highly endangered Proboscis Monkey (Nasalis larvatus) being good swimmers will swim across rivers just because they love water. PSF are proving to be an important habitat for these monkeys as well as the threatened Orangutan as populations thrive better here. The PSF around the Danum Sentarum have what may be one of Borneo’s largest populations of Orangutan.

High above, the canopy is bustling with birds, from your birds of prey like hawks and falcons to the numerous migratory birds that winter here. More than 200 bird species were recorded in the Kalimantan reserves alone. The Pahang peat forest reserve could have the last remaining population of the Lesser Adjutant (Leptoptilos javanicus) on the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Some like the Grey headed Fish Eagle (Ichthyophaga ichthyaetus) and the Brown Fish Owl (Ketupa zeylonensis) are specialist species that live only in PSF and nowhere else.

The number and diversity of fauna in peat swamps are still largely unknown due to the extreme difficulties of working within peat swamps and the inaccessibility of most areas. With new research, new species are being found. And yet most species found are listed as endangered, threatened or extinct because of habitat loss. Fragmentation of the forest leaves areas too small to sustain viable populations and causes genetic inbreeding, which reduces fertility and fitness. Places like Eastern Sumatra, Sarawak and Kalimantan are mostly unexplored. Scientists are still trying to discover just how this ecosystem so full of life survives on such low levels of oxygen and mineral concentrations and extremely low rates of nutrient cycling.”

Wetlands have been treated with such hostility by many human societies over so many years that their conservation seems almost counter cultural.” - Martin W. Holdgate
Found all over the world, peatlands are the most widespread of all wetland types, occurring on all continents, covering between 30 and 40 million hectares, 70% of which is found in Southeast Asia. Till very recently, peatlands have been destroyed through climate change and human activities such as drainage, land conversion, excavation, agriculture, infrastructure development and forestry. However, recent discoveries have shown that peat forests are a vital natural resource; one that we can ill afford to take for granted. Like a complex tapestry, the hydrological regimes of PSF flow throughout the forest affecting life within and around the forest. Water that flows through the swamps is naturally purified and leaves clean and fresh. Travelling through various water channels and vegetation, water velocity is reduced and the sediments are deposited while the plants absorb the nutrients and toxins. The water then flows out into neighbouring rivers and streams replenishing aquifers and groundwater. Found between inland and mangroves, these swamps also prevent the intrusion of salt water into our river systems. During periods of heavy rainfall, peat swamps act as natural reservoirs, able to absorb and store water in the depressions and channels within the swamp and release it slowly during the drier periods, preventing flooding of downstream areas. Globally, peatlands have the capacity to hold as much as 189 000 million litres of raw water.

These hydrological regimes are utilized by people worldwide, to sustain agriculture, industrial and domestic requirements. In Peninsular Malaysia, peat water is used to irrigate paddy fields and oil palm crops. The Drainage and Irrigation department diverts water from Sg. Bernam into the peat swamps to reduce flooding in the oil palm plantations and agricultural land downstream.

True to the characteristic of man however, these forests are exploited for their resources. Large amounts of peat are removed to make way for aquaculture farms, canals are dug, criss-crossing throughout the forest for the transportation of logs, and large peat swamp areas are cleared for agriculture. These activities are draining the peat swamps dry. And once peat dries up it is easily combustible. Peat fires have been known to burn underground for months at a time contributing to global warming. Peat vegetation and soil can store as much carbon if not more, than a tropical rainforest as captured CO2 is absorbed by the plants, leaf litter and the peat itself. In 1997 and 1998, the peat fires in Indonesia reached their peak, which not only destroyed 1.45 million ha of peat swamp forest but was the cause of the haze that affected us for months. The Raja Musa Reserve in the southern part of the NSPSF, severely affected by fires, have areas now entirely covered by Imperata (lalang) grassland and show no sign of recovery of vegetation. The fires were directly linked to the construction of deep peat drainage canals as part of the logging activities in the late 1980’s.
 
In Malaysia, we have very few untouched areas of PSF remaining. The North Selangor PSF have all been logged and in the midst of recovery. Further down south they have been completely destroyed.

They no longer exist in the states of Perlis, Kedah and N. Sembilan. In Johor, they have been mostly cleared away for residential areas and pineapple plantations. Major disaster struck when the drained and built upon peat swamp sank destroying the surrounding schools and housing areas. Now only 2 1/2 ha remain. Pahang has four reserves, which are still in pristine condition. Outside the reserves though, large areas have been used for aquaculture farms and this is affecting the reserves. In the reserves around Kuantan - Nenasi area, the water level is dropping at a rate of about 1m per year as a result of aquaculture farms, forming a depression cone affecting areas within a 20 kilometer radial distance. Saltwater intrusion is also evident by the continuous increase of chloride concentration.

Sarawak has the largest area of PSF in Malaysia, which is under tremendous pressure to be converted for agriculture. Sabah has the least but this is the only area representing the Bornean mixed peat swamp forest that has great biodiversity value. Both states have already lost half their forest.

Peat swamps are one of the most important wetland types in Malaysia, representing 75% of the total wetland area. They are a unique and globally significant ecosystem, due to their biological diversity and threatened species. We stand to lose so much with their disappearance; clean fresh water, a natural water purification system, flood mitigation, climate stabilization, and so on. Can we afford to let our peat swamps run dry? Why is it so hard to take only what we need instead of needlessly destroying an entire ecosystem for something that will only be enjoyed for a short time.

“The greater ecosystems are like complex tapestries - a million complicated threads, interwoven, make up the whole picture. Nature can cope with small rents in the fabric, it can even, after a time, cope with major disasters like floods, fires and earthquakes. What nature cannot cope with is the steady undermining of its fabric by the activities of man.” - Gerald Durrell

“The future will either be green or not at all. This truth lies at the heart of humankind’s most pressing challenge: to learn to live in harmony with the Earth on a genuinely sustainable basis.” - Jonathan Porritt

by Lalita Gomez