Research/Project Results

Tropical Rainforest Biome

Bandung, Page 2

Site Description

Type of Ecosystem: 2nd growth, deciduous and coniferous rainforest

Latitude: 6 degrees 55 minutes south

Longitude: 107 degrees 36 minutes east     

             Upon entering the forest preserve there were a lot of things to be noticed.  First of all, there was a large road that led down deep into different areas of the forest.  The farther away, there were fewer signs of human structures.

             One of the first things that was noticeable was the huge amount of erosion.  Along the road there was a lot of erosion.  There were trees along the side of the road whose roots were clearly visible, and there was clear evidence that the soil that was once there had been washed away. The most obvious clue that erosion took place was all the dirt that was lying on the road in one place in particular. It looked like there had been a rockslide. Rocks and dirt had almost completely blocked the road.

            There were also many different varieties of flowers seen in these pictures. We were unable to identify many of them however, as it is difficult to find field guides for Indonesia.

            The farther the group got from the entrance more animals became visible. One of the first things that was seen was a group of monkeys in the trees. The monkeys seemed to live in colonies with other monkeys. According to our leader, Jan, monkeys stay together in groups and generally do not move from a general location. Jan said that the monkeys were in the same general regions as they had been 10 years ago when he had studied the forest last. Birds were also quite common, but they were rather hard to see, even with binoculars, because they moved so quickly and were so high up in the trees. The closer we got to the forest area the more the birds were heard. One bird that was identified was an oriental white eye. Also, many pigeons were noticed, probably because the park is now more developed and used for tourism.

            As we walked, the most prevalent trees were various species of pines. Other trees included Royal Poinciana, Yellow Alcanforero, Bahenteng (local name), White Tulip Oak, Bamboo and Avocado.

           After taking a walking tour of part of the park (we walked nearly 3 km one way into the park!), we then chose a 10 x 10 m plot of land to analyze. At this site, there were not many animals, but there were a number of snails, termites, worms, butterflies, cicadas, spiders, grasshoppers, and caterpillars. The caterpillars made our work difficult as they bombarded us from the tall trees above, scaling down on web strings. These fuzzy caterpillars produce an oil that often cause severe rashes on the skin.