In situ and Ex situ Conservation of Commercial Tropical Trees - ITTO

535Plantations in Experimental Forests for Ex SituConservationKADE SIDIYASA, SLAMET RIYADHI GADAS AND NINAJULIATYForestry Research Institute Samarinda, Indonesiabpk-smd@smd.indo.netAbstract. As a part of Borneo, Kalimantan is floristically rich, especially in dipterocarp speciesof which there are 267, a much higher number than is found on other islands. However, due tocontinuous deforestation caused by human activities and natural disasters such as forest fires,natural habitats and the biodiversity of Kalimantan’s tropical forests are being degraded. Withoutany positive conservation effort, some valuable species will disappear in the near future. Ex situconservation is one of the effective conservation alternatives that may be applied. Thoughactually designed for research purposes, some of the experimental plantations developed by theForestry Research Institute Samarinda (FORIS) in its experimental forests at Samboja andSebulu in East Kalimantan, can be considered as ex situ conservation areas.Unfortunately, development of experimental plantations has encountered some serious problemsdue to land use conflicts, forest fire, lack of awareness of importance of these plantations, budgetlimitations, and inadequate planning and coordination.IntroductionAs a part of Borneo, Kalimantan has a high diversity of plants. Whitmore et al.(1990) recorded 84 families on the island with at least one “big tree species”(defined as either 35 cm dbh or over, or at least 20 m tall). These Borneo treesrepresent 382 genera and 1902 species, and this number does not include manytrees of the Annonaceae, Lauraceae, Myrtaceae, and Rutaceae families. Manyof the commercially important Dipterocarp species grow on Borneo. Accordingto Ashton (1982), there are 267 dipterocarp species on Borneo and 155 ofthese are endemic to Kalimantan. Unfortunately, this unusually diverse floramay change in the near future due to degradation of natural forest ecosystemscaused by improper management, forest fires, and other natural disasters.Currently, natural forests in the country are generally characterized bythese disturbances, which affect the ecosystems by creating soil erosion, flooding,drought, climatic modifications, and other negative influences. And additionalpressures and disturbance by people living adjacent to forest areas and byother forest users who are seeking short-term benefits cannot be easily resolved.All of these disturbances will influence the endangered status of some species