Two “Lost” Tree Species Found in UKM's Permanent Forest Reserve

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Two “Lost” Tree Species Found in UKM’s Permanent Forest Reserve Two species of jungle trees including one that is not known to be present in the Peninsula were found in the Bangi Forest Reserve within the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia campus. The Ternstroemia magnifica tree(from the Theaceae family) and a few Botryophora geniculata trees(from the euphorbiaceae family also known as the putat miang tree) have been found by the coordinator of UKM’s Permanent Forest Reserve (HsK UKM), Dr Wan Juliana Wan ahmad. The Botryophora geniculata tree is the only one of its species to be found in the Peninsula so far. The tree is usually found in Borneo, while the Ternstroemia magnifica is a newly-found specie here. By: Kuah Guan oo, centre for corporate communications Deputy Dean of the Faculty of science and Technology (FsT) UKM, Prof. Dr. Mazlan abdul Ghaffar announced the discovery saying that though the 1 l Jan - March 2011 A close view of nature Dean of FST, Prof. Dr. Sahrim Hj. Ahmad jungle had been studied for the past 40 years, new species can still be found there. He said this at the ceremony to set off UKM’s scientific expedition to the Forest Reserve today. He is the chairman of the expedition. a total of 80 lecturers and students including from two other universities are taking part in the three-day expedition aimed at studying and recording the flora and fauna within the 881hectare Forest Reserve. The forest grounds also include logged areas and swamp forest , apart from areas planted with rubber and palm oil. Prof. Mazlan said the findings proved that even though the jungle had been studied for the past 40
years, there are still new and surprising things that can still be discovered by the expedition members. The expedition is the second thus far, allowing participants to explore UKM’s natural treasures. Prof. Mazlan called on them to assist in recording new findings in the jungle before it is developed in the future. The first expedition was held almost 40 years ago. “I hope this time around, the findings will be recorded, shared and publicised at seminars and published including as coffee-table books or monographs,” he said. He said scientists taking part in the expedition can continue their research even after the expedition is over. UKM is also ready to assist those needing assistance in their research work. according to previous records, a total of 164 bird species had been recorded in the Forest Reserve besides having valuable trees such as the meranti, jelutung, nyatuh, keruing and kembang semangkuk. Gems from our forest reserve The jungle situated about 40km to the south of Kuala Lumpur was gazetted as the Bangi Forest Reserve in 1906. In the 1970s, the area was handed to UKM to build its campus. In 1993, the Bangi Forest Reserve was gazetted as the university’s green area and was redesignated as UKM’s Permanent Forest Reserve, which has five established routes or pathways. The forest area was later made a part of the knowledge eco-tourism tour or “K-eco Tourism” of UKM. More information can be found at its website www.ukm.my/hutan. The Vice-chancellor, Tan sri Dato’ Wira Dr sharifah Hapsah syed Hasan shahabudin, in her opening speech ahmad. said that the expedition was held in conjunction with the United nations’ “The International Year of Forests 2011” and UKM’s 40th anniversary. Jan - March 2011 l 15 The expedition has four main objectives of looking at the benefits of forest for human wellbeing, improving its value; ensuring good Forest Management Practices and looking at the correlation of forest with daily life, she said in her speech read out by the Dean of FsT, Prof Dr sahrim Hj. she said the Forest Reserve holds around 600 species of flora including ferns, moss, fungus, algae and lichen with about 800 species of mammals, reptiles, amphibians and insects. since 2008, about 3,000 people including those taking part in the eco-tourism tours had visited the Forest Reserve. Editor’s Note: This article first appeared in UKM News Portal
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Two “Lost” Tree Species Found in UKM's Permanent Forest Reserve

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