Saving Bornean Peatlands is a Must For Conservation

Photo by Dukeabruzzi licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

The leading cause of extinction on this planet is loss of habitat. As an ecologist, it pains me to see how frequently this gets ignored. Plants, animals, fungi - literally every organism on this planet needs a place to live. Without habitat, we are forced to pack our flora and fauna into tiny collections in zoos and botanical gardens, completely disembodied from the environment that shaped them into what we know and love today. That’s not to say that zoos and botanical gardens don’t play critically important roles in conservation, however, if we are going to stave off total ecological meltdown, we must also be setting aside swaths of wild lands.

There is no way around it. We cannot have our cake and eat it too. Land conservation must be a priority both at the local and the global scale. Wild spaces support life. They buffer life from storms and minimize the impacts of deadly diseases. Healthy habitats filter the water we drink and, for many people around the globe, provide much of the food we eat. Every one of us can think back to our childhood and remember a favorite stretch of stream, meadow, or forest that has since been gobbled up by a housing development. For me it was a forested stream where I learned to love the natural world. I would spend hours playing in the creek, climbing trees, and capturing bugs to show my parents. Since that time, someone leveled the forest, built a house, and planted a lawn. With that patch of forest went all of the insects, birds, and wildflowers it once supported.

Scenarios like this play out all too often and sadly on a much larger scale than a backyard. Globally, forests have taken the brunt of human development. It is hard to get a sense of the scope of deforestation on a global scale, but the undisputed leaders in deforestation are Brazil and Indonesia. Though the Amazon gets a lot of press, few may truly grasp the gravity of the situation playing out in Southeast Asia.

Deforestation is a clear and present threat throughout tropical Asia. This region is growing both in its economy and population by about 6% every year and this growth has come at great cost to the environment. Indonesia (alongside Brazil) accounts for 55% of the world’s deforestation rates. This is a gut-wrenching statistic because Indonesia alone is home to the most extensive area of intact rainforest in all of Asia. So far, nearly a quarter of Indonesia’s forests have been cleared. It was estimated that by 2010, 2.3 million hectares of peatland forests had been felled and this number shows little signs of slowing. Experts believe that if these rates continue, this area could lose the remainder of its forests by 2056.

Consider the fact that Southeast Asia contains 6 of the world’s 25 biodiversity hotspots and you can begin to imagine the devastating blow that the levelling of these forests can have. Much of this deforestation is done in the name of agriculture, and of that, palm oil and rubber take the cake. Southeast Asia is responsible for producing 86% of the world’s palm oil and 87% of the world’s natural rubber. What’s more, the companies responsible for these plantations are ranked among some of the least sustainable in the world.

Borneo is home to a bewildering array of life. Researchers working there are constantly finding and describing new species, many of which are found nowhere else in the world. Of the roughly 15,000 plant species known from Borneo, botanists estimate that nearly 5,000 (~34%) of them are endemic. This includes some of the more charismatic plant species such as the beloved carnivorous pitcher plants in the genus Nepenthes. Of these, 50 species have been found growing in Borneo, many of which are only known from single mountain tops.

It has been said that nowhere else in the world has the diversity of orchid species found in Borneo. To date, roughly 3,000 species have been described but many, many more await discovery. For example, since 2007, 51 new species of orchid have been found. Borneo is also home to the largest flower in the world, Rafflesia arnoldii. It, along with its relatives, are parasites, living their entire lives inside of tropical vines. These amazing plants only ever emerge when it is time to flower and flower they do! Their superficial resemblance to a rotting carcass goes much deeper than looks alone. These flowers emit a fetid odor that is proportional to their size, earning them the name “carrion flowers.”

Rafflesia arnoldii in all of its glory. Photo by SofianRafflesia licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo by Orchi licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

If deforestation wasn’t enough of a threat to these botanical treasures, poachers are having considerable impacts on Bornean botany. The illegal wildlife trade throughout southeast Asia gets a lot of media attention and rightfully so. At the same time, however, the illegal trade of ornamental and medicinal plants has gone largely unnoticed. Much of this is fueled by demands in China and Vietnam for plants considered medicinally valuable. At this point in time, we simply don’t know the extent to which poaching is harming plant populations. One survey found 347 different orchid species were being traded illegally across borders, many of which were considered threatened or endangered. Ever-shrinking forested areas only exacerbate the issue of plant poaching. It is the law of diminishing returns time and time again.

Photo by Orchi licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

But to lump all Bornean forests under the general label of “rainforest” is a bit misleading. Borneo has multitude of forest types and one of the most globally important of these are the peatland forests. Peatlands are vital areas of carbon storage for this planet because they are the result of a lack of decay. Whereas leaves and twigs quickly breakdown in most rainforest situations, plant debris never quite makes it that far in a peatland. Plant materials that fall into a peatland stick around and build up over hundreds and thousands of years. As such, an extremely thick layer of peat is formed. In some areas, this layer can be as much as 20 meters deep! All the carbon tied up in the undecayed plant matter is carbon that isn’t finding its way back into our atmosphere.

Sadly, tropical peatlands like those found in Borneo are facing a multitude of threats. In Indonesia alone, draining, burning, and farming (especially for palm oil) have led to the destruction of 1 million hectares (20%) of peatland habitat in only a single decade. The fires themselves are especially worrisome. For instance, it was estimated that fires set between 1997-1998 and 2002-2003 in order to clear the land for palm oil plantations released 200 million to 1 billion tonnes of carbon into our atmosphere. Considering that 60% of the world’s tropical peatlands are found in the Indo-Malayan region, these numbers are troubling.

The peatlands of Borneo are totally unlike peatlands elsewhere in the world. Instead of mosses, gramminoids, and shrubs, these tropical peatlands are covered in forests. Massive dipterocarp trees dominate the landscape, growing on a spongey mat of peat. What’s more, no water flows into these habitats. They are fed entirely by rain. The spongey nature of the peat mat holds onto water well into the dry season, providing clean, filtered water where it otherwise wouldn’t be available.

Photo by JeremiahsCPs licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

This lack of decay coupled with their extremely acidic nature and near complete saturation makes peat lands difficult places for survival. Still, life has found a way, and Borneo’s peatlands are home to a staggering diversity of plant life. They are so diverse, in fact, that when I asked Dr. Craig Costion, a plant conservation officer for the Rainforest Trust, for something approaching a plant list for an area of peatland known as Rungan River region, he replied:

“Certainly not nor would there ever be one in the conceivable future given the sheer size of the property and the level of diversity in Borneo. There can be as many as a 100 species per acre of trees in Borneo... Certainly a high percentage of the species would only be able to be assigned to a genus then sit in an herbarium for decades until someone describes them.”

And that is quite remarkable when you think about it. When you consider that the Rungan River property is approximately 385,000 acres, the number of plant species to consider quickly becomes overwhelming. To put that in perspective, there are only about 500 tree species native to the whole of Europe! And that’s just considering the trees. Borneo’s peatlands are home to myriad plant species from liverworts, mosses, and ferns, to countless flowering plants like orchids and others. We simply do not know what kind of diversity places like Borneo hold. One could easily spend a week in a place like the Rungan River and walk away with dozens of plant species completely new to science. Losing a tract of forest in such a biodiverse region is a huge blow to global biodiversity.

Nepenthes ampullaria relies on decaying plant material within its pitcher for its nutrient needs. Photo by en:User:NepGrower licensed under Public Domain

Also, consider that all this plant diversity is supporting even more animal diversity. For instance, the high diversity of fruit trees in this region support a population of over 2,000 Bornean orangutans. That is nearly 4% of the entire global population of these great apes. They aren’t alone either, the forested peatlands of Borneo are home to species such as the critically endangered Bornean white-bearded gibbon, the proboscis monkey, the rare flat-headed cat, and the oddly named otter civet. All these animals and more rely on the habitat provided by these forests. Without forests, these animals are no more.

The flat-headed cat, an endemic of Borneo. Photo by Jim Sanderson licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

At this point, many of you may be feeling quite depressed. I know how easy it is to feel like there is nothing you can do to help. Well, what if I told you that there is something you can do right now to save a 385,000 acre chunk of peatland rainforest? That’s right, by heading over to the Rainforest Trust’s website (https://www.rainforesttrust.org/project/saving-stronghold-critically-endangered-bornean-orangutan/) you can donate to their campaign to buy up and protect the Rungan River forest tract.

Click on the logo to learn more!

By donating to the Rainforest Trust, you are doing your part in protecting biodiversity in one of the most biodiverse regions in the world. What’s more, you can rest assured that your money is being used effectively. The Rainforest Trust consistently ranks as one of the top environmental protection charities in the world. Over their nearly three decades of operation, the Rainforest Trust has protected more than 15.7 million acres of land in over 20 countries. Like I said in the beginning, habitat loss is the leading cause of extinction on this planet. Without habitat, we have nothing. Plants are that habitat and by supporting organizations such as the Rainforest Trust, you are doing your part to fight the biggest threats our planet faces. 

Further Reading: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]

Photo Credits: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]

Dipterocarp Forests

Photo by michel candel licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Spend any amount of time reading about tropical forests and you are destined to come across mention of dipterocarp forests. If you're anything like me, your initial thought might have been something along the lines of "what the heck does that mean?" Does it describe some sort of structural aspect of the forest, or perhaps a climatic component? To my surprise, dipterocarp forests refer to any forest in which the dominant species of trees are members of the family Dipterocarpaceae. Thus, I was introduced to a group of plants entirely new to me!

The family Dipterocarpaceae comprises 16 genera and roughly 700 species. Its members can be found throughout the tropical regions of the world, though they hit their greatest numbers in the forests of southeast Asia and specifically Borneo. As far as habit is concerned, the dipterocarps are largely arborescent, ranging in size from intermediate shrubs to towering, emergent canopy trees. If you have watched a documentary on or been to a tropical forest, it is very likely that you have seen at least one species of dipterocarp.

Photo by Mike Prince licensed under CC BY 2.0

The dipterocarps have a long evolutionary history that stretches back to the supercontinent of Gondwana. As this massive landmass proceeded to break apart, the early ancestors of this group were carried along with them. Today we can find members of this family in tropical regions of South America, Africa, and Asia. Taxonomically speaking, the family is further divided into three sub families that, to some degree, reflect this distribution.  The subfamily Monotoideae is found in Africa and Colombia, the subfamily Pakaraimoideae is found in Guyana, and the subfamily Dipterocarpoideae is found in Asia.

Biologically, the dipterocarps are quite fascinating. Some species can grow quite large. Three genera - Dryobalanops, Hopea, and Shorea - regularly produce trees of over 80 meters (260 feet) in height. The world record for dipterocarps belongs to an individual of Shorea faguetiana, which stands a whopping 93 meters (305 feet) tall! That's not to say all species are giants. Many dipterocarps live out their entire lives in the forest understory.

Dipterocarpus retusus. Public Domain

For species growing in seasonal environments, flowering occurs annually or nearly so. Also, for dipterocarps that experience regular dry seasons, deciduousness is a common trait. For those growing in non-seasonal environments, however, flowering is more irregular and leaves are largely evergreen. Some species will flower once every 3 to 5 years whereas others will flower once every decade or so. In such cases, flowering occurs en masse, with entire swaths of forest bursting into bloom all at once. These mast years often lead to similar aged trees that all established in the same year. Though more work needs to be done on this, it is thought that various bee species comprise the bulk of the dipterocarp pollinator guild. 

Ecologically speaking, one simply cannot overstate the importance of this family. Wherever they occur, dipterocarps often form the backbone of the forest ecosystem. Their number and biomass alone is worth noting, however, these trees also provide fruits, pollen, nectar, and habitat for myriad forms of life. The larger dipterocarps are often considered climax species, meaning that they dominate in regions made up of mostly primary forest. For the most part, these trees are able to take advantage of more successional habitats, however, this has been shown to be severely limited by the availability of localized seed sources. 

Since we are on the topic of regeneration, a conversation about dipterocarps would not be complete if we didn't touch on logging. These trees are massive components of tropical economies. Their wood is highly coveted for a a variety of uses I won't go into here. The point is that, on a global scale, dipterocarp forests have taken a huge hit. Many species within this family are now threatened with extinction. Logging, both legal and illegal, specifically aimed at dipterocarps, has seen the destruction of millions of acres of old growth dipterocarp forests. With them goes all of the life that they support.

It's not enough to protect individual species. We need to rally behind whole ecosystem protection. Without it, we literally have nothing. Luckily there are groups like the Center For International Forestry Research and the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia that are working hard on research, conservation, and improved forestry standards in an effort to ease up on the detrimental practices currently in place. Still, these efforts are not enough either. Without the care, concern, and most important, the funding from folks like us, little can be done to stop the tide. That is why supporting land conservation agencies is one of the most powerful things we can do for this planet and for each other. 

Some great land conservation organizations worth supporting:

The Rainforest Trust - https://www.rainforesttrust.org/

The Nature Conservancy - http://bit.ly/2B0hFm

The Rainforest Alliance - https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/

Photo Credits: [1] [2] [3] [4]

urther Reading: [1]

The Longleaf Pine: A Champion of the Coastal Plain

As far as habitat types are concerned, the longleaf pine savannas of southeastern North America are some of the most stunning. What's more, they are also a major part of one of the world's great biodiversity hotspots. Sadly, they are disappearing fast. Agriculture and other forms of development are gobbling up the southeast coastal plain at a bewildering rate. For far too long we have ignored, or at the very least, misunderstood these habitats. Today I would like to give a brief introduction to the longleaf pine and the habitat it creates.

The longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) is an impressive species. Capable of reaching heights of 100 feet or more, it towers over a landscape that boggles the mind. It is a landscape born of fire, of which the long leaf pine is supremely adapted to dealing with. These pines start out life quite differently than other pines. Seedlings do not immediately reach for the canopy. Instead, young long leaf pines spend their first few years looking more like a grass than a tree. Lasting anywhere between 5 to 12 years, the grass stage of development gives the young tree a chance to save up energy before it makes any attempt at vertical growth. 

The reason for this is fire. If young long leaf pines were to start their canopy race immediately, they would very likely be burned to death before they grew big enough to escape the harmful effects of fire. Instead, the sensitive growing tip is safely tucked away in the dense needle clusters. If a fire burns through the area only the tips of the needles will be scorched, leaving the rest of the tree safe and sound. During this stage, the tree is busy putting down an impressive root system. The taproot alone can reach depths of 6 to 9 feet!

Once a hardy root system has been formed and enough energy has been acquired, young longleaf pines go through a serious growth spurt. Starting in later winter or early spring, the grass-like tuft will put up a white growth tip called a candle. This tip shoots upwards quite rapidly, growing a few feet in only a couple of months. This is sometimes referred to as the bottlebrush phase because no horizontal branches are formed during this time. The goal at this point is to get the sensitive growing tip as far away from the ground as possible so as to avoid damaging fires. It is fun to encounter long leaf pines at this stage because like any young adult, they look a bit awkward.

Photo Credit: Woodlot - Wikimedia Commons

Once the tree reaches about 6 to 10 feet in height, it will finally begin to produce horizontal branches. This doesn't stop its canopy bid, however, as it still will put on upwards of 3 feet of vertical growth each year! Every year its bark grows thicker and thicker, thus each year it becomes more and more resistant to fire. Far from being a force to cope with, fire unwittingly gives longleaf pines a helping hand by clearing the habitat of potential competitors that are less adapted to dealing with burns. After about 30 years of growth, longleaf pines reach maturity and will start to produce fertile cones.

Before European settlement, longleaf pine savanna covered roughly 90,000,000 acres of southeastern North America. Clearing and development have reduced that to a mere 5% of its former glory. For far too long its coastal plain habitat was thought to be a flat, monotonous region created by early human burning in the last few thousand years. We now know how untrue those assumptions are. Sure, the region is flat but it is anything but monotonous. Additionally, the coastal plain is one of the most lightning prone regions in North America. Fires would have been a regular occurrence long before any humans ever got there. 

View fullsize

Red indicates forest loss between 2011 and 2014. http://glad.umd.edu/gladmaps

Evidence suggests that this coastal plain habitat has remained relatively stable for the last 62,000 years. As such, it is full of unique species. Surveys of the southeastern coastal plain have revealed multiple centers of plant endemism, rivaled in North America only by the southern Appalachian Mountains. In fact, taken together, the coastal plain forests are widely considered one of the world's biodiversity hotspots! Of the 62,000 vascular plants found in these forests, 1,816 species (29.3%) are endemic. Its not just plants either. Roughly 1,400 species of fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals rely on the coast plain forests for survival.

Luckily, we are starting to wake up to the fact that we are losing one of the world's great biodiversity hotspots. Efforts are being put forth in order to conserve and restore at least some of what has been lost. Still, the forests of southeastern North America are disappearing at an alarming rate. Despite comprising only 2% of the world's forest cover, the southern forests are being harvested to supply 12% of the world's wood products. This is simply not sustainable. If nothing is done to slow this progress, the world stands to lose yet another biodiversity hotspot. 

If this sounds as bad to you as it does to me then you probably want to do something. Please check out what organizations such as The Longleaf Alliance, Partnership For Southern Forestland Conservation, The Nature Conservancy, and The National Wildlife Federation are doing to protect this amazing region. Simply click the name of the organization to find out more.

Further Reading: [1] [2] [3] [4] 

The Truth About Coffee

Photo by Ria Tan licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Mmm mmm coffee. This wonderful elixir has taken over the world. Though individual tastes and preferences vary, there is no denying that most folks who turn to coffee enjoy its effects as a stimulant. Many an In Defense of Plants post has been written in a coffee-fueled frenzy. Even as I write this piece, I am taking breaks to sip on a warm mug of the stuff. Coffee has plenty of proponents as well as its fair share of nay sayers but the health effects don't really concern me much. Today I would rather talk with you about the shrubs that are behind all of this. 

The coffee we drink comes from a handful of shrubs in the genus Coffea. Native to parts of Africa, these shrubs are distant relatives of plants like buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) and the bedstraws (Galium sp.). The "beans" that we brew coffee from are not beans at all but rather a type of pit or stone found in the center of a bright red berry. Before they are roasted, the "beans" are actually green. Plants in this genus produce an alkaloid compound known as caffeine. Though it may seem strange, the purpose of caffeine is not to stimulate the human nervous system (though it is a wonderful side effect) but rather it is produced as a defense mechanism for the plant. Making this compound is a complex process that involves many metabolic steps within the tissues of the plant. There are certain factions out there who would like to argue that this is proof against evolution but, as always, evidence seems to be the downfall of their argument. 

Creationists will tell you that the adaptations we see throughout the living world are too complex to have happened by accident. In reality, there is a vast amount of evidence that disputes this. Caffeine is one such example. It has evolved independently multiple times in many different plant lineages. Looking at the genome of coffee, researchers at the University at Buffalo (my alma mater) found that the genes involved in the synthesis of caffeine did not arise all at once. Instead, the genes duplicated multiple times throughout the history of this genus with each duplication coding for another step in the process of producing the caffeine molecule. The interesting part is that each step of this evolutionary process produced a chemical that was itself useful to the plant. The precursor compounds are bitter and toxic to the kinds of animals that like to nibble on the plant. 

As it turns out, the benefits that the plants get from caffeine aren't restricted to defense either. Coffee, as well as other flowering plants such as citrus, produce small amounts of caffeine in their nectar. Researchers at Arizona State University found that bees were 3 times more likely to remember a flowers scent when there was caffeine in the nectar than if there wasn't. This serves a great benefit to the plant producing it because it means that its flowers are much more likely to get pollinated. As it turns out, humans aren't the only species that enjoys a good buzz from caffeine.

Before we get too excited over coffee, we must remember that is definitely has its downside. Worldwide, we humans drink roughly 2.25 billion cups of the stuff every day. In order to produce that much coffee, humans have turned somewhere around 11 million hectares of land into coffee plantations. This has come at an extreme cost to the environment. Also, being a tropical species, the types of habitat used to grow coffee were once lush, tropical rain forests. A majority of coffee consumed around the world is produced in monocultures. Where there once stood towering trees and a lush understory is now an open, chemically-laden field of coffee shrubs. There is hope, however, and it is rising in popularity. 

If you enjoy coffee as much as I do, you should certainly consider switching over to shade grown coffee. I have attached a fair amount of literature at the bottom of this post but the long story short of it is that growing coffee is much less harmful to the environment when it is grown in a forest rather than open plantations. The structural complexity of shade grown coffee farms allows a greater diversity of plant and animal species to coexist with one another. Species diversity and richness are significantly higher on shade grown farms than on open field plantations. 

So, there you have it. Coffee is as complex as it is interesting. We humans are simply lucky to have stumbled across a plant that interacts with our brain chemistry in wonderful ways. Certainly coffee has benefitted in the long run. 

Photo Credit: Ria Tan (http://bit.ly/1pFQD1J)

Further Reading:
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/345/6201/1181.full

https://asunews.asu.edu/20130307_beesandcaffeine

http://s.si.edu/1o6wOaj

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120807101357.htm

http://bit.ly/1S6dLVV

Is it a pine? Is it an apple? It's neither!

Photo by Fractalux Public Domain

Pineapples - the fruit that is neither a pine nor an apple. In reality, pineapples are a type of bromeliad. The genus to which they belong, Ananas, is comprised of something like 7 different species, all of which are native to Central and South America. Considering we rarely encounter these plants outside of a grocery store, it is no wonder then that many are surprised to realize how pineapples grow.

Photo by H. Zell licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

The fruit itself is not the entire plant. It is made up of many fruits that fuse together after flowering. The flowers themselves are quite lovely and originate from the center of the hexagonal units that make up the tough rind. The whole inflorescence arises from the center of a large rosette of leaves. Only when you see the entire plant does the bromeliad affinity become apparent. Like all other bromeliads, pineapples undergo vegetative reproduction as well. Small offshoots called "pups" arise from the base of the plant and the axils of the leaves. These can take root and grow into clones of the parent plant.

In the wild, pineapples require pollination to set seed. This is undesirable in cultivation because pollination means lots of seeds that consumers don't want to contend with. Because of this, pineapples are gassed with ethylene, the simplest of plant hormones. Ethylene causes the fruits to artificially ripen without being pollinated. In this way, no ovules mature into seeds.

Photo by hiroo yamagata licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

The dirty little secret about pineapple farming is that it is done at great environmental cost. The dominant producer of pineapples is Costa Rica. Because of the humid, tropical climate, insects and fungi flourish. In order to ensure that production is maximized, pineapple farmers dump thousands of gallons of pesticides and herbicides onto their crops. These farms are largely void of all other lifeforms save for endless hectares of pineapples. This, however, is not a story unique to pineapple farming. The same could be said for all other forms of monoculture farming.

Photo Credits: Fractalux, H. Zell, and hiyori13 - Wikimedia Commons

Further Reading:

http://www.kew.org/science-conservation/plants-fungi/ananas-comosus-pineapple

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2010/oct/02/truth-about-pineapple-production