Bukit Timah, Singapore
In 1993, the National Institute of Education of Nanyang Technological University
and CTFS, with the collaboration of the Singapore National Parks Board,
established a small Forest Dynamics Plot in Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, the last
remnant forest in Singapore. The isolated patch of forest in which the 2-ha plot
is located provides an excellent opportunity to study the impacts of
fragmentation and isolation on forest dynamics and demographics. Additionally,
because approximately fifty percent of the forest's birds, mammals, and
amphibians have been lost, the site allows researchers to investigate the effect
of faunal loss on the forest. The plot's second census has shown that
recruitment in species that have biotically dispersed seeds - seeds spread by
animals - has been reduced. In addition to answering important biological
questions, the Forest Dynamics Plot is also used by CTFS as a training site for
researchers throughout the region and is located near the CTFS-AA Asia regional
headquarters at the National
Institute of Education.
Bukit Timah FDP Snapshot
Year Initiated: 1993
Census Schedule: 1993, ____, 2003, 2005
Plot Size: 2 ha; currently being expanded to
4 ha
Altitude: 163 m
Rainfall: 2475 mm
Dry Season: 0 months
Number of Species: 383
Number of Trees: 11,400
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