Bukit_Timah_Singapore

The tropical rainforest that was observed along the trail was a secondary forest. The following characteristics are present in a secondary forest. The trees observed along the trail all have thin tree trunks. This shows that they are all grown quite recently and are quite young, not like those in the primary forest, which have thick tree trunks (Fig 1). There is also thick undergrowth present. Thick undergrowth will be present when there is a break in the canopy. Sunlight will be able to reach the forest floor, allowing plants to thrive, thus creating dense undergrowth. In Fig 2, it can be seen that there is a clearing on the forest floor, and as a result, there is thick undergrowth. In Fig 3, there is also a clearing and thick undergrowth. However, the plants present are different from those in Fig 2. There are plants such as sugarcane planted. These do not belong to the forest, and people planted them there. It can be seen that the piece of land was used for agricultural purposes in the past and men cleared the area of any trees. As there is disturbance and changes made to the forest, it can be considered as a secondary forest. The trees in the forest also had comparatively thinner bark (Fig 4). This suggests that they are quite young, not like primary forest, where the trees there (that are older) have a thicker bark. As the trees grow older, they will comparatively have a thicker bark and thicker trunks. There are remains of wells and bases of houses present in the forest (Fig 5 and 6). This shows that there is human interference to the forest, so the forest seen is a secondary forest, as there are already changes made to the forest, so it is not a primary forest. (i) The Eco-Link is like an overhead bridge, linking between the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and the Central Catchment Nature Reserve, crossing over the Bukit Timah Expressway. Linking the two high points on the opposite slopes, the overhead ecological bridge will be shaped hike an hourglass and planted up like a forest habitat. Measuring 50m at its narrowest point, the Eco-Link will enable animals, birds, and insects to move freely within the vegetated area along the bridge and travel between the two reserves. This will help the plant species to successfully propagate by pollination and dispersal by the animals. A hiking track will also be developed on one side of the bridge as a recreational green belt for visitors to enjoy, and this will serve as an alternative entry to the western part of the Central Catchment Nature Reserve. I think that it will be quite effective in forest conservation. The Bukit Timah Expressway has created an ecological barrier betweent the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and the Central Catchment Nature Reserve. The fragmentation of the habitats has prevented the healthy exchange of genetic materials between the 2 areas, disrupting the delicate balance between the different habitats, Also, studies have shown that the risk of species becoming extinct will increase over time due to the fact that exchange of genetic materials will be broken. The Eco-Link will be able to help solve the problem. The genetic materials will be able to be exchanged, and overtime, the damage that is already done to the 2 habitats can be resolved. This will also prevent the further extinction of other species. In this way, I think that it is quite effective. However, it is also not very effective in some way. The Eco-Link will take quite a long time to be established. When it becomes fully operational, the damage could have already been done, and some of the species of trees and animals could have already become extinct. So in this way, it is not very effective. However, something is definitely better than nothing, and the Eco-Link will be able to help in forest conservation, even it is just the slightest bit. (ii) We can buy less wood and not waste wood. We can also buy wood that has the ‘FSC’ label. Those with the label comes from sustainable forest resources. In this way, we can wipe out illegal logging and thus give us all sustainable forest. Most important of all, we should not waste paper. Just by saving one ton of paper, we essentially save 17 trees. We should use both sides of the paper. Also, we should think properly before we print anything. Printing unnessary stuff wastes a lot of paper. By doing the things stated above, not only we save the forest, but essentially, we save money as well.