The variety of birds in an agro-modified peat swamp
2004
Ibrahim Jaafar | Ahmad Ismail
The paddy fields of Tanjung Karang Selangor comprising 19,000 ha were originally part of a vast peat swamp forest (PSF) known as Sungai Tengi North Selangor Forest Reserve. It was opened up and converted to paddy fields by Malay and Javanese settlers in the early 1920`s. Initially they planted a single crop of rice per year but by the 1960`s they planting twice a year. The northern and eastern edges of this belt border the Sungai Tengi Forest Reserve. In 1991 and 1992 a survey of the bird species in and around the paddy fields were carried out. The results showed that at least 78 species of birds from 38 families were present in the area. Of these 16 were wetland birds, another 17 species utilized the paddy fields either for feeding or nesting, while the rest were not wholly dependent on the rice monoculture. The presence of 45 other species can be attributed to the existence of village, oil palm estates and the peat swamp forest adjacent to the paddy fields.
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