| Baluran National Park | |
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IUCN Category II (National Park)
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1247-m-high andesitic volcano Baluran |
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Baluran NP
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| Location | East Java, Indonesia |
| Nearest city | Situbondo |
| Area | 250 km² |
| Established | 1980 |
| Visitors | 10,192 (in 2007[1]) |
| Governing body | Ministry of Forestry |
Baluran National Park is located in East Java, Indonesia. It has a relatively dry climate and consists of lowland forests, savanna, mangrove forests and hills, with Mount Baluran (1,247m) as its highest peak.
Baluran National Park is situated at the north-eastern extremity of Java, close to the islands of Bali and Madura. The park is bordered by the Madura Strait to the north, the Bali Strait to the east, the river Bajulmati (Wonorejo village) to the west and the river Klokoran (Sumberanyar village) to the south. The park is a rough circle, with the extinct volcano, Baluran, at its centre. Its total area is 25,000 ha.[2] It consists of five zones: the Main Zone (12,000 ha), the Wilderness Zone (5,537 ha, comprising 1,063 ha water and 4,574 ha land), the Intensive Utilization Zone (800 ha), the Specific Utilization Zone (5,780 ha) and the Rehabilitation Zone (783 ha).[3]
The park is dominated by forest and savanna vegetation. The coastline is formed by irregular peninsulas and bays. Near the coast are living coral areas, sandbanks, and mudflats. The peninsulas are covered with mangroves, while other parts of the coastline are covered with swamp forest. The volcano is covered with lowland and upland monsoon forest.
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Around 1928, Dutch hunter A.H. Loedeboer had a plantation concession area in Labuhan Merak and Gunung Mesigit. He noticed that Baluran has an important role in large herbivore conservation. In 1930, K.W. Dammerman, director of Bogor Botanical Garden, proposed that Baluran should become a protected forest. On 25 September 1937 the Governor General of the Dutch East Indies established Baluran as a Wildlife Preservation Area. It was re-established as such by the Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs on 11 May 1962. On 6 March 1980, on the occasion of the World Strategic Conservation Day, it was declared a National Park by the Minister of Agriculture.
Baluran National Park has a typical monsoon climate with a long dry season. It is of type F in the Schmidt and Ferguson system of climate classification. The temperature varies between 27,2°C and 30,9°C, humidity averages 77%, wind velocity averages 7 knots and the wind direction is influenced by a strong south-east wind. The rainy season lasts from November to April and the dry season from April to October. The highest rainfall is in December and January, subject to global conditions.
Most of the soils in the national park are volcanic, derived from weathered basalt, volcanic ash, and intermediary volcanic rock. These soils are rich in minerals but poor in organic material, and have high chemical but low physical fertility. Most of these soils are very porous and do not retain water well. Black soils, on which most of the savannas are found, are highly erodible and very muddy in wet seasons, but form deep cracks (a few centimetres wide and sometimes more than 80 cm deep) in dry seasons. Many stream beds only contain water in the wet season, because much water seeps through the very porous volcanic soils until it reaches the hardened underground lava streams.
Marine soils are limited to some areas near the coast on the salt flats and in the mangrove swamps.
Baluran National Park has a radial water system. The Kacip river flows from the caldera to Labuhan Merak beach. The Klokoran and Bajulmati rivers form the western and southern borders of the park. Many stream beds form in the short wet season, but the water is absorbed in great quantity by the very porous volcanic ash, and after it reaches the hardened underground lava it comes to the surface in form of springs in coastal areas (Popongan, Kelor, Bama, Mesigit, Bilik, Gatel, Semiang and Kepuh), in downhill areas (Talpat spring), in Air Tawar Bay and on the Sedano peninsula. In wet seasons the black soils are least permeable, and water then flows on the surface, forming many pools, particularly in the southern area from Talpat to Bama. In the long dry periods, those pools are often dry.
Baluran National Park is often referred to as a microcosm of Indonesian vegetation types because almost all kinds of Indonesian vegetation can be found here. This includes mountainous rain forest on Mount Baluran, lowland monsoon forest, coastal forest, sea grass, and coral reefs, as well as the savannah that covers about 40% of the national park.
Coastal Baluran consists of black sand, small black coast stone, or rock bevel, depending on the area. The coastal vegetation is formed of Barringtonia, which grows between Pandean and Tanjung Candibang and in Labuhan Merak, Pandanus tectorius in Tanjung Bendi, Pemphis acidula in Air Karang, Acrophora, Porites lutea, Serioptophora histerix and Stylophora species.
Mangrove forests are present on the north coast and eastern parts of the national park, in Bilik, Lambuyan, Mesigit, Tanjung Sedano and in Kelor. Short mangrove, which grows best on mud substrate, is found in Kelor and Bilik, including Avicennia, Sonneratia, Rhizophora species, Ceriops tagal and Rhizophora apiculata. Saline bog is found in North Pandean, Mesigit, Westside Room and some other places. Some small trees that grows here are Avicennia species and Lumnitzera racemosa with no lower plant.
Brackish forest attracts few wild animals because of the lack of fresh water. The biggest brackish forest in the park is on the south-eastern side of Sungai Kepuh; there are smaller areas in Popongan, Kelor, east Bama and north-west Gatal. The vegetation here is Excoecaria agallocha, Syzygium polyanthum, and Buchanania arborescens.
Savannas are subject to regular wildfires and the ecosystem appears to be the result of human use of fire. There are two types of savanna in the park: flat savanna and surging savanna. The flat savanna grows on young stony alluvial terrain over an area of around 1,500 – 2,000 ha in the south-east, around Plalangan and Beko. Dominant grasses in this area are Dichantium caricasum, Heteropogon contortus and Sorghum nitidum. Trees include Acacia leucophloea and Schleichera oleosa.
Surging savannah grows above big rocky black land, over an area of ca. 6,000 ha in the north and north-east. Here there are grazing animals such as banteng, water buffalo and Javan rusa. Dominant grasses are Dichantium caricasum, Sclerachne punctata and Sorghum nitidum. Trees are Schleichera oleosa, Acacia leucophloea, and Zizyphus rotundifolia. The savanna always changes, as result of combustion, logging and shepherding by people around the forest; this takes place gradually. Change has also been caused by the invasive Acacia nilotica, originally introduced as a fire breaker. Acacia nilotica has spread over most of the Bekol savanna, the Curah Udang savanna and a small part of the Kramat savanna and Balanan.
Located around Mount Baluran up to 1200m above sea level is the most virgin forest in Baluran, because of the difficulty of human access. From there, plentiful spring water is available for wildlife – needed especially during a long dry season.
There are two monsoon forest types in Baluran: lowland monsoon forest and mountainous monsoon forest. Lowland monsoon forest covers around 1500 ha of the Baluran area, bordered by plantation forest, evergreen forest, and savannah at Bekol Kramat. Its trees include: Zizyphus rotundifolia, Emblica officinalis, Aleucophloea species, Tamarindus indica, Schoutenia ovata, Azadirachta indica, Acacia tomentosa, Talok Grewia eriocarpa and Schleichera oleosa.
Mountainous monsoon forest occurs on Mount Baluran, Mount Klosot and Pot Mount. Its trees are: candlenut (Aleurites moluccana), Emblica officinalis, Homalium foetidum, Vitex pubescens, Dryopetes ovalis, and Casia fistula.
Sea grasses of Baluran occur on beaches where the waves are fewest, including Bama beach, Kajang beach, Balanan beach, Lempuyang beach and westward to Bilik-Sijile beach and Air Tawar beach. Sea grasses provide habitat for Milkfish, squid and other marine species. Fishing often occurs in the area.
Coral reefs are found along Bama, Lempuyang, Bilik-Sijile, Air Karang, Kajang, Balanan and Kalitopo beaches. Baluran's coral reef includes edge corals of varying widths, at depths ranging from 0.5 to 40 meters. Coral species include Acropora Branching, Acropora Encrusting, Acropora Tubulate and Mushroom Corals.
The park is host to 26 species of mammal and 155 bird species.[4] Endangered fauna protected in this park include: banteng, dhole, green peafowl and fishing cat.
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