SSS 1207 The Natural Heritage of Singapore

Lecture Topics

Coastal
Vegetation

References
Coastal vegetation

Lecture 10

Mangrove forest

Dr Amy Choong

Beach vegetation

The future
Summary

References

Singapores Coastal Vegetation

Chapter 5 of main textbook

Sivasothi, S. and P.K.L. Ng (editors), 1999. A Guide to the

Mangroves of Singapore, Vols. 1 and 2. Singapore Science
Centre, Singapore. QH541.5 Man.Gu 1 and QH541.5 Man.Gu 2

Coastal vegetation
Types of coastal vegetation
Animals of coastal vegetation
Economic value

Coastal Vegetation

Types of Coastal Vegetation

in Singapore

Coastal vegetation = Vegetation that grows on land at the edge of the sea
Sandy beach vegetation and mangrove forest
at Chek Jawa, Pulau Ubin, at high tide

Mangrove Forest

Mangrove forest
Sandy beach vegetation
Rocky shore or cliff vegetation

Mangrove Forest

Mangrove forest is one of the most dangerous of habitats!

Mangrove forest = mangal = Tropical or subtropical, intertidal
saltwater community dominated by tree and shrub species, especially
such as bakau (Rhizophora species)
Community = The interacting populations of species (single-species
groupings) of all the animal and plant species at a specific area

Tropic of
Cancer
Tropic of
Capricorn

Mangrove Forest Areas of the World

Mangrove Forest at Chek Jawa

Mangrove Forest at Pulau Tekong

Mangrove Forest at Lim Chu Kang

Mangrove Forest at Sungei Khatib Bongsu

Sungei Khatib Bongsu

Status of Singapores Mangrove Forests 1

Coasts in primeval Singapore

Status of Singapores Mangrove Forests 2

Mostly fringed by mangrove forest (13% of Singapore Island; 7,500 ha)

Beaches with beach vegetation
Cliffs and rocky headlands and their vegetation
Mouths of sluggish streams and rivers

Status of Singapores Mangrove Forests 3

Present-day mangrove forest

Only about 659 ha presently (see: Yee, A.T.K., W.F. Ang, S. Teo, S.C. Liew and H.T.W.
Tan., 2010. The present extent of mangrove forests in Singapore. Nature in Singapore, 3:
139145. http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/nis/bulletin2010/2010nis139-145.pdf)
Isolated patches and narrow strips

Status of Singapores Mangrove Forests 4

Room for optimism (continued)

Room for optimism

Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve set up in 1989 (131.4
ha) = Nature Reserve (new extension totals 202 ha)
Mangrove patch in Pasir Ris Park (20 ha of mangrove
forest) = Park

Malaysians not building crooked bridge to replace causeway so

no water currents to wash away sediments of mangrove forest
patches protruding into Straits of Johore
Public awareness of value of mangrove forest
Sungei Buloh mangrove forest

Kranji
mangrove
forest

Pasir Ris
Park
Mangrove
Patch

International Coastal Cleanup, Singapore

celebrated its 20th year on 17 Sep 2011!
http://coastalcleanup.nus.edu.sg/

Mangrove Forest Environment 1

Intertidal zone = Between the high-tide to low-tide levels of the
shore
Mangrove forest zone = Between the high-tide to the mid-tide
levels on sheltered, muddy shores or rivermouths where there is
fine sediment deposits
What do you think will happen to
mangrove forest with sea level
rise through climate change?

Mangrove Forest Environment 2

Salinity varies with time of day, depending on
the tides (from 35 to less) seawater is
physiologically dry
Substrate is anaerobic, unstable
Wave action and strong winds during storms
Rainfall, humidity, insolation, temperatures,
etc., like other tropical forest types
low tide

unstable substrate

high tide level

high tide

mid-tide level
low tide level

mangrove
forest zone
intertidal zone

Mangrove Plant Adaptations

To cope with high salinity
To cope with unstable substrate
To cope with anaerobic substrate

Adaptations for High Salinity

Salt secretion
Uptake salt
Pump out
through glands
api api, sea
holly

Salt
ultrafiltration

NUS undergraduates stuck in

mangrove mud!
NUS professor looking cool
in mangrove forest

Exclude salt at
point of uptake
bakau,
Bruguiera,
Lumnitzera,
perepat

salt
crystals

Adaptations for Unstable Substrate 1

Modified
roots
Prop or
stilt roots
bakau

prop roots

stilt roots

Plank root
nyireh,
dungun

plank root of nyireh

Adaptations for Unstable Substrate 2

Vivipary
Ordinary
bakau family
members

Cryptovivipary
api api,
kacangkacang, nipah
palm

Nyireh (Xylocarpus)

Adaptations for Anaerobic Substrate

Singapore Mangrove Plant Types

Major component Minor component Mangrove
species
species
associates

Breathing roots
Pencil/cone roots
api api, perepat

Kneed roots
Bruguiera
species, tengar

Occur only in mangrove forest

May occur outside mangrove

forest in other habitats

Occur outside mangrove forest

in other habitats

Play a major role in the

mangrove ecosystem

Play a more minor role in the

mangrove ecosystem

Play a minor role in the

mangrove ecosystem

Often form pure stands* in

mangrove forest

Rarely form pure stands* in

mangrove forest

Rarely form pure stands* in

mangrove forest

Possess morphological and

physiological adaptations for
the mangrove environment

May not possess

morphological and
physiological adaptations for
the mangrove environment

May not possess

morphological and
physiological adaptations for
the mangrove environment

Taxonomically isolated from

their closest relatives

Less taxonomically isolated

Not taxonomically isolated

21 species

9 species

Several species

Plank roots
nyireh, dungun

Prop or stilt
roots
bakau

wavy plank
root of nyireh

Seashore
Pandanus

straight plank
root of nonmangrove
plant

* Pure stand = Group of trees at a site consisting of only one species

Singapore Mangrove Plant Types

bakau (major
component)

piai raya (minor

component)

sea hibiscus
(mangrove associate)

 Bruguiera hainesii
rare in Singapore, with only a few known
specimens; one at Pasir Ris, one at Kranji
Nature Trail and two at Pulau Ubin.
Bruguiera sexangula
two on Pulau Tekong, and two at Sungei
Buloh and it is being replanted at Chek Jawa,
Pulau Ubin and at Pasir Ris Park.

Sandy Beach 1

Sandy Beach 1

Sandy beach the worlds most enjoyable holiday habitat!

Sandy beach = Coast which consists of sands (such as quartz grains),

usually between two rocky headlands
sandy beach

rocky headlands

beach

sea

headland
sea
Ipanema Beach, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

current

headland
current

sea

Sandy Beach 2

Sandy beaches undergo

Erosion
Accretion
Continual cycle of erosion-accretion, depending on prevailing sea currents

Key concepts
Know the different forest types, their
characteristics,
Key flora and fauna, often repeated during
lectures
Videos

Sep 1994
Sep 1995

Sandy Beaches in Singapore

Sandy Beaches of Singapores Past

Sandy beaches in
primeval
Singapore
Longest from
Tanjong Ru to
Changi Point
Southern side
of Sentosa

Present day
natural beaches
Few left,
mostly
reclaimed
Pulau Ubin,
Pulau Tekong,
Changi Beach,
etc.

Pasir Panjang, 1911 (now reclaimed)

Pasir Ris Beach, 1940

Present day
artificial beaches
East Coast
Park, Pasir Ris,
etc.
Pulau Seletar,
Pulau
Serangoon, etc.

Tanjong Rhu, 1900

present day sandy beach
primeval sandy beach
sandy beach of past and present

Changi Beach, 1962

Present Day Natural Sandy Beaches

Present Day Natural Sandy Beaches

Kampong Wak Hassan Beach,

Sembawang Park

Changi Beach

Kampong Noordin Beach, Pulau

Ubin

Sandy Beach Environmental Conditions

Like reclaimed
lands conditions,
since reclamation
is at the coastline
High light
intensity
High wind speeds
High maximum
temperatures
Low relative
humidity
Salt spray
physiological
dryness

Beach Vegetation Succession

Ecological succession = Process of
continuous, uni-directional change in the
vegetation (Revision)
2 stages
Pes-caprae association (after the seashore
morning glory, Ipomoea pes-caprae)
Starts on bare ground (on accreting beaches)
Non-woody (herbaceous) plants (herbs, trailers)

Flag trees

Barringtonia association (after the sea putat,

Barringtonia asiatica)
Succeeds pes-caprae association
Woody plants (shrubs, trees, epiphytes)

Seashore Morning Glory

Sea Putat

Ipomoea pes-caprae; pes-caprae = goats foot

explosive fruit
fruit
waterdispersed
seeds

water-dispersed
fruit

bat-pollinated flower

Singapores Rocky Shore or Cliff Vegetation

Cliffs and rocky shores were rare in primeval Singapore
Even rarer today through reclamation or development

Cliff or Rocky Shore Environmental Conditions

More extreme than
those for the sandy
beach
Hot rocks day and
night
Little or no soil
Strong wave action
Landslides

High light intensity

High wind speeds
High maximum
temperatures
Low relative humidity
Salt spray
Physiological dryness

Cliffs and rocky shore at

Pulau Tekukor

Cliffs and Rocky Shores of Singapore

Below Fort
Siloso, Sentosa

Cliffs and Rocky Shore at Pulau Tekukor

Pulau Biola

St. Johns Island

Lazarus Island

Cliffs and Rocky Shores at Pulau Salu

Cliff or Rocky Shore Plants

Have to be species that can tolerate these harsh conditions
Thus a very small subset of Singapores flora
Some examples

mentigi
superb fig
sea purselane
pelir musang
sea teak

Animals of Coastal Vegetation

Have to be able to cope with the
harsh conditions, salinity
Similar animals in mangrove forest,
sandy beaches and rocky shores or
cliffs
Dependant on plants for food and
shelter
Types

Molluscs

telescope shell
red berry snail
mangrove slug
mangrove periwinkle
common nerite

Molluscs
Crabs
Mud lobster
Fishes
Reptiles

Crabs
face-banded sesarmine
tree-climbing crab
fiddler crab

Mud Lobster
Makes mud lobster mounds in mangrove forest that changes
the habitat significantly a keystone species
Animals which live in or forage in and round the mud
lobster mounds

ant
mound crab
mud shrimp
file snake

Fishes

Reptiles

Adapted to changing salinity of the

habitat
Examples
Archer fish
Mudskipper

Versatile, terrestrial
and aquatic habits
Examples
water monitor
dog-faced water
snake
estuarine crocodile

Dugong

Economic Values of Coastal Vegetation 1

Direct values (products which are consumed by their use;
Singapores earlier days)

Carcass found in June 2006,

Pulau Tekong

Timber
Fuelwood and charcoal (especially from bakau)
Wood for chipboard
Tannins and dyes

Charcoal kiln

Bakau piles

Economic Values of Coastal Vegetation 2

Economic Values of Coastal Vegetation 3

Direct values (products

which are consumed by
their use; Singapores
earlier days)

Direct values
(products which are
consumed by their
use; Singapores
earlier days)

Nipah palm products

(attap chee, gula Melaka,
roofing thatch, salt, etc.)

Seafood (cockles,
oysters, mussels,
crabs, prawns, fish)
Commercial honey
Seaweed
Live pet food (crabeating frog for
arrowanas)
Land

Economic Values of Coastal Vegetation 4

Economic Values of Coastal Vegetation 5

Indirect values (services which

are not consumed by their
utilization; present day
Singapore)

Indirect values (services which

are not consumed by their
utilization; present day
Singapore)
Natural sewage treatment
Protection and stabilization of
the coastline (within limits;
tsunamis can wipe out
mangrove forests!)
Carbon sequestration
Deforestation also release
Carbon into atmosphere

Food for marine organisms from

the detritus food chain starting
with the fallen mangrove tree
leaves (food webs more realistic)
Nurseries for juvenile fish,
prawns, crabs, etc.

shark

snapper

crab

fallen leaves

Mangrove forest can protect

inshore areas even in hurricanes
as here in Honduras

Toilet in mangrove

Economic Values of Coastal Vegetation 5a

Economic Values of Coastal Vegetation 6

Indirect values (services
which are not consumed
by their utilization;
present day Singapore)

Acheh, 13 Dec 2004 (before tsunami)

Ecotourism (mangrove
forests are interesting;
beaches for swimming or
recreation; cliffs and
rocky shores for their
rugged and wild beauty)
Education

Acheh, 29 Dec 2004 (after tsunami)

Economic Values of Coastal Vegetation 7

Indirect values
(services which are not
consumed by their
utilization; present day
Singapore)
Potential sources for
industrial chemicals,
pharmaceuticals and
other products and their
corresponding genes for
producing such
Ornamental plants for
use on roadsides, parks
and gardens

Factor C extracted from the blood of the

horseshoe crab which binds to bacterial
endotoxins; gene isolated to
manufacture this at DBS, NUS

The Future
Natural coastal habitats
are now very rare in
Singapore so must be
well protected
Propagation and
replanting of coastal plant
species
Setting up Labrador
Nature Reserve in 1 Jan
2002
Good move by government
Developments (restaurant
inside; spa and hotel just
outside) nearby should be
monitored

Sea almond
Yellow flame

Pong pong

Threat of oil or chemical

spills from shipping
traffic by accidents or
terrorist attack

restaurant

Development is just across the Straits

Summary

Coastal debris

Coastal vegetation occurred on all coastlines in primeval

Singapore and covered about 13% of Singapore Island
Natural coastal vegetation is now extremely rare
Coastal vegetation is quite complex and diverse with
almost no exotic species, so conservation value is the
second highest of all habitats after primary forest (ties for
second with secondary vegetation)
Coastal vegetation provides numerous economic products
and services to Singapore and the rest of the world
If undisturbed, coastal vegetation should persist but
development, pollution and global warming are real
threats