Tan Cheng Li, The Star 4 May 10;
The changing face of the land around the Klang Gates Quartz Ridge is taking a toll on its plant life.
MANY who have trekked at the Klang Gates Quartz Ridge in Hulu Kelang, Selangor, would have walked pass tufts of Eulalia milsumii and think it a kind of lalang. But it is no weed – this grass is a rare plant that grows only on that ridge, and nowhere else in the world.
Four other plants on the quartz ridge share that accolade: the small woody shrub Aleisanthia rupestris, the small tree Ilex praetermissa, the wiry herb Borreria pilulifera, and the ground herb Henckelia primulina.
The craggy outcrop spreads out over 14km – which makes it the longest quartz ridge in the world – and soars to 380m at its highest point. The ridge is what botanists call an island habitat. Isolated from the surrounding forest, vegetation at the ridgetop differs from those of surrounding areas. Flora surveys dating back to the 1920s reveal at least 265 plant species thriving there and the occurrence of five endemics makes it botanically unique.
But as development envelops the ridge, its vegetation has altered. Some of its rare plants are disappearing. Having studied the flora there since 1998, Universiti Malaya plant taxonomist Dr Wong Khoon Meng finds the native vegetation losing out to weeds.
After searching for three of the five endemic plants – A. rupestris, E. milsumii, and I. praetermissa – he and his students found many populations have disappeared and have not regrown in the more disturbed sites.
“Disturbance in the terrain has encouraged invasive weeds to gain a stronghold on the ridge and replace native plants.”
Large groups of trekkers who trample the ground, and campers who clear vegetation for camp and lit fires, are to blame. In the disturbed spots, fast-smothering species such as ferns and grasses quickly take over. As the plants there are highly adapted and narrowly distributed species, any changes in the habitat can lead to extinction.
“Some of the rare plants are still found in the less disturbed parts of the ridge but they will be endangered if the ridge becomes more accessible and faces more disturbances such as fires and trampling. And if the proposed highway comes near the ridge, the threat is that adjacent areas will be developed,” says Wong.
The surrounding vegetation, he says, is vital to protect the ridge habitat as it helps to retain moisture to support other plants.
The ridge itself has been protected as a Wildlife Sanctuary since 1936, primarily for conservation of the serow, but not the surrounding lands. As such, the landscape has seen drastic transformation. Though the south slopes are still forested, being the catchment for the Klang Gates reservoir, its north face has changed severely. Rubber plantations, orchards and of late, housing, have replaced much of the original lowland forest. For Wong, the quartz ridge is a remarkable natural feature with unique plant communities that are best protected on site. In fact, many of its other rare plants have yet to be adequately studied. To conserve the site, he urges legislation and enforcement, control over visitor activities, restoration of severely transformed sites, and provision of information to encourage public awareness of the special features of the ridge.
More should be done, and soon, to safeguard this botanical and geological treasure for it will face even more perils in the future – the activities that follow a new road are always more destructive than the road itself.
