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  The Straits Times, 28 Feb 05
 Bush fires endanger scrubland species
by Chang Ai-lien

THE recent spate of bush fires here has not only polluted the atmosphere, but also devastated the homes of hundreds of species of local plants and animals, damage that may take months, even years, to remedy.

'This appears to be the worst disaster to hit our open scrublands,' said the chairman of Nature Society Singapore's conservation committee, Dr Ho Hua Chew, who has studied animal and plant life in such habitats for more than 20 years.

'The native species there have adapted to this particular habitat, and can't survive for long in other areas such as forests.' Even Singapore's pristine repositories of flora and fauna, the nature reserves, which have so far been spared the flames, will be at risk if the dryness persists, he warned.

In the scrublands, wild orchids, such as the delicate purple Spathoglottis plicata, have been burnt to a crisp, and slow-moving ground animals, such as the Malayan Box Terrapin, have stood little chance against the flames, he said. 'The birds may be able to fly away from the fires, but their nests and nestlings will be burnt. Food sources such as insects, reptiles, snails, grass seeds and fruit will have also been destroyed with the burning of the land cover,' he added. Bird species, such as the tiny Baya Weaver and the Black-winged Kite, not only hunt or forage for their food in this type of habitat, but also build their nests in the grasses and trees of the scrubland.

Said Associate Professor Navjot Sodhi of the National University of Singapore's biological sciences department: 'Scrublands can be good nesting and feeding sites for some birds and small mammals, and can provide a haven for migratory birds.' The number of bush fires here this year has crackled past the 500 mark, exceeding in less than two months the total number in the whole of last year.

However, the situation for the animals and plants is reversible, said Dr Ho, provided rainy weather arrives soon, something which has been forecast by the weatherman. 'In time, the grasses and trees will grow back. But if the fires are repeated next year and beyond, recovery will be difficult, if not impossible,' he said.

If the dry weather persists, a fire engulfing Singapore's rainforest areas cannot be ruled out because of the presence of dryer and relatively open habitats such as scrubland along their edges, he said. 'That would be catastrophic to the rich biodiversity of our last tropical rainforest.'

According to the National Parks Board (NParks), the island's nature reserves are more humid as they have a much higher density of trees than the scrublands. These capture moisture and rain for longer and absorb underground water through their roots.

Nonetheless, nothing will be left to chance. There are regular patrols by park rangers in potential danger areas, mostly at the fringe of the nature reserve.

The bright spot amid all this is that the heat is encouraging many plants to flower, added NParks. These species include the Golden Shower tree with its yellow plumes, and bougainvillea lining roads and overhead bridges.
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