Borneo is located in the tropical zone and has a warm, hot and humid climate. The average annual temperature is 21-30℃ and the average annual rainfall is more than 2000 millimeters. Based on geography and climate, it possesses a tropical rainforest biome and a high level of biodiversity.
Through the ages, Borneo has attracted curious explorers and researchers, who have patiently recorded the many life forms that they have observed. To this day, many new species are being recorded and published.
In 1854, Alfred Russel Wallace began an eight-year exploration of the Malay Archipelago. That same year, he set foot on Borneo, where he stayed for 15 months, traveling deep into its interior. In addition to collecting animal and plant specimens, one of the purposes of his trip was to observe living orangutans in their natural environment and study their behaviors, as well as obtain specimens.
His time in the Malay Archipelago was very productive. Wallace collected 125,600 specimens. In addition, he formed two important ideas: the theory of natural selection (later known as the theory of evolution) and the ‘Wallace line’.
by User Tagishsimon on en.wikipedia - Originally from en.wikipedia; description page is (was) here02:17, 13 January 2005 Tagishsimon 298x472 (18,609 bytes), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=841348
A young Odoardo Beccari longed to carry out scientific explorations in unknown countries even before he graduated from college. Following graduation, he spent a short period of time at the British Museum and Kew Gardens in London to familiarize himself with the plants of Borneo. In 1865, at the age of 22, Beccari set foot on Borneo for the first time, going deep into its interior to conduct biological surveys. Due to Beccari’s contribution to the study in Malesia, he is considered the greatest botanist in the history of this region.
Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=531615
Tadao Kano (かのただお) conducted in-depth research on Taiwan’s indigenous peoples and biogeography. Due to his expertise in the field of ethnology, he accepted the request of the Japanese army to conduct fieldwork in northern Borneo in 1944. The following year, as the Pacific War was in full swing, he and his assistant disappeared in the jungles of Borneo on their way from Tambunan, Sabah to the Japanese army's inland garrison. Their disappearance was a great loss to the development of academic research in both Japan and Taiwan.
by Unknown author - Self-scanned, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1035051
Within Borneo’s tropic rainforest biome are eight major interconnected ecosystems, which enrich this island. There is a saying that,“Every family has its issues.”
Likewise, different ecosystems have different challenges. Sessile plants must overcome difficulties imposed by their environment to create a world of their own, while animals must develop specialized and unique skills to make good use of their environment.
Borneo has a long coastline. In Malaysia’s Sabah alone, there are 1,440 kilometers of coastline (in Taiwan the total is 1,200 kilometers). Like Taiwan, the coastal terrain is diverse.
Bako National Park (Sarawak, Malaysia) possesses coastal landscapes such as beaches and sandstone cliff forest and is home to many coastal organisms. In 1977, Turtle Islands National Park (Taman Laut Pulau Penyu) was established, which consists of three small islands to the north of Sabah, which are mostly composed of coral reefs. In addition, green sea turtles and hawksbill sea turtles come ashore to lay eggs almost year-round.
by Ching-Chen Shen
Mangrove forests are found on mudflats where river meets sea and are affected by ocean tides. In such environments, the soil is deficient in oxygen and has high salinity. To survive here, plants have adopted unique strategies in terms of their physiology and growth. For example, it is very common for fruits to be viviparous. Once ripe, they continue to live on the maternal tree until development of seedlings that can survive independently.
Threats: Fish and shrimp farming
by Meng-Ying Tsai
The peat swamp forests on Borneo differ from herbaceous plant and shrub-dominated peatland in the temperate and frigid zones of the northern hemisphere. They are comprised of large trees, supported by buttress roots, that can reach 70 meters in height. On the forest floor is plant litter that has accumulated over time. During floods and storms, the water appears brown to black. As such, this is also known as black swampland. This extremely oxygen deficient environment, with unstable substrate, poor drainage, and low pH(2.9-4) is home to many of Borneo’s unique and endangered animals.
Threats: Desiccation (due to artificial drainage); logging; fire; agriculture (oil palm plantations).
by Chang Jong Yiaw
Reaching the interior of Borneo requires river transport. The terrain around rivers is relatively flat, making it accessible to humans. Seasonal floods affect the formation of alluvial land and the soil is relatively fertile. Therefore, such areas are often developed for agricultural use. However, Borneo’s riverbanks and freshwater swamp forests are home to a variety of waterbirds, amphibians, and reptiles.
Threats: Agriculture
by Sandra Wong Ling Hie
In the language of the Iban people of Borneo, tropical heath forest is called Kerangas, which means place where paddy rice cannot grow. Compared to the neighboring tropical rainforest, there is a shorter, neater forest structure, with dense thickets. The sandy soil on the forest floor has a low pH and is deficient in certain nutrients. It is filled with mosses, tropical pitcher plants, sundews, bladderworts, and epiphytic orchids. Relationships among organisms are friendly or antagonistic, forming such a unique ecosystem.
Threats: Logging; fire; agriculture (oil palm plantations)
by Ching-Chen Shen
Karst is easily eroded by water to form steep pointed ridges and deep caverns. This is an extremely fractal karst landform, which produces an isolating effect in terms of the dispersal of organisms. It is a natural laboratory with a high proportion of endemic plants. Due to the poor soil quality and water scarcity, plants growing here need to utilize limited water resources more efficiently.
Threats: Logging; fire; mining
by Sandra Wong Ling Hie
In Taiwan, there are only seven trees known to be taller than 70 meters. In Borneo’s lowland rainforests (at elevations below 300 meters), trees of 70 meters in height abound. There are also a few that reach 94 meters. There are famed for their diversity of the Dipterocarpaceae family and known as mixed dipterocarp forests. As the towering trees form a vertical dimension, organism growth and movement are not limited to the forest floor, resulting in vivid complexity.
The vegetation composition changes with increasing altitude, forming what are known as highland tropical rainforests (at elevations between 300 and 800 meters). Beyond 800 meters, members of the Fagaceae family become common, making the transition to montane forests. Sometimes, it is challenging to clearly distinguish and define these transitions.
Threats: Logging; hunting; commercial land use .
by Sandra Wong Ling Hie
Borneo has mountains over 4,000 meters tall. Montane forests, ranging from 800 to 4,000 meters in elevation, exhibit a gradual change from lower montane to subalpine zones, including many unique plants originating from Australia and Asia. Due to the inaccessibility of these forests, montane forests in Borneo are some of the best-preserved ecosystems on this island. Additionally, with minimal human interference, certain animals that originally inhabited disturbed lowland environments may move here.
Threats: Traditional farming methods (slash-and-burn); infrastructure development (reservoirs)
by Sandra Wong Ling Hie
National Museum of Prehistory
Center of Austronesian Culture in National Taitung University
Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency, MOA
Taiwan Biodiversity Research Institute, MOA
Fengshan Tropical Horticultural Experiment Branch, Agricultural Research Institute, MOA
Xianglin Community Development Association, Manzhou Township, Pingtung
Taiwan Architecture & Building Center
2024.05.03 - 2024.11.15
The 1st Exhibition Gallery；
The Sunshine Pathway
National Museum of Natural Science (NMNS)
The Society of Wilderness (SOW)