The flora and fauna of Indonesia is determined by the Wallace line. This line is an imaginary boundary that runs between Australia and the Asian islands and the mainland.
This boundary marks the point where there is a difference in species on either side of the line. Thus, west of the line, all species are similar or derived from species found on the Asian continent.
For its part, to the east there are many species of Australian descent. Along the line there is a mixture of the two species and many are hybrids of the typical Asian species and the more isolated Australian species.
Description of the flora and fauna of Indonesia
The distribution of the flora and fauna of Indonesia has been strongly affected by geological history (mainly continental drift) and climatic history (especially climatic fluctuations) in the area.
Thus, the characteristics of the flora and fauna of Indonesia are marked by their bio-geographical location, being divided into western and eastern.
Flora
The vegetation of the Indonesian archipelago comprises around 40,000 species of flowering plants and 3,000 species of trees.
They inhabit mixed lowland and hill tropical forests, temperate highland forests and mangrove forests.
In this way, the rich flora of Indonesia includes many unique varieties of tropical plants in various forms.
For example, the largest flower in the world, Rafflesia arnoldii, found only in certain parts of Sumatra. This parasitic plant grows on certain lianas but does not produce leaves.
In the same area in Sumatra, there is another giant plant, amorphophallus titanum (giant ring), with the largest inflorescence in the world. Another flower is the Arabian jasmine which is the official flower.
In many areas of western Indonesia, there are different species of the pitcher plant that trap insects.
On the other hand, there is a wealth of orchids (about 5,000 species) that vary in size from the largest, the tiger orchid, to the small and agile species of Taeniophyllum.
There is also the moon orchid, which has pure white flowers and was officially named the Enchanting Flower.
In addition, timber species abound. The dipterocarp family is famous for its wood (meranti) and its fruits (illipe nuts).
Other valuable trees are gonystylus, sandalwood, ebony, and ironwood.
Fauna
The Indonesian archipelago is made up of 17,000 islands. They are home to approximately 12% of the world's mammals, 16% of reptiles and amphibians, 17% of birds, and 25% of the world's fish populations.
Indonesia is in the transition zone between two of the world's major wildlife regions: Eastern Asia in the west and Australia and New Guinea in the east.
To the west, the Asian animal community includes mammals such as rhinos, tapirs, tigers, and elephants.
Those related to Australian wildlife include birds such as cockatoos, pergoleros, and birds of paradise, as well as marsupials such as bandicoots and couscous.
Also, many of the islands contain endemic species such as the Javanese peacock and the drongo (Sumatra), the common serau (Sumatra), the babirusa (Celebes) and the tamarau (Celebes) and the Komodo dragon (Rinca and Komodo).
Some of these endemic species have become extremely rare and are in danger of extinction: the Javan rhinos and the orangutan (native to Borneo and Sumatra).
References
- Scoville, H. (2017, March 28). What is the Wallace Line? Retrieved on October 30, 2017, from thoughtco.com.
- Wolters, Oliver W. et al. (2017, September 14). Indonesia. In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved on October 30, 2017, from britannica.com.
- Fatawi, M. and Mori, T. (2000). Description of forests and forestry in East Kalimantan. In E. Guhardja et al. (editors), Rainforest Ecosystems of East Kalimantan: El Niño, Drought, Fire and Human Impacts, pp. 3-12. Tokyo: Springer Verlag.
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Indonesia. (2001). Indonesia in perspective. In WC Younce, Indonesia: Issues, Historical Background and Bibliography, pp 79-126. New York: Nova Publishers.
- Indonesia. (s / f). In Fauna & Flora International (FFI). Retrieved on October 30, 2017, from fauna-flora.org.