Buttress roots

Buttress are large roots on all sides of a tall or shallowly rooted tree. Typically, they are found in nutrient-poor rainforest soils and do not penetrate to deeper layers. They prevent the tree from falling over (hence the name buttress) while also gathering more nutrients. Butresses are tension elements, being larger on the side away from the stress of asymmetrical canopies.^[1] The roots may interwind with buttress roots from other trees and create an intricate mesh, which may help support trees surrounding it. They can grow up to 15 feet tall and spread for 30 metres above the soil then for another 30 metres below. When the roots spread horizontally, they are able to cover a wider area for collecting nutrients. They stay near the upper soil layer because all the main nutrients are found

Sources From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buttress_root

GROUND!

Every Weekend there will be around 2000+ visitor walking around the nature reserve therefore causing the floor to be harder, more compact and destroy causing the roots to could not take in O2 and H2O :D

Lianas

Fauna

Lianas

A liana is any of various long-stemmed, woody vines that are rooted in the soil at ground level and use trees, as well as other means of vertical support, to climb up to the canopy in order to get access to well-lit areas of the forest.^[1] Lianas are especially characteristic of tropical moist deciduous forests and rainforests. These climbers often form bridges between the forest canopy, connect the entire forest and provide arboreal animals with paths across the forest. These bridges also protect weaker trees from strong winds. They also compete with forest trees for sunlight and soil resources (water and nutrients).^[2] There are also temperate lianas, however, for example the members of the genera Clematis or Vitis (wild grape). Well-known lianas include Monkey Ladder (Bauhinia sp.), Water Vine (Cissus hypoglauca or members of the genus Doliocarpus), but not Pothos (Epipremnum aureum), which is classified as an epiphyte or herbaceous vine.^[3]
Note that "liana" is not a taxonomic grouping, but rather a description of the way the plant grows, and lianas may be found in many different plant families. One way of distinguishing lianas from trees and shrubs is based on the stiffness (specifically, the Young's modulus) of various parts of the stem. Trees and shrubs have young twigs and smaller branches which are quite flexible and older growth (trunks and large branches) which are stiffer, whereas a liana often has stiff young growths and older growth, at the base of the stem, which is more flexible.^[4]

^Ecology:

Liana competes intensely with trees, greatly reducing tree growth^[5] and tree reproduction^[6], greatly increasing tree mortality^[7], preventing tree seedlings from establishing^[8], and altering the course of regeneration in forests.^[9] Lianas also provide access routes in the forest canopy for many arboreal animals, including ants and many other invertebrates, maggots, lizards, rodents, sloths, monkeys, and lemurs. For example, in the eastern rainforests of Madagascar, many prosimians achieve higher mobility from the web of lianas draped amongst the vertical tree species. Many lemurs prefer trees with lianas for their roost sites.^[10]. Lianas also provide support for trees when strong winds blow.^[11] However, they may be destructive in that when one tree falls, the connections made by the lianas may cause many other trees to fall.^[12]
As noted by Charles Darwin, because lianas are supported by other plants, they can use resources that other plants allocate to structure for growth and reproduction. In general, lianas are generally detrimental to the trees that support them; growth rates are lower for trees with lianas, they directly damage hosts by mechanical abrasion and strangulation and indirectly by making them more susceptible to ice and wind damage and the probability of a tree falling is increased by the presence of lianas. They also make the canopy of trees more accessible to animals which eat leaves. Because of these negative effects, trees which remain free of lianas are at an advantage; some species have evolved characteristics which help them avoid or shed lianas.^[13]

Dead Log

Fungi on TREE!!!!

Dead log for fertilliser when they were decomposed (:

Butterfly

Cinnamon Tree

Cinnamon Tree
Cinnamon is harvested by growing the tree for two years then coppicing it. The next year, about a dozen shoots will form from the roots.
The branches harvested this way are processed by scraping off the outer bark, then beating the branch evenly with a hammer to loosen the inner bark. The inner bark is then prised out in long rolls. Only the thin (0.5 mm (0.020 in)) inner bark is used; the outer, woody portion is discarded, leaving metre-long cinnamon strips that curl into rolls ("quills") on drying. Once dry, the bark is cut into 5–10 cm (2.0–3.9 in) lengths for sale.
The bark must be processed immediately after harvesting while still wet. Once processed, the bark will dry completely in four to six hours, provided that it is in a well-ventilated and relatively warm environment. A less than ideal drying environment encourages the proliferation of pests in the bark, which may then require treatment by fumigation. Bark treated this way is not considered to be of the same premium quality as untreated bark.
Cinnamon has been cultivated from time immemorial in Sri Lanka, and the tree is also grown commercially at Kerala in southern India, Bangladesh, Java, Sumatra, the West Indies, Brazil, Vietnam, Madagascar, Zanzibar, and Egypt. Sri Lanka cinnamon has a very thin, smooth bark with a light-yellowish brown color and a highly fragrant aroma. In recent years in Sri Lanka, mechanical devices have been developed to ensure premium quality and worker safety and health, following considerable research by the Universities in that country led by the University of Ruhuna.
According to the International Herald Tribune, in 2006 Sri Lanka produced 90% of the world's cinnamon, followed by China, India, and Vietnam.^[17] According to the FAO, Indonesia produces 40% of the world's Cassia genus of cinnamon.
The Sri Lankan grading system divides the cinnamon quills into four groups:

• Alba, less than 6 mm (0.24 in) in diameter
• Continental, less than 16 mm (0.63 in) in diameter
• Mexican, less than 19 mm (0.75 in) in diameter
• Hamburg, less than 32 mm (1.3 in) in diameter

These groups are further divided into specific grades. For example, Mexican is divided into M00 000 special, M000000, and M0000, depending on quill diameter and number of quills per kg.
Any pieces of bark less than 106 mm (4.2 in) long are categorized as quillings. Featherings are the inner bark of twigs and twisted shoots. Chips are trimmings of quills, outer and inner bark that cannot be separated, or the bark of small twigs.


Sources From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinnamon_tree

Everything Is Protected & Battle for Bukit Timah

This reminds us not to bring any of the things home out of the nature reserve!!
If 1 people take 1 speciments then 1000 people will take 1000 speciments it will greatly affect the plants!!

Battle for Bukit Timah

HISTORY

The Battle of Bukit Timah was a battle fought during World War II on 11 February 1942 in Singapore between the Allied forces and the Japanese forces.
By the 10th of February, the Japanese had landed in full force on Singapore Island. They controlled the entire western part of the island, and much of the north. Their next objective was Bukit Timah and the capture of vital water, food, ammunition, and vehicles, machine parts and other supplies. Now, flushed with success, the Japanese again advanced in full force.

Preparations:

The defending soldiers of the 12th and 15th Indian Brigades, the 27th Australian Brigade, and the Special Reserves Battalion; Tomforce, Merrett Force, Dalforce, and the Plymouth Argylls; Jind State Infantry and the X Battalion — all faced the Japanese onslaught. They fought at various points along Bukit Timah Road.^[

^Battle:

On that night, the Japanese 5th Division, supported by tanks, advanced down Choa Chu Kang Road. The 12th Indian Brigade and some British troops under Major Angus MacDonald and Captain Mike Blackwood (both were officers from the Argylls who would both later die on the steamship Rooseboom while escaping Singapore) blocked the road and opened fire with an anti-tank gun, destroying the first Japanese tank. But this was merely the first of a force of 50 tanks.^[1]
There followed some hand-to-hand combat, as well as bayonet charges from both sides. The poorly trained and equipped men of Dalforce, armed only with parangs, grenades, rifles and shotguns normally used for hunting, suffered heavy casualties. By midnight, the Japanese had overwhelmed the defenders and captured Bukit Timah.^[1]
The British launched a counter-attack the following morning with two brigades. But by midday, faced with strong Japanese resistance, the counter-attack failed.^[1]
The next day, the Japanese Imperial Guard advanced from the North, outflanking the British defenders and forcing their retreat. In the ensuing battle, the Chinese soldiers fought bravely, some to their deaths. Japanese suffered their heaviest casualties in the campaign to occupy Singapore. In revenge, they massacred Chinese men, women and children living in a nearby village.

Sources From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bukit_Timah