Klias Forest Reserve
Protected area in Sabah, Malaysia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Klias Forest Reserve is a protected forest reserve on the Klias Peninsula, in Beaufort District of Interior Division, Sabah, Malaysia.[2] It was designated as a Class 1 Protection Forest by the Sabah Forestry Department in 1984. Its area is 3,630 hectares (36.3 km2).[3] The reserve is mostly flat, consisting mainly of peat swamp forest, with a small area of mangroves.[1] The peat forests within this reserve, along with those in the nearby Binsuluk Forest Reserve, are the last peat forests in Sabah.[4]
| Klias Forest Reserve | |
|---|---|
  Klias Forest Reserve Location within Borneo | |
| Location | Sabah, Malaysia |
| Nearest city | Beaufort, Beaufort District |
| Coordinates | 5°17′37″N 115°37′50″E |
| Area | 36.3 km2 (14.0 sq mi) |
| Established | 1984 |
| Governing body | Sabah Forestry Department[1] |
Being mostly peat forest, the reserve faces high fire risks. Large fires occurred in 1997–98, burning about 10% of the Klias Reserve.[5] In 2016 large fires in peat bogs, which spread to Klias and other forest reserves from nearby open burning, contributed to the 2016 Malaysian haze.[6]
Flora
Klias and Binsuluk Forest Reserves are within the Klias Peninsula Important Bird Area (IBA). The IBA has a combined species richness of at least 134 identified tree species. Four species of Nepenthes pitcher plants have been recorded in the IBA.[7] Resident tree species include Dryobalanops rappa, Madhuca motleyana, Shorea platycarpa, Dactylocladus stenostachys and Gonystylus bancanus.[5]
Fauna
Klias Forest Reserve is home to threatened mammals including banded palm civet, pig-tailed macaque, proboscis monkey, sambar deer, Bornean bearded pig, mousedeer and the critically endangered Sunda pangolin.[5] Bird life in the reserve includes the hook-billed bulbul, whose Sabah range is confined to the Klias Peninsula, and the rare species grey-breasted babbler and scarlet-breasted flowerpecker.[8] Five amphibians inhabit the IBA: Hoplobathracus rogulosa, Rana erythraea, Rana glandulosa, Polypedates coletti and Polypedates leucomystax. 66 butterfly species have been discovered within the peat forests.[7]