Background
Given the size of the country, Singapore has limited amount of forests and peatland areas, therefore is not susceptible to large scale forest fires. It is however affected by transboundary haze caused by forest and peat land fires in the region.
In order to handle the threat caused by impending smoke haze episodes, the Inter Ministry Haze Task Force (HTF) was established in 1994. The HTF serves to minimize the impact of haze on the well-being and health of the general public in Singapore during the smoke haze period. An Action Plan spelling out the health effects, cautonary statementsand response plans based on the intensity of the haze has been developed.
The National Environment Agency of Singapor operates an early warning system for the monitoring of forest fires and smoke haze in the region based on satellite imageries. In addition, it operates a network of air quality monitoring stations to provide measurments on the air quality to determine the intensity of the haze.
Distribution and Status of Peatlands in Singapore
Overview:
Given the size of the country, Singapore has limited forest land and peatlands. Estimates of the amount of peat soils in Singapore are widely divergent because some are overlain by, or intermixed with, marine sediments. The most distinctive peatland in Singapore is the freshwater swamp forest at Nee Soon.
Topography:
Singapore Island is mostly low-lying, green, undulating country with a small range of hills at the center. The highest point of the island is Bukit Timah (166 m/545 ft).
Climate:
Singapore has a tropical rainforest climate with no distinctive seasons, uniform temperature and pressure, high humidity, and abundant rainfall. Temperatures usually range from 23 to 32 °C (73 to 90 °F). Relative humidity averages around 79% in the morning and 73% in the afternoon. April and May are the hottest months, with the wetter monsoon season from November to January.
Values of Peatlands in Singapore
The most distinctive peatland in Singapore is the freshwater swamp forest at Nee Soon. This swamp system is extremely complex, and the all-important water regime must have drastically altered over time by changes both up and downstream of the existing remnants. Swamp forest occurs in low-lying areas where the water table is close to the soil surface and the soil is usually rich in organic matter. Many of the most characteristic tree species have striking stilt roots (e.g. Palaquium xanthochymun, Sapotaceae and Xylopia fusca, Annonaceae) and/or pneumatophores of various types (plank-like in Lophopetalum multinervium, Celastraceae), presumably as an adaptation this substrate and to the periodic floods to which most of the forest is subject.
Threats faced of Peatlands in Singapore
Although Singapore is not susceptible to large scale forest fires, it is affected by transboundary haze caused by forest and peat land fires in the region. Nee Soon freshwater swamp forest would be susceptible to changes in hydrology, including future climate change.
Conservation status:
Nee Soon freshwater swamp forest lies entirely within the Central Catchment Nature Reserve, protected under the Parks and Trees Act.
