Conservation outputs and recommendations for Nee Soon freshwater swamp forest, Singapore

Abstract

ABSTRACT. The current paper acts as a summary to the "Nee Soon Swamp Forest biodiversity and hydrology baseline studies project", including results published previously and the results from papers of the current volume. Overall, flora and fauna surveys indicate healthy and diverse plant, fish and aquatic macroinvertebrate communities in Nee Soon freshwater swamp forest. There are some concerns over terrestrial and aquatic alien invasive species, loss of big emergent trees, small population sizes and viability of various native species, and the uncertain outcomes of changes in water quality and quantity. The findings inform management that Nee Soon freshwater swamp forest is especially vulnerable to changes in hydrology and there is much dependency on precipitation for its water budget. Projected climate change effects on precipitation and statistical analyses of biotic responses to hydrology clearly define drought as a major, perhaps the foremost, source of vulnerability to the ecosystem functioning of Nee Soon freshwater swamp forest. Potential management solutions are suggested to address five issues of concern for the forest: hydrological integrity, erosion and sedimentation, ecological integrity, the impact of the spillway, and impacts of construction and development.

Native and introduced fish community structure in a freshwater swamp forest: Implications for conservation and management

“…by appropriate prevention, eradication, or control measures. The numerous agencies that work together and are involved in the protection of the NSSF should consider implementing comprehensive, long‐term stream monitoring to increase our understanding of the mechanisms by which introduced fish may enter the NSSF drainage, detect introduced fish deeper within the NSSF, and inform management and conservation decisions and actions (Cai, Davison, Chan, & Liong, ).…”

Integrated research, conservation and management of Nee Soon freshwater swamp forest, Singapore: hydrology and biodiversity

“…Sun et al (2018) use numerical modelling to describe some of the projected impacts of climate change on stream flow and groundwater conditions. Finally, Cai et al (2018b) summarise some of the main findings and recommendations arising from the entire project.…”

Flowpath influence on stream acid events in tropical urban streams in Singapore

“…The Nee Soon Forest Catchment (NSFC; Figures 1, 2) is located within the CCNR and contains the only remaining freshwater swamp forest in the country, Nee Soon Swamp Forest (NSSF, Murphy, 1997; O'Dempsey & Chew, 2011; Cai et al, 2018). The areal extent of NSFC is 4.8 km 2 , of which NSSF occupies 91 ha.…”

“…Both are endemic to Singapore and are threatened with extinction ‐ with P. reticulata classified as critically endangered and I. johnsoni classified as vulnerable in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List (Esser & Cumberlidge, 2008; Chua et al, 2015; Ng et al, 2015). Building on the knowledge from prior work by Cai et al (2018) and Nguyen et al (2018), we had three aims: (i) describe stream chemistry responses to rainfall events; (ii) distinguish the biogeochemical processes that contribute to low stream pH, viz acidification or buffering; and (iii) develop a simple conceptual model linking geophysical processes, including runoff flow pathways, with changes in stream acidity. Our study combines hydrometric and hydrochemical measurements with stable water isotopic compositions to provide new insights into the dynamics of possible human impacts on the urban hydrological cycle as well as stream water quality in a remnant forest of high‐conservation value.…”