T e r r e s t r i a l, P a p u a
Biodiversity and Tropical Forests in Indonesia.

There are few vegetation studies that have been carried out in Papua, but studies from neighboring Papua New Guinea show that undisturbed Humid Rainforests in Papua are likely to be more diverse than many tropical forests in South America, Africa or South East Asia. The Biodiversity Action Plan for Indonesia (1993) considered Papua to have the highest species richness and endemism in Indonesia for birds and plants, as well as a high ranking for mammals and reptiles. It has been estimated that Papua may have as many as 20,000 to 25,000 vascular plant species. However, they state that the plants of Papua are extremely poorly known; only 180,000 specimens have been collected there -- most collections are restricted to a few small areas in the Vogelkop, Cyclops Mts, Mt. Jaya, Timika region and Mt Trikora-Lake Habbema.

An astonishing 60-90% of the plants may be endemic to Papua. Lowland forests in particular, need greater protection. As is the case elsewhere, these are the most accessible forests for exploitation and they also have the highest species richness of plants (Conservation International 1999).

A recent survey by Conservation International (1999) lists 164 mammal, 330 reptile and amphibian, 650 birds, about 250 freshwater and 1200 marine fish and an estimated 150,000 insect species. These numbers are much higher than reported in the Biodiversity Action Plan for Indonesia (1993). Numbers of most of these animal groups are likely to be underestimated; amphibian and lizards combined, for example, may be as high as 500.

The mammal fauna of Papua, at 164 species, is poorly known and has much fewer species than Papua New Guinea (227 species). Apart from the survey by Kitchener et al. (1997) at Gag Island, Kitchener et al (1998) in the P.T. Freeport Contract of Work area, and Singadan and Patiselanno (2002) in the Mamberamo River Basin, there has been extremely little mammal survey work carried out in Papua, particularly that which attempts to compare species diversity with habitats or altitudinal gradients (Boeadi and Widodo 2000). In the Freeport Contract of Work area, Papua, there was no trend for small ground mammals species richness or mammal species diversity to change from sea level to almost 4000 m altitude, such as is commonly found in Nusa Tenggara and Sumatra (Kitchener and Yani 1997, Kitchener et al. 2000). However, the various lowland forest types had different mammal assemblages, and there were indications of recognizable mammal groupings below an altitude of 1,000 m, between 1,000 m and 1,600 m, and above 2,100 m. The richest known mammal area in Papua is the Lorentz National Park where 90-100 species have been recorded (Conservation International 1999), which is also among the highest species richness in the Australo-Pacific region.

The bird fauna of Papua is dominated by forest species, many of which are widespread lowland species (Beehler et al. 1986). Although the lowlands are among the most accessible habitats in Papua, their avifauna remains poorly documented. However, Conservation International (1999) reports that tropical lowland forests in Papua support almost 200 different breeding bird species. Endemic birds species richness is highest in the Vogelkop, followed in order by Raja Ampat islands, and the Biak/ Numfor islands; many of these endemics are rare. Endangered species numbers have risen sharply recently. Several years ago they included the Waigeo Brush-Turkey (Aepypodius bruijnii), Biak Pied Monarch (Monarcha brehmii), Brass Friarbird (Philemon brassi), Golden Fronted Bowerbird (Amblyornis flavifrons), and Salvadori’s Fig-parrot (Psittaculirostris salvadorii). Conservation International (1999) listed a further 18 threatened bird species in Papua, including the New Guinea Harpy Eagle (Harpyopsis novaeguineae) and the MacGregor’s Bird of Paradise (Macgregoria pulchra). Another 30 species were identified as near threatened. The recent Indonesian lists for endangered birds (Noerdjito and Maryanto 2001) greatly increases the endangered Papuan bird species, including a number of raptors and all the species of the Bird of Paradise. In addition to resident birds, Papua lies in the path of international migrants. Consequently, southwestern Papua, including Wasur National Park, is a globally significant staging ground for waterbirds and waders, both from the arctic and from Australia.

Papua’s most fragile ecosystem for birds and mammals is probably the sub-alpine plateau region. It is important for montane endemics, such as the birds Orange-cheeked Honeyeater (Lichenostomus chrysogenys), Snow Mountain Quail (Anurophasis monorthonyx) and the Snow Robin (Petroica archboldii) (Conservation International 1999), and the rodents Arianus’s Rat (Stenomys omlichodes), Glacier Rat (Stenomys richardsoni), Alpine Wooley-rat (Mallomys gunung) and Subalpine Woolly-rat (Mallomys istapantap) (Kitchener et al. 1998).

Anurans (frogs and toads) are the only amphibians found in Papua. Four native frog families are represented: the Hylidae (39 species, 2 genera) and Myobatrachae (5 species, 3 genera), which are of Gondwanic origin, The Ranide (13 species, 3 genera) and Microhylidae (39 species, 12 genera), which are of South East Asian origin. They are also the dominant groups in Australia. The microhylidae have undergone an extensive radiation in New Guinea and Papua. Introduced species are the toads Bufo melanostictus and B. marinus, although it is not certain if the latter species has in fact yet crossed into Papua from Papua New Guinea. The Papuan frog fauna shows much lower levels of endemism than that of Papua New Guinea (30% versus 63%). Furthermore, there are no frog genera endemic to Papua. These statistics are likely to change as the Papuan frog fauna is better documented; the microhylid genus Oreophryne is likely to be the most diverse genus in Papua (Richards et al. 2000). Many of the total of 98 species of Papuan frog have extremely restricted distributions, suggesting that this number will be dramatically increased with more surveys. For example, a recent survey in northern Papua collected 25-30 new species of frog.