Tembawang
Thursday, October 16, 2008 at 9:10AM 
Managed forest orchard in Bagak Sawah, West Kalimantan, Indonesia. Every one of the trees shown has been planted or protected.
Selaku Dayak returning from his tembawang laden with durian (Durio zibethinus) fruits.
I lived in western Borneo for a good part of the 1990's. One of my favorite projects during this period was a study of the managed forest orchards produced by Dayak communities. These orchards, known locally as "tembawang", are some of the finest examples of tropical silviculture that I have ever seen. Some tembawang contain over 125 species of trees together with bamboo, rattan, understory shrubs, and herbaceous medicinal plants. The resultant mix is indistinguishable - to most eyes - from undisturbed Dipterocarp forest. Further information about tembawang can be found here. [NOTE: Both images have been scanned from slides].
West Kalimantan, durian, managed forests in Science | Share Article | Email Article | Print Article