Buru rain forests

Content Cover Image

via Wikimedia Commons


Location and General Description

This ecoregion represents the moist forests in the island of Buru. Based on the Köppen climate zone system, this ecoregion falls in the tropical wet climate zone. Buru is part remnant crustal fragment, probably from the Australian continent, and part of the volcanic Inner Banda Arc. Consequently, the surface geology of Buru is complex, consisting of older metamorphic schists and metamorphic gneiss, younger volcanics, and recent alluvium.

The natural vegetation of the island was tropical lowland evergreen and semi-evergreen rain forests. The dominant tree species in this moist forest are the dipterocarps, Anisoptera thurifera, Hopea gregaria, H. iriana, H. novoguineensis, Shorea assamica, S. montigena, S. selanica, and Vatica rassak. In old-growth forests, the larger trees grow to more than 30 meters (m) in height and tend to be covered with thick-stemmed lianas and other piphytes. Open forest, woodland, and savanna are also found in this ecoregion, with some being natural but most originating from human activity. The fire-resistant paper bark tree (Melaleuca cajuputi) is common and grows in nearly monotypic stands in dry areas. The steep limestone cliffs in the northwestern part of the ecoregion are covered by mixed forests that include Shorea spp. Exposed ridges between 1,800 and 2,000 m above sea level are characterized by stunted Dacrydium novo-guineense.

caption Source: WWF

Biodiversity Features


Table 1. Endemic and Near-Endemic Mammal Species
Family Species
Pteropididae Pteropus chrysoproctus
Pteropodidae Pteropus ocularis
Pteropodidae Nyctimene minutus
Suidae Babyrousa babyrussa


The known mammal fauna of Buru consists of at least twenty-five species, including four near endemics (Table 1). Two of these species are globally threatened: the vulnerable Seram flying-fox (Pteropus ocularis) and lesser tube-nosed fruit bat (Nyctimene minutus).

Table 2. Endemic and Near-Endemic Bird Species
Family Common Name Species
Accipitridae Rufous-necked sparrowhawk Accipiter erythrauchen
Megapodiidae Forsten's scrubfowl Megapodius forstenii
Megapodiidae Moluccan scrubfowl Megapodius wallacei
Columbidae White-eyed imperial-pigeon Ducula perspicillata
Columbidae Long-tailed mountain-pigeon Gymnophaps mada
Psittacidae Buru racquet-tail Prioniturus mada*
Psittacidae Black-lored parrot Tanygnathus gramineus*
Loriidae Red lory Eos bornea
Loriidae Blue-fronted lorikeet Charmosyna toxopei*
Strigidae Moluccan hawk-owl Ninox squamipila
Tytonidae Lesser masked-owl Tyto sororcula
Meliphagidae Buru honeyeater Lichmera deningeri*
Meliphagidae Wakolo myzomela Myzomela wakoloensis
Meliphagidae Black-faced friarbird Philemon moluccensis
Pachycephalida Drab whistler Pachycephala griseonota
Rhipiduridae Cinnamon-backed fantail Rhipidura superflua*
Monarchidae White-naped monarch Monarcha pileatus
Monarchidae Black-tipped monarch Monarcha loricatus*
Monarchidae Moluccan flycatcher Myiagra galeata
Oriolidae Buru oriole Oriolus bouroensis
Campephagidae Buru cuckoo-shrike Coracina fortis*
Campephagidae Pale-grey cuckoo-shrike Coracina ceramensis
Turdidae Moluccan thrush Zoothera dumasi
Muscicapidae Streaky-breasted jungle-flycatcher Rhinomyias addita*
Muscicapidae Cinnamon-chested flycatcher Ficedula buruensis
Zosteropidae Buru white-eye Zosterops buruensis*
Zosteropidae Rufous-throated white-eye Madanga ruficollis*
Sylviidae Chestnut-backed bush-warbler Bradypterus castaneus
Dicaeidae Flame-breasted flowerpecker Dicaeum erythrothorax


The bird fauna consists of 178 species, including twenty-nine endemic or near-endemic species (Table 2). The ecoregion corresponds with the Buru Endemic Bird Area (EBA) and contains twenty-eight restricted-range bird species, ten of which are found nowhere else on Earth. Six of these species are considered vulnerable: Moluccan scrubfowl (Megapodius wallacei), blue-fronted lorikeet (Charmosyna toxopei), black-lored parrot (Tanygnathus gramineus), Buru cuckoo-shrike (Coracina fortis), streaky-breasted jungle-flycatcher (Rhinomyias addita), and rufous-throated white-eye (Madanga ruficollis), which represents a monotypic genus.


Current Status

The coastal lowland forests have been cleared, and the northern and northeastern portions of the island now contain monsoon forest, gallery forest, and savannas as a result of repeated burning. However, the remaining upland forest forms two large, contiguous blocks. Most of this forest is a mosaic of primary and secondary forest as a result of shifting cultivation.

Protected Area Area (km2) IUCN Category
Gunung Kelpat Muda 1,380 PRO
Waeapo 50 PRO
Total 1,430  


The two protected areas—of which one is greater than 1,000 square kilometers (km2)—cover 17 percent of the ecoregion (Table 3). Commercial logging on Buru intensified during the 1970s, but much of the island is still under extensive forest cover.

Types and Severity of Threats


Justification of Ecoregion Delineation

The Sula Islands were included within the Sulawesi lowland rain forests and the Aru Islands in the Vogelkop-Aru lowland rain forests. Buru Island, identified as a distinct subunit (13c) by MacKinnon and as an Endemic Bird Area (EBA), was delineated as a distinct ecoregion, the Buru Rain Forests. Seram, the larger island to the east of Buru, was also delineated as an ecoregion: Seram rain forests. The larger Halmahera rain forests includes Obi Island, which MacKinnon recognized as a separate subunit (13b) from Halmahera Island (subunit 13a). We created the Banda Sea Islands moist deciduous forests by combining the islands in the Kai and Tanimbar archipelagos, which Monk et al. distinguished as a biogeographic unit. The primary vegetation on the islands in both these archipelagos is moist deciduous forests and semi-evergreen forests, whereas the vegetation in the other, nearby large islands (Seram and Aru) is evergreen rain forests.

Additional information on this ecoregion





Fund, W. (2014). Buru rain forests. Retrieved from http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/150819


To add a comment, please Log In.