Скачать или смотреть Forest types of Suriname: High dryland forests at Tonka Island (trees)

Explore the biodiverse ecosystems of Suriname through our video series “Forest Types of Suriname”, presented by Frits van Troon, a Saramacca Maroon biodiversity expert and tireless advocate for the protection of Suriname’s forests.

In this episode, Frits walks us through the many trails of Tonka Island, examining its tree species.

Frits explains why he named the island after the Tonka tree (Dipteryx odorata). Tonka’s biodiversity and complex ecological relationships are fascinating. For example, Frits tells the story of how the powisi bird lays its eggs in the crown of the spiny bugrumaka palm (Astrocaryum sciophilum) to keep them safe from snakes and opossums.

Tonka Island sits on the Brokopondo reservoir, which covers roughly 1500 square kilometers. In the creation of the lake in the 1960s, a vast area of forest and Maroon territory was evacuated and flooded. Tonka Island is a remnant hilltop that remained after the flooding. The site of Frits’ childhood village, Gunsi, is deep in the waters below Tonka Island.

*High dryland forest is the terminology used by ecologists and foresters in Suriname to indicate old-growth tropical forests that are: 1) tall in stature (= high) and 2) growing on soils that are not seasonally or permanently flooded (= dryland). This forest type is known as terra firme forest in Brazil.

Read more in the “Forest Types of Suriname” manual found at this link: https://www.flipsnack.com/amazonteam/...