Planting Hundreds of Banyans Trees to Restore Pucung Mountain as a Protection Forest

reboisasi hutan lindung Gunung Pucung

Various components of the community were moved to restore the function of the protected forests in Mount Pucung, Batu City, East Java by planting hundreds of banyan species tree seedlings (Ficus sp) on Wednesday (12/10/2022). Reforestation or tree planting in protected forests is intended to strengthen the function of the protected forests such as preventing landslides and floods. Moreover, the trauma of the flash flood that hit Batu City in November 2021 is still lingering in the community around Mount Pucung.

The reforestation of protected forests is a joint movement involving the Singosari Division 2 Army, the Wono Mulyo Social Forestry Group (locally abbreviated as KPS) Bulukerto village, Malang Forestry Management, PROFAUNA Indonesia, the National Ficus Center, Forestry Villagers Association of Sumbergondo Village, and more. The Ficus sp tree seedlings are an aid from the Kediri National Ficus Center and PROFAUNA Indonesia.

The types of the weeping fig (ficus) planted on Mount Pucung include Ficus benjamina, Ficus Curzii, Ficus drupacea, Ficus virens and Ficus racermosa.

"We chose the types of weeping fig (ficus) for reforestation because this tree is great for resisting landslides and is also favored by various types of wildlife such as birds, primates and ferrets. In addition, the logs are also not prone to being cut down, because the economic value of the logs is not high," explained Rosek Nursahid, an ecologist and a forester from PROFAUNA Indonesia.

reboisasi hutan lindung Gunung Pucung

Previously, PROFAUNA Indonesia also donated avocado and coffee fruit tree seedlings to farmers in Mount Pucung and the slopes of Mount Arjuna, Greater Malang, East Java. The choice of fruit trees is so that farmers who have worked on land in forest areas want to transfer their crops from vegetable types to fruit trees that also have economic value.

Vegetable crops are not good to be planted in the forest areas, especially protected forests, because they make the soil prone to landslides. The root system of vegetable types is not rooting down deeply into the ground, so the binding of the soil is weak. In addition, the tillage of the soil planted with vegetables is very intensive, from grafting to the use of fertilizers and chemical substances.

"We agree with the policy of the head of the Malang Forestry Management (KPH), after the 2021 flash floods, emphasizing that protected forests should not be planted with vegetables. It is just a matter of how to implement those policies on the ground," Rosek said.

© 2003 - ProFauna Indonesia

ProFauna Indonesia is an Indonesian society for the protection of
wild animals and their habitats