Borneo, the 3rd largest island in the world, was once covered with dense rainforests. Later forests in the southern part of Borneo, as know as Kalimantan, became the primary source for tropical timber. While many scientists have come to study this region, opportunities for observation are becoming increasingly scarce.
Kalimantan has huge rainforests almost filled with Dipterocarp trees. These trees carpet the ground with its seeds every year for 5 weeks.
In 1991, seed production was around 175 pounds per acre. By 1998, this number had plummeted to 16.5 pounds per acre.
According to scientist the reason for the seeds to come in such little numbers is logging. Logging makes a forest less dense and changes the soil.
Logging also causes fire. Fires in 1998 killed many people, destroyed there homes and food and killed an estimated 12685 plant, animal and insect species.
It's estimated that 50000 plant species die from logging so the fires killed more then 25% of what world logging did.
In 2001 scientist confirmed that a fire in a rainforest is started by logging and slash and burn agriculture.
If there are to be no more fires but the logging continues at the same rate Kalimantan will have no rainforests by 2010.
