新加坡的红树林变迁 Mangrove forests @ Singapore

莱佛士登陆新加坡前，这个岛国和周围马来印尼小岛一样，覆盖着茂密的丛林（主要是热带雨林和红树林）。据估计，当时新加坡13%的森林是红树林。

某个探险家的日记上写道：新加坡只有红树林。

“可能这个探险家没有深入到危机四伏的热带雨林”个人猜测

在纪录片“新加坡历史”，片头前的旁白是“从红树林到大都市”

Before 1819, Singapore was an island as any other neighbor islands which are covered by forests, rain forests and mangrove forests. It is estimated that around 13% area of Singapore was covered by mangrove forests during that time.

One traveler wrote that Singapore is nothing but Mangrove. "perhaps he didn't explore the rain forest because of its dangers"

In the documentary "The History of Singapore", it emphasizes that Singapore is “from mangrove to metropolis”.

Here lists some maps to show the changes of Singapore:

红树林分布在沿海并顺着河流深入内陆。深绿色代表红树林。1819年

The mangrove forests are distributed at the coastal areas and penetrated into the island along the reivers. The dark green shows the mangrove forests.

Time: 1819.

Figure from "Peter K. L. Ng and N. Sivasothi (editors). A Guide to Mangroves of Singapore"

经过两百年的发展，新加坡大部分变成了工农业用地。只剩零星分布的红树林。1990年

After around two-hundred-year-development, most of Singapore is the cultivated and urban area (yellow color). Only some patches of mangrove (gree color) left in Singapore now.

Time: 1990.

Figure from "Peter K. L. Ng and N. Sivasothi (editors). A Guide to Mangroves of Singapore"

填海造田清除了一些沿海的红树林，在河口修建河坝建造蓄水池则清除了大部分深入内陆的沿河红树林。

Here also shows the reclaimed lands which now occupied 10% area of Singapore. More mangrove forests disappeared as the results of the building of dams on the rivers to create reservoirs.

Time: 1995.

Figure from "LIOW LEE HSIANG. Mangrove conservation in Singapore: A physical or a psychological impossibility. Biodiversity and Conservation 9: 309–332, 2000."