Saturday 18 September 2010

Jewels of Klang Gates Quartz Ridge

Klang Gates Quartz Ridge ( KGQR ) is the longest quartz ridge in the world spanning 14km and soars to 380m at its highest point.   It is also the single largest pure dyke in the world

Survey indicated at least 265 plant species thrive at its surrounding and at the ridge what botanist called an island habitat of which 5 are endemic.  Isolated, vegetation at the ridge top differs from those of surrounding areas.  





 A tree with needle-like leaves grow abundantly at the rocky mountain top.   Found only in Peninsular Malaya and Sumatra, the tree can also be found on sandy coasts.





The grass-looking Eulalia milsumi  ( Poaceae ) is a rare plant that grows only on the ridge and nowhere else in the world.




Other endemics plants are small woody shrub, Aleisanthia rupestris ( Rubiaceae ), the small tree Ilex praetermissa ( Aquifoliaceae ), the wiry herb Borreria pilulifera ( Rubiaceae ), and the ground herb Henckelia primulina ( Gesneriaceae ).

A National Parks & Wildlife Department survey carried out in 1985 found the tracks of  5 serows ( kambing gurun - Naemorhedus sumatraensis ), but it’s anyone guess how many are still around today.

The proposed KL Outer Ring Road ( KLORR ) from Selayang to Cheras, cutting though KGQR, Selangor State Park, the forest reserves of Hulu Gombak, Ampang and Hulu Langat, will surely disturb the unique ecosystem. 



Sign the Petition to Stop the KLORR.







Copied from :
1. Malaysian Nature Society – Selangor Greenbook.

My Reference :
1 Tan Cheng Li, Plants in Peril, the star online, 4 May 2010.
2. Wong K.M., et al, 2008, Ecological Aspects of Endemic Plant Population on Klang Gates Quartz Ridge, a Habitat Island in Peninsular Malaysia, Biodivers Conserv (2010) 19:435-447.
3. Journal of the Federated Malay States Museums, Vol II, 1909, pg249.
4. http://www.wwf.org..my/

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