18 
Ganl. Bull. Singapore 70 (Suppl. 1) 2018 
3,5 
Month 
Fig. 3. Monthly mean wind speeds (m sec 1 ) in Singapore (derived from National Environment 
Agency, 2012). 
Freshwater swamp forests: a Singapore perspective 
Background 
Prior to the establishment of modern Singapore, freshwater swamp forests were 
estimated to have occurred at all upper river reaches of Singapore, covering about 
74 km 2 or about 13% of the island (Yee et al., 2011; O’Dempsey, 2014). However, 
with rapid urbanisation and industrialisation from the 1900s, vast forested areas were 
cleared for agricultural and industrial purposes. In 1932, Corner(1978) studied one such 
area—a patch of original swamp-forest in Jurong, which was completely transformed 
into a pineapple plantation the year after. In this patch of more than 6 ha, Corner 
(1978) found many plant species that only existed in Jurong but not in Mandai, or any 
other Singapore swamp forests. This suggested that Jurong could have represented a 
unique phytogeographical area (Corner, 1978; Yamada, 1997). However, no extensive 
surveys of faunal species were conducted in the freshwater swamp forest in Jurong 
before its clearance. Like this patch in Jurong, vast natural areas in Malaysia and 
Singapore were or are often cleared for development before surveys can be conducted 
on their existing flora and fauna (Ng & Lim, 1992). 
The clearing of Jurong, Mandai, and Pulau Tekong swamp forests has left the 
Nee Soon freshwater swamp forest as the last remnant of primary freshwater swamp 
forests on Singapore Island (Corlett, 1992; Ng & Lim, 1992; Turner, 1996; Turner et 
al., 1996; Yeo & Lim, 2011). Nee Soon is relatively intact but dominated by primary 
and old secondary vegetation, covering about 87 ha of land (Corner, 1978; Ng & 
Lim, 1992; Turner et al., 1996). Named after a wealthy Chinese-Peranakan merchant. 
