46 
Ganl. Bull. Singapore 70 (Suppl. 1) 2018 
a hydro-geomorphological baseline for the Nee Soon catchment from which future 
studies and management activities could be developed. The initial findings, summarised 
briefly above, reveal shortcomings with respect to establishing such a baseline. 
Additional research is needed to improve our understanding of basic hydrological and 
geomorphological phenomena in the catchment: e.g. a) water balance components; 
b) stream dissolved and particulate fluxes; c) soil formation and denudation rates; 
d) hillslope degradation and transport processes; e) hydrological pathways; and f) 
anthropogenic contamination; g) and recommendations for management, particularly 
remediation of polluted sites. 
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. This paper was completed as part of the research project titled 
“Nee Soon Swamp Forest Biodiversity and Hydrology Baseline Studies” Phase I and II (Project: 
TMSI-NS-FR-0816), executed by the Tropical Marine Science Institute, National University of 
Singapore, for the client National Parks Board (NParks), Singapore. We thank several students 
and researchers who provided insights and input to this work: Charlene Teo, Elvagris Segovia 
Estrada, Karisham Pai, Rachel Y.T. Kho, Lim Meng Wee, Muhd Herzad bin Mohd Rahman, 
Nisha Ramzdan, Ong Mia Xiang, Sebastian Canterrero, and Win Swe Hlaing. 
References 
Andriesse, J.P (1988). Nature and management of tropical peat soils. FAO Soils Bull. 59. 
Rome: Food & Agriculture Organisation. 
Balasubramanian, R., Victor, T. & Chun, N. (2001). Chemical and statistical analysis of 
precipitation in Singapore. Water Air Soil Pollut. 130: 451-456. 
Briffett, C. & Ho, H.C. (1999). State of the natural environment in Singapore. Singapore: 
Nature Society (Singapore). 
Brook, B.W., Sodhi, N.S. & Ng, P.K.L. (2003). Catastrophic extinctions follow deforestation in 
Singapore. Nature 424: 420-426. 
Chen, F. (1999). A study of heavy metal distribution in Singapore. M.Sc. thesis, Nanyang 
Technological University, Singapore. 
Chen, W., Tan, S.K. & Tay, J.H. (1996). Distribution, fractional composition and release of 
sediment-bound heavy metals in tropical reservoirs. Water Air Soil Pollut. 92: 273-287. 
Chen, M., Boyle, E.A., Switzer, A.D. & Gouramanis, C. (2016). A century long sedimentary 
record of anthropogenic lead (Pb), Pb isotopes and other trace metals in Singapore. 
Environ. Pollut. 213: 446-459. 
Chia, L.S., Rahman, A. & Tay, D.B.H. (1991). The Biophysical Environment of Singapore. 
Singapore: Singapore University Press. 
Clews, E., Corlett, R.T., Ho, J.K.I., Koh, C.Y., Liong, S.Y., Memory, A., Ramchunder, S., 
Siow, H.J.M.P., Sun, Y., Tan, H.H., Tan, S.Y., Tan, H.T.W., Theng, M.T.Y. & Yeo, D.C.J. 
(2018) The biological, ecological and conservation significance of freshwater swamp 
forest in Singapore. Gard. Bull. Singapore 70 (Suppl. 1): 9-31. 
Corlett, R.T. (1991). Plant succession on degraded land in Singapore. J. Trop. Forest Sci. 4(2): 
151-161. 
