Conservation recommendations for Nee Soon 
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d) Mitigation of hillslope soil erosion: management of fire-associated loss of hillslope 
vegetation, possible revegetation of hillslopes after considering the importance of 
hillslope stability and ecological succession. 
e) Monitor and manage tree falls and diebacks: i) investigate and potentially mitigate 
against increased rates of tree falls and diebacks; and ii) manage loss of forest cover 
caused by increased risk of fires due to drought / extended dry periods by improving 
accessibility for fire fighters appropriately trained for operation in a nature reserve. 
Maintaining ecological integrity 
a) Forest recovery and replanting of endemic plant species to aid the ecological 
resurgence of the reserve as well as the retention of water, sediments, and nutrients in 
the system. 
b) Propagation of rare plant species or those restricted to Nee Soon freshwater swamp 
forest to facilitate replanting. 
c) Continued exploration of flora and fauna alongside the further development of 
barcoding techniques to yield more rediscoveries, new records, or rare species that can 
be targeted for conservation action. 
d) Long-term monitoring and standardised sampling of faunal communities as part of a 
comprehensive, national ecological monitoring programme for inland waters to build 
on current knowledge, capture long-term trends, and inform management decisions. 
At least annual screening for surveillance monitoring should be conducted at multiple 
stations (preferably representing a range of stream orders) alongside higher intensity 
monitoring to investigate potential issues and to improve system understanding. 
Establishment of minimum/maximum acceptable water-levels through refinement of 
faunal response models can be applied as thresholds/targets for management. 
e) Manage the spread of alien species into Nee Soon freshwater swamp forest from up- 
and down-stream sources through the use of systems such as weirs, low head dams, 
flap gates or electric fish barriers downstream from Nee Soon freshwater swamp forest 
and/or upstream of reservoir input. 
f) Mitigate against the high pH of reservoir water via chemical dosing or (preferably) 
filtration through vegetated, “peaty” soil high in organic matter and tannins derived 
from typical freshwater swamp forest plants (whereby the leaf litter provided by the 
typical swamp forest flora provides acidity via humic acids typical of freshwater 
swamp forest soils). 
Mitigating effects of spillway 
a) To reduce/prevent back-flooding into the swamp that flushes the system with 
reservoir water (from the dam at the mouth of the Upper Seletar outlet, or “spillway”) 
