The impact of development on the fern flora in some areas of Malaysia and efforts toward conservation

Abstract

Recent deforestation in some areas on offshore islands of Peninsular Malaysia for the development of tourism seriously threatens the survival of endemic ferms. Quarrying and mining especially in Pulau Langkawi together with the continuous extraction of timber from hill forests on the mainland pose a real danger to the fern flora, in terms of area depletion and extinction due to changes in edaphic conditions. Efforts to introduce these threatened taxa into a managed Fern Garden are being undertaken. -from Author