Foreign Plant Invades Mount Semeru
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Selasa, 18 Juni 2013 16:54 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Forest Ecosystem Controller officer Toni Artaka from the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park (TNBTS) Management has revealed a discovery of a foreign plant species, Verbena brasiliensis Vell, which grows invasively in Mount Semeru. The plant, native to South America, has created a vast overlay in Mount Semeru's Oro-Oro Ombo.
The species has 'occupied' 20 hectares of the Oro-Oro Ombo area which was originally a savannah. Verbena brasiliensis Vell has purple flower similar to lavender. The combination of greenish yellow and purple has created a beautiful landscape similar to that of European gardens especially in the Netherlands and France. Trekkers often stopped by to take photos in the vast bed of flowers which is located in the fifth out of ten posts in the Mount Semeru hiking trail.
Toni explained that the beauty is deceiving. "There is an ecological threat behind it. This plant can become a serious problem just like the Salvinia molesta which had covered the waters of Ranu Pani in last year's June and July, and the 'attack' of the thorny acacia [Acacia nilotica] in Baluran [National Park] which has not been completely overcomed," Toni told Tempo last week.
Regardless of its beauty, Verbena brasiliensis has raised certain concern. The non-native plant is invasive and may continue to dominate the habitat and take over the space of native species in the TNBTS such as in the Ranu Kumbolo savannah, Oro-Oro Ombo, Jambangan, and Kalimati. The plant's presence may also interfere with the native ecosystem.
ABDI PURMONO