TEMPO.CO, Malang - As many as 25 types of plantations originating from European countries are growing invasively in the area of Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park (BBTN BTS). The invasion is threatening the endemic plants population in the national park.
"The plantations were brought into Indonesia by a botanist," said BBTN BTS researcher Toni Artaka yesterday.
A book entitled 'Flora Pegunungan Jawa' (Flora of Java Mountains) written by Dutchman Van Steenis mentioned that a botanist enjoyed bringing plantations from overseas during the colonialism era.
The plantations were used for research based in a Dutch housing in Nongkojajar, Pasuruan, East Java. The invading plantations include fennel (foeniculum vulgare mill), Verbena brasiliensis, chromolaena odorata, and Salvinia molesta.
They thrive over a wide area in the national park since there was no plant-eating insects that control their growth. "The growth of local plantations is inhibited," said Toni.
EKO WIDIANTO