"Apart from being home to hundreds of wildlife, the forests of Sri Lanka bestow our island with other ‘blessings’ – harbouring high amounts of endemic biodiversity in plant life and wildlife, regulating our climate, and contributing to unique soil properties giving Sri Lankan crops an inimitable quality from the rest of the world. For instance, Sri Lankan Cinnamon and Pure Ceylon Tea.
Although small, the island of Sri Lanka shows a remarkable diversity of forest types and is considered some of the biologically richest forests in Asian and Far-east. This exceptional diversity is mainly owed to Sri Lanka’s geo-evolutionary processes that include special and seasonal changes to the past and present climate. Changes in relief, topography, and soil are other contributing factors. Having a high variety of trees contributes to the health of a forest making them resistant and adaptable to change.
It’s uncanny how different types of forests exist on this small island. In 65,612 km2 of Sri Lanka’s entire land area there exist lowland rainforests, montane forests, dry monsoon forests, moist monsoon forests, moist monsoon forests, sparse and open vegetation, and riverine dry forests. This difference is created by varying rainfall, altitude, and soil in different areas.
Ancient Sri Lanka has closely relied on forests for food, medicine, fuel, housing materials, and even hygiene practices. Since the 1880s this connection has been distancing. With the population increasing the future of forests is dire. In the past 50 years, overall forest cover has been halved due to agriculture and logging. Three decades ago, where forest cover was at 70% of the land has today dwindled to less than 40%. Irrigation development and agricultural expansions are the key drivers of changes in forest cover. The quality of forests has also reduced with more scrublands appearing.
Here are a few arboreal representatives that contribute to a forest diversity that is unique to Sri Lanka.
Wal Del | Ceylon Breadfruit| Artocarpus Nobilis
An ornamental evergreen tree with a greyish brown trunk and heavy crown of large stiff dark brown leaves. It produces a fleshy fruit with multiple segments. The edible seeds are used for medicinal purposes.
Wallapatta | Agar Wood | Gyrinops Walla
A tree with brownish-grey bark and bright green leaves alternately arranged on twigs. Found in the rainforest, white flowers are present and its fruit is a reddish-brown capsule. There’s a high demand for Walla Patta to use as extracts for perfume from its fungi-infected bark.
Hal | Vateria Copallifera
A slender and greyish tree with velvety twigs and a branched crown. The leaves are long and tapering and the flowers are cream coloured clusters. The fruits are large and round, and have a seed that can be scraped and used as flour.
Hora | Dipterocarpus Zeylanicus
This tall tree grows up to 40-45 metres only branches at the top. Its young leaves are red and hairy. When mature the big and oval-shaped leaves turn green. The tree can be easily identified by its seeds that have two wings enabling it to travel by wind for pollination. It has been used as a timber wood for railway sleepers, telephone poles, etc
While tree planting strategies are important, we must prioritise protecting existing forests, especially primary forests such as Sri Lanka’s Sinharaja Forest Complex in Ratnapura District. Several other notable forests in Sri Lanka are Kanneliya Rainforest Reserve, Knuckles Forest Reserve, Labugama-Kalutuawawa Forest Reserve, and Udawatte Kele Sanctuary."
