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Description |
Geographic Range [top]
Range Description: Aquilaria microcarpa occurs within Johor state in Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, East Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, and Kalimantan and Sumatra of Indonesia (Lee and Mohamed 2016). In Malaysia it is found at altitudes up to 250 m asl (Faridah-Hanu et al. 2009). Aquilaria microcarpa in Peninsular Malaysia is only known from a single herbarium specimen collected in Mersing, Johor (Lee and Mohamed 2016). In Brunei Darussalam this species has populations in all four of the countries districts: Belait, Brunei-Muara, Temburong and Tutong (Wong et al. 2015).
Countries occurrence:
Native:
Brunei Darussalam; Indonesia (Kalimantan, Sumatera); Malaysia (Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, Sarawak); Singapore
Additional data:
? Upper elevation limit (metres): 250
Range Map: Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.
Population [top]
Population: Aquilaria microcarpa in Peninsular Malaysia is only known from a single herbarium specimen collected in Mersing, Johor (Lee and Mohamed 2016). Rose (2013) notes that the presence of A. microcarpa in Brunei Darussalam is under threat. This species is described as abundant in Sabah and Sarawak of Malaysia (Lee and Mohamed 2016). Described as uncommon by Donovan and Puri (2004) in Kalimantan, Indonesia, due to previous extensive exploitation. Although the population density is not known for A. microcarpa specifically, for the genus in general Aquilaria spp. are a minor component of the forest community (CITES 2015). Sidiyasa et al. (1986) note that it was very difficult to find Aquilaria spp. of ? 30 cm dbh in regions of Kalimantan. There has been an estimated 20.2% decline in forest cover (30% canopy density) in the species range between 2000-2016 (Margono et al. 2012, World Resources Institute 2017). On average across Borneo there has been a 30.2% loss in lowland forest from 1975-2010 (Gaveau et al. 2014). There has also been an estimated lowland primary forest loss of 21.3% in Sumatra between 2000-2012 (Margono et al. 2014). In Indonesia, Aquilaria is indiscriminately targeted for agarwood harvesting which has resulted in an estimated decline of around 80%. It is assumed that during the past three generations of this long-lived species there has been a decline in habitat of at least 30% and considering it is also targeted for agarwood, the loss for this species is likely to be even higher at over 50% globally, however more information is needed on species level population decline.
Current Population Trend: Decreasing
Additional data:
? Continuing decline of mature individuals: Yes
Habitat and Ecology [top]
Habitat and Ecology: Aquilaria microcarpa is a large tree that grows in lowland tropical forest (Faridah-Hanum et al. 2009, Siburian et al. 2015). Aquilaria spp. have been observed to have a low natural regeneration and to be slow growing (CITES 2015). In Indonesia A. microcarpa preferred habitat is coastal hill forests (Donovan and Puri 2004).
Systems: Terrestrial
Generation Length (years): 50-100
Use and Trade [top]
Use and Trade: This species is reported to produce the fragrant resin known as agarwood (Lee and Mohamed 2016). Aquilaria microcarpa is cultivated as a plantation species in the Borneo region (Lee and Mohamed 2016). Aquilaria microcarpa is grown with increasing popularity by farmers in Sumatra and Kalimantan of Indonesia (Turjaman et al. 2016). Aquilaria microcarpa has been successfully cultivated as a plantation species within the Borneo region (Lee and Mohamed 2016).
Although all Aquilaria spp. are listed on Appendix II of CITES there are no species identification procedures in place and unless done at the point of harvest identification is near impossible. This makes effective regulation and monitoring of the genus in trade extremely difficult (Soeharto et al. 2016). Analysis of CITES Trade data between 1996 and 2015 show that there is relatively limited trade of A. microcarpa. The top commodity exported was 100 kg of chips exported from Malaysia, of which all were sourced from the wild (TRAFFIC pers. comm. 2017). It is likely that A. microcarpa is traded under A. malaccensis as it has been noted that they look very similar (Soeharto et al. 2016).
Threats [top]
Major Threat(s): This species is threatened by harvesting for agarwood and habitat conversion (L. Chua Swee Lian pers. comm. 2018).
Conservation Actions [top]
Conservation Actions: All species of the genus Aquilaria have been listed on Appendix II of CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) since 2005. Aquilaria microcarpa is recorded in one ex situ collection on Botanic Gardens Conservation Internationals PlantSearch database (BGCI PlantSearch 2017). Kebun Raya Botanic Garden holds an ex situ collection of A. microcarpa (Soehartono and Newton 2001). In Brunei Darussalam there are populations of Aquilaria microcarpa in Ulu Temburong National Park, and other Forest Reserves and conservation areas, where logging is forbidden (Wong et al. 2015). Wong et al. (2015) provided a provisional assessment of Least Concern for this species in Brunei Darussalam. In Sarawak, Malaysia, A. microcarpa is listed as a "protected plant" under Sarawaks Wild Life Protection Ordinance 1998 and a permit from the Controller of Wildlife is required to harvest and trade the species. Furthermore, the Sarawak National Parks and Nature Reserves Ordinance 1998 made collecting agarwood from any national park or nature reserve illegal (Wyn and Anak 2010). Aquilaria microcarpa was assessed as Data Deficient in Peninsular Malaysia (Lau and Chua 2012). It is recommended that its population should be monitored and species identification procedures need to be implemented at the point of harvest and when it is being exported/imported in order to better assess the impact of agarwood harvesting.
Citation: Harvey-Brown, Y. 2018. Aquilaria microcarpa. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T33698A88301920. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-1.RLTS.T33698A88301920.en. Downloaded on 19 November 2018.
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