Orchids
The silence of the night covered by the sky
The warmth of the sun welcomes your charm
The luxurious crown of nature that is rhythmic
The beauty of the slender colors radiates
Water the sembilu as far as the eye can see, our himba
Love, Hope, Struggle, and Strength
Stay alive, don’t make yourself extinct
Orchids on the edge of peat restoration
Aris-Yasmin, City of Rain, June 24, 2024
For ornamental plant lovers, orchid plants are one of the ornamental plants for the yard and home decoration, because they have a variety of beautiful and attractive shapes and colors. Orchid plants generally grow and spread from lowland wet tropical areas.
Orchid plants as ornamental plants have high economic value for ornamental plant lovers. In addition to being ornamental plants, orchids also play a role in the ecosystem as bioindicators of ecosystem health, indicators of climate change both regionally and globally, and sources of bioactive compounds in health (Widjaja et al. 2014). As an ecosystem, one of the sources of life for ants, termites and bees.
One of the orchid plants found by the KPSHK team in HD Buntoi is known as the Climbing Orchid, in Latin Dipodium pictum. The physical characteristics of this orchid plant are climbing, the leaves are arranged slenderly in one stacked plane and are around 30 to 40 cm long and 2 to 3 cm wide. The flowers are around 5 cm in diameter and have maroon spots.
“This orchid plant was found in the Buntoi village forest near the second observation tower,” said Abdul Azis as the KPSHK Peat Restoration Manager, while checking the construction of the second observation tower in the Buntoi Village Forest.
“Actually, this orchid plant is occasionally found and is also spread across 4 village forests,” he added while showing a photo of the orchid plant.
The Dipodium pictum orchid plant is spread across 4 village forests, namely HD Buntoi, HD Mantaren I, HD Kalawa and HD Gohong. Currently, the 4 HDs together with KPSHK (Consortium for Supporting the Community Forest System) are collaborating in the PTEHG (Integrated Management of Peat Forest Ecosystems) program in the context of peat forest restoration which is currently entering its third year.
The Dipodium pictum is generally found in HD not far from the border with the Production Forest utilized by the community. Information from the community who are members of the TPH team for the PTEHG program, in conducting village forest patrols, revealed that this beautiful orchid plant is now rare.
Karlin as the Head of LPHD Buntoi in the discussion also said that, “There used to be a lot of orchids, especially in our Buntoi Village Forest, there were various types of orchids, and there were also a lot of pitcher plants. Well… but now this is the condition of the forest, I only depend on our children and grandchildren in the future”.
In the midst of peat forests healing themselves from the wounds of forest and land fires that have occurred repeatedly in the last few years, orchids are like crowned goddesses who are present to water the sadness of the community. The discovery of orchid plants is expected to be evidence that the peat forest ecosystem is slowly starting to improve. Through the restoration of PTEHG in 4 HD Kahayan Hilir, it is hoped that it will be able to restore the function of the peat forest ecosystem as a place to live and for the life of diverse flora and fauna.
Author: Aris
Editor: Joko & Alma
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