<p>I know from many years of personal experience in the Malaysian rainforest (Sarawak, Sabah and Peninsular Malaya) that it is not inflammable. Dayaks and aborigines cultivate small patches of shifting cultivation called <em>ladangs</em>, but the trees have to be felled and dried in the sun before they can be burned. No precautions are necessary to prevent the surrounding rainforest from catching fire. </p>

<p>Yet, I often hear of rainforest being burned on a vast scale, particularly in Brazil, and wonder how it can be rainforest if it burns so easily. Are these inflammable forests really rainforests, or are they being confused with monsoon forests which are dry for a large part of the year? </p>

<p>Another type of vegetation in Malaysia is what we call secondary jungle and Malays call <em>belukar</em>. It is a kind of thorny scrub which soon springs up on abandoned ladangs, and is probably easier to slash and burn than primary rainforest. Left for about 60 years, <em>belukar</em> becomes primary rainforest again.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-24T09:28:15.600Z
PS. Some of the burning "rainforest" I've seen featured on TV recently looks more like scrub from previous cultivation, which in Malaya would be called belukar. In addition, much of the Brazilian forest is monsoon forest, which is much drier than rainforest.
Michael Walsby
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-25T05:10:10.060Z
It is called SLASH and burn agriculture. they don't burn the trees while they are still standing. They chop down all the woody plants,dry them, then burn everything. The burning they are referring too are not forest fires run amok, they are human controlled burns.
John
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-25T16:28:33.407Z
The forests currently burning in Brazil **are** tropical rainforests. With regard to Malaysia, it is currently battling multiple fires in its rainforests. I suspect you have an overly restrictive view of what qualifies as a "rainforest" and are thinking of cloud forests, which represent a tiny fraction of what most climatologists think of as rainforests.
David Hammen
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-25T16:50:02.667Z
I have spent years living and working in the Malaysian rainforest, while you only have second hand opinions. to work with. While I was there, the only fires were the shifting slash and burn cultivation which I describe in my answers. Can you explain why it has changed so much (according to you) since I was there, and why crashed aircraft in WW2 never set it on fire?
Michael Walsby
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-25T17:16:55.717Z
PS I have roamed the rainforest at all altitudes, from lowland rain forest in Johor and Brunei  to mountain rainforest in Perak, Ipoh, Sarawak and Sabah. Felled and sun dried rainforest is not the same thing as pristine rainforest, which is what I explored. It is pretty obvious you know almost nothing about it. Please answer my questions.
Michael Walsby
<forest><rain><deforestation>
Are these tropical forests burning in Brazil and elsewhere really rainforests?
Michael Walsby
# Are these tropical forests burning in Brazil and elsewhere really rainforests?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-08-22)

I know from many years of personal experience in the Malaysian rainforest (Sarawak, Sabah and Peninsular Malaya) that it is not inflammable. Dayaks and aborigines cultivate small patches of shifting cultivation called *ladangs*, but the trees have to be felled and dried in the sun before they can be burned. No precautions are necessary to prevent the surrounding rainforest from catching fire.

Yet, I often hear of rainforest being burned on a vast scale, particularly in Brazil, and wonder how it can be rainforest if it burns so easily. Are these inflammable forests really rainforests, or are they being confused with monsoon forests which are dry for a large part of the year?

Another type of vegetation in Malaysia is what we call secondary jungle and Malays call *belukar*. It is a kind of thorny scrub which soon springs up on abandoned ladangs, and is probably easier to slash and burn than primary rainforest. Left for about 60 years, *belukar* becomes primary rainforest again.

**Tags:** forest, rain, deforestation

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: PS. Some of the burning "rainforest" I've seen featured on TV recently looks more like scrub from previous cultivation, which in Malaya would be called belukar. In addition, much of the Brazilian forest is monsoon forest, which is much drier than rainforest.  
> **username_1**: It is called SLASH and burn agriculture. they don't burn the trees while they are still standing. They chop down all the woody plants,dry them, then burn everything. The burning they are referring too are not forest fires run amok, they are human controlled burns.  
> **username_2**: The forests currently burning in Brazil **are** tropical rainforests. With regard to Malaysia, it is currently battling multiple fires in its rainforests. I suspect you have an overly restrictive view of what qualifies as a "rainforest" and are thinking of cloud forests, which represent a tiny fraction of what most climatologists think of as rainforests.  
> **username_0**: I have spent years living and working in the Malaysian rainforest, while you only have second hand opinions. to work with. While I was there, the only fires were the shifting slash and burn cultivation which I describe in my answers. Can you explain why it has changed so much (according to you) since I was there, and why crashed aircraft in WW2 never set it on fire?  
> **username_0**: PS I have roamed the rainforest at all altitudes, from lowland rain forest in Johor and Brunei  to mountain rainforest in Perak, Ipoh, Sarawak and Sabah. Felled and sun dried rainforest is not the same thing as pristine rainforest, which is what I explored. It is pretty obvious you know almost nothing about it. Please answer my questions.  

---

## 0 answers

