Shuangsi Tropical Viviparous Forest

Shuangsi Tropical Viviparous Forest (雙溪熱帶母樹林) is a forest reserve in Meinong Township, Kaohsiung County, Taiwan.

The reserve, 7.56 hectares in size, is managed by the Council of Agriculture Forestry Bureau. It was established in 1935 by the Japanese colonial authorities, who imported and nurtured 270 plant and tree species from different parts of Asia, Australia, and South America, in order to learn which species could thrive in Taiwan.

Now 96 different tree species grow in the forest; eleven are represented by a single specimen. In a few cases, these exotics and the only trees of their kind surviving anywhere in Taiwan.

The forest, around 100 meters above sea level, gets 2,000 to 3,000 millimeters of rain a year.

External Links & Sources

"Shuangsi Forest: Biodiversity hotspot" The China Post, Sept 28, 2006http://www.chinapost.com.tw/travel/detail.asp?ID=91523&GRP=g