Field Work in YUS Conservation Area

Field Research work in the Rugged Sarawaged mountains of Morobe is one of the very challenging moments.

YUS conservation area (06 °00’53’’ S, 145° 24’45’’E) is in Kabwum District of the YUS local level government in Morobe Province, PNG. YUSCA covers about 76,000 hectares of tropical forest from PNG’s northern coast to the interior Sarawaged Mountains. YUSCA is perhaps the first protected area in PNG with elevation stretching from lowland coastal plain to montane forest. Gazetted in January 2009 as PNG’s first national conservation area, YUSCA is the first to be declared under the nation’s Conservation Areas Act of 1978.

The nearest research camp from the village is more than four hours hike up steep rugged mountains. Other research camps are worse to get to. Despite the effort invested in getting there, one will appreciate the forest and the information and data collected there will be of greate importance and reliable. The forest there is primarily virgin with minor disturbances from research activities. Anthropogenic, human disturbance on the vegetation is very rare.

The mountains of the Huon Peninsula have a very interesting geological history. So much of the surface geology reflects near shore sea sediments (limestone). This set of mountains is the product of plate contact between the Bismarck and Australian plate. The Huon Mountains, therefore, are very young, much younger than the mountains of the central range south of the Markham-Ramu divide. As such, information on the biodiversity there will be of interest.

more to come......