Many indigenous birds such as Layard's parakeet (Psittacula calthripae), the Jungle fowl (Gallus lafayetii ), the Spur fowl (Galloperdix bicalcarata), the Ceylon Wood Pigeon (Columba torringtonii), the Ceylon Hanging Parrot (Loriculus beryllinus), the Ceylon Grey Hornbill (Ocyceros gingalensis), the Ashy-headed Laughing Thrush (Garrulax cinereifrons), the Brown- capped Babbler (Pellorneum fuscocapillum), the Red-faced Malkoha (Phaenicophaeus pyrrhocephalus) and the Ceylon Blue Magpie (Urocissa ornate) among others, are prominent in this area.
For countless generations the local people of the Sinharaja
have been living sustainably from what the forest provided and today
many of the local villagers are continuing to use the forest resources.
One of the main resources provided by the forest is jaggery, a crude
local sugar product from the Kitul Palm (Caryota urens). Used as a
source of income for the local people it has been a traditional
ingredient to Sri Lankan people for many years. The production of the
sugar is for trading at the local weekly markets.
Another historic village tradition and source of income is
the use of rattan and bamboo to manufacture baskets and other woven
products. Similarly these products can be sold at local markets.Annual precipitation for the reserve, recorded over 60 years, has a range of between 3600mm – 5000mm approximately, whereas annual temperatures range from 19°C - 35°C. South westerly seasonal monsoons greatly contribute to the annual rains, particularly through May – July, whereas from November - January seasonal monsoons approach from the north east
Geologically, Sri Lanka is divided into three main groups of rock types, viz. the highland group, the South-western group and the Vijayan Complex, all consisting of Precambrian crystalline rocks. The Sinharaja lies in the transition zone between the Highland group The rock types found in the Khondalites of metamorphosed sediments and charnkite of the Highland group as well as the metasediments, charnokites and scapolite bearing calc-granulites of the south-western group.
The most significant geological feature of the forest is a distinctive zone of basic rocks which are referred to as the "Sinharaja basic zone", and which consist of horneblende, pyriclasts, basic charnokites, pyroxene amphiobolites inter-banded with minor accurrences of quartzites, garnetbiotite gneisses and intermediate chrnokites. The basic chrnokites and pyroxene amphibolites indicate an igneous origin prior to metamorphism, created by a low pressure. It is thought that this basic rock formation has led to the desilication processes in the surrounding areas of Ratnapura and Deniyaya which have gem-fields of cordierite-bearing rocks.
The basic zone also
coincides with an aeromagnetic anomaly stretching from
Nawalakande through Pitakele and ending at the
Denuwankanda-Beverly Estate area.
The soils of Sri Lanka have been
classified into 14 great groups. The soils of the Sinharaja belong to the
Red-Yellow Podzolic group, with newly formed alluvial soils along river
valleys. The origin of these soils is mostly residual while weathering of
parent material into laterites and lateritic soils is increased by high
rainfull and temperature. The soils are also impermeble due to the
presence of ferrogenous and kaolinitic soil material rich in alumina.
Traces of magnesia and lime prevalent in the original rock can be detected
wherever leaching has not been excessive. Variation in soil depth is
considerable and can range from a few centimeters in very rocks areas to 4
or 5 meters on lateritic soil on slopes.
In a non-industrialised country
like Sri Lanka, wilderness areas have long been subject to the activities
of man, and Sinharaja is no exception. The long history of human
habitation in and around today's MAB
Reserve in fact compounds the problems of managing and conserving the
forest. Scattered about the borders of the reserve are some 39 or so
villages. Most of the ancient hamlets are to be found along the southern
boundary of the Reserve, on the banks of the Gin Ganga with a few located
on the north-western side. Only two, viz.
| A village scene in Sinharaja |
Kolonthotuwa and
Warukadeniya are lovated within the Reserve itself. The topography of the
region seems to have influenced the pattern of human settlement, and those
around the Reserve are mainly along the valleys and river basins. Numerous
ancient footpaths exist on the periphery of the Reserve while there are
three which cut across the interior of the forest, one along the western
boundary (Neluwa - Pitakele - Kudawa - Weddagala) a second along the
eastern boundary past Beverley Estate and Denuwakanda and the third
traverses the centre of the forest (Watugala - Kumburugoda - Panapola)
