Habitats of Indonesia
Freshwater & peat swamps
Read lakes, floodplains and waterlogged forest separately.
Understanding the environment
A sense of the habitat.
A wetland may be open water, flooded vegetation or forest on saturated ground. Berbak in Sumatra, Danau Sentarum in Kalimantan and Rawa Aopa Watumohai in Sulawesi are documented examples with different environmental settings.
Explore the structure · Explore the environmental contrasts
Read the habitat
Select a zone to see what changes.
Lakes and channels
Open water
Lakes, river channels and their margins form the open-water part of a wetland. Sheltered shorelines, floating vegetation and open water offer different physical settings.
Danau Sentarum illustrates a lake landscape within the upper Kapuas basin.
Conceptual habitat structure, not a measured transect or a species range.
Indonesian examples.
The Ramsar inventory distinguishes Berbak’s swamp forests, Danau Sentarum’s lake system and the mixed landscape of Rawa Aopa Watumohai. The photograph here shows Danau Sentarum; it does not illustrate every wetland type in the guide.
Conservation context
What matters here?
Water systems and surrounding vegetation must be considered together. Keep freshwater, peat and tidal environments distinct, and consult a current local assessment before describing a site as intact or degraded.
Sources: Ramsar — Indonesian wetland site descriptions · UNESCO — Lorentz National Park ·
From habitat to geographic evidence
Explore places & occurrence records.
These links lead to regional collections. A species in a regional list is not automatically confirmed in this habitat or in a named national park.
Sumatra
From lowland rainforest to the Bukit Barisan mountains.
Map, named islands & species →Kalimantan
Rainforest, river basins, lakes and swamp landscapes.
Map, named islands & species →Sulawesi
A central island group in the Wallacean transition.
Map, named islands & species →Papua
From southern lowlands toward the central mountains.
Map, named islands & species →Checked 7 October 2026
Evidence & sources.
- Ramsar — Indonesian wetland site descriptions
Berbak, Danau Sentarum and Rawa Aopa Watumohai site baselines; not current water levels.
- UNESCO — Lorentz National Park
Mountain-to-coast land systems in Indonesian New Guinea.
Explore another habitat.
Rainforest layers
Follow a forest from its crowns to the living ground.
Explore the habitat ↗
Montane forest
Forested ridges, mountain lakes and changes along a slope.
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Mangroves & estuaries
The wooded, tidal boundary between land and sea.
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Seasonal forest & savanna
Open hills, wooded patches and seasonal contrasts.
Explore the habitat ↗Coasts, seagrass & reefs
Explore the marine side of the archipelago.
Explore the habitat ↗