page_title: Cát Tiên National Park
section_title: Habitats and flora
hierarchical_section_title: Cát Tiên National Park / Habitats and flora
caption_attribution_description: English: Trees next to Ben Cu rapids at Cat Tien National Park: showing forest structure
context_page_description: Cát Tiên National Park is a national park located in the south of Vietnam, approximately 150 km north of Ho Chi Minh City. It has an area of about 720 km² and protects one of the largest areas of lowland tropical forests left in Vietnam.
context_section_description: Cát Tiên National Park (CTNP) consists of seasonal tropical forests, grasslands and riparian areas, with Park Authorities identifying five major habitat types as follows:
  1. Primary evergreen forest areas perhaps comprise only about 2% of the Nam Cat Tien area; can be highly diverse but are dominated by trees in two families  (for other Families and Species see below):
  Fabaceae: Afzelia xylocarpa (Caesalpinoidea) and rosewoods (Papilionoideae): including the endemic Dalbergia mammosa.
  Dipterocarpaceae: notably Dipterocarpus alatus, which occurs naturally, but with a good survival rate, it is widely used for replanting; Hopea odorata is also used for replanting.
  2. Primary and secondary mixed or deciduous forest (dry season):
  Where soils are well-drained the following trees are common:
  Lagerstroemia calyculata (Lythraceae),
  Tetrameles nudiflora (Tetramelaceae), of there are spectacularly large specimen trees,
  Anogeissus acuminata (Combretaceae).
  The abundance L. calyculata is discussed by Blanc et al. especially as an indicator of secondary forest. "It appears to be a very good competitive species able to regenerate on denuded areas: along roads and on land abandoned after cultivation. Human disturbances have mostly affected Dipterocarpaceae for resin and Fabaceae for their wood."
  The low canopy and under-story zones contains species such as the endemic Cycas inermis; a number of palms are common, including Caryota mitis, Licuala and Pinanga spp., together with a wide range of fruit species (important food for animals) such as figs (e.g. Ficus racemosa) and wild bananas (Musa acuminata).
  3. Secondary forest with abundant bamboo species: this due to human activity, the forest having been degraded by logging, forest fires and in some areas war-time defoliants, which have caused the forest canopy to be replaced with bamboos. Common trees include Lagerstroemia calyculata, Mesua sp. and Xylia xylocarpa, with bamboo species present.
  4. Bamboo forest (some 40% of the Park area) may also have been affected by human activity, including areas where forest was previously cleared for subsistence agriculture creating favourable conditions for bamboos; species include: Bambusa balcooa, B. procera, and Gigantochloa spp.
  5. Seasonally flooded grasslands: CTNP has substantial (approximately 10%) area of grassland (including disused farmland) and wetlands
  In the rainy season, Dong Nai river water floods into an area of 2,500 ha area of northern Nam Cat Tien, along the Da Kluo which is a reverse flow stream (like Tonlé Sap) replenishing the lakes: Bau Sau (crocodile lake), Bau Chim, Bau Co and the surrounding grasslands.
  In the flat eastern half of Nam Cat Tien especially, there are a number of swamps (see above) surrounding isolated, poorly-drained small open areas – typically 3-10 ha - that might best be described as wet meadows - that are often surrounded with swamp forest and may also contain vernal pools.
caption: Trees next to Ben Cu rapids at the beginning of the dry season: showing forest structure
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