Forests for the Future: Growing and Planting Native Trees for Restoring Forest Ecosystems

All over Thailand, people who are concerned about the rapid destruction of the Kingdom's once magnificent forest are banding together to plant trees. Gone are the days when plantations of pines and eucalypts were considered to be the only viable form of reforestation. Nowadays, with rising ecological awareness, interest in watershed protection and wildlife conservation is growing and triggering a need to re-establish more natural forests. Unfortunately the recent surge in public enthusiasm for planting native forest trees has not been supported with sound technical advice. Planting stock is often of poor quality, of inappropriate species and care of trees after planting is often insufficient. This book, based on the work of Chiang Mai University's Forest Restoration Research Unit, since 1994, offers a basic introduction to growing and planting native forest tree species, to restore near-natural forest ecosystems. It provides practical advice on which tree species to plant, how to grow them in a nursery and how to organize a tree-planting event. If you are already involved in reforestation activities, or if you are thinking of starting a new tree-planting group, this book will be of interest to you.