Extensive study has been made by FORRU, local forestry staff and students of Wailailak University of the trees of the lowland forest in the remaining range of Gurney’s Pitta in southern Thailand, including the identity of species and their flowering and fruiting phenologies. Over 180 species of tree have been identified and reference and voucher collections made of leaves and seeds. Phenology trails have been established and over 200 trees individually labelled.
Detailed measurements of sapling growth rates have been made in the tree nursery to identify potential framework species for forest restoration, and field visits have established the identity of trees capable of regenerating in deforested areas. Three different forest restoration methods have been trialled and closely monitored at experimental plots; accelerated natural regeneration, replanting with framework species and direct seeding. All three show potential for wider forest restoration. A technical guide to forest restoration methods in the area has been produced.
Moreover, a local school curriculum “Gurney’s Pitta and Nature” was developed mainly by BCST and its partners. The curriculum aims to i) establish systematically basic learning about Gurney’s Pitta, ii) promote this subject at higher levels of education, iii) promote Gurney’s Pitta as a flagship species for conservation and iv) raise awareness of local people on Gurney’s Pitta conservation.
61: Forest Restoration for Wildlife Conservation
In 2000, there was little interest in restoring tropical forest ecosystems as wildlife habitat. The need was to consolidate the concept and to identify how scientific research might contribute...
62: Tree Colonization of Abandoned Agricultural Clearings in Seasonal Tropical Montane Forest in Northern Thailand
ABSTRACT: In 1994 the Thai Government embarked upon a nationwide project to restore degraded forests. One approach to such an endeavour is to assist natural regeneration (ANR) by managing a site...
63: 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...
64: Low technology tree propagation and the restoration of natural forest ecosystems
ABSTRACT: Loss of forests, and their associated biodiversity, is a serious issue in many developing tropical countries. Throughout northern Thailand for example, large areas within national parks...
65: Understanding and assisting natural regeneration processes in degraded seasonal evergreen forests in northern Thailand
ABSTRACT: The Thailand government has recently embarked upon a nation-wide project to restore degraded forests. One approach could be to assist natural regeneration (ANR) by counteracting...
66: Workshop Review: Can tree plantations restore degraded tropical forests?
SUMMARY: About 15 million sq km of the tropics is classified as “degraded". One way to rehabilitate degraded land and take the pressure off remaining forest is to establish plantations of...
67: A Comparison of Ground Flora Diversity between Forest and Plantations in Doi Suthep-Pui National Park.
ABSTRACT: Ground flora diversity was compared among old-growth forest and tree plantations in Doi Suthep-Pui National Park from March to December 1994. Five study sites, viz. evergreen forest, a...
68: Research needs for restoring the forests of Thailand
We wrote this paper shortly after FORRU-CMU's foundation in 1994, with our UK partners, to raise the profile of the then novel concept of forest ecosystem restoration and to lay out the unit's...
69: Effects of Irrigation on The Phenology and Seedling Community of a Deciduous Dipterocarp Forest at Huai Hong Khrai
ABSTRACT: An investigation of the effects of irrigation on the phenology and seedling communities of a deciduous dipterocarp forest at Huai Hong Khrai, Doi Saket District, Chiang Mai Province,...
70: Can community forestry save biodiversity?
SUMMARY: All over the world, governments are handing over control of state forests to local communities, in the hope that local communities will manage them better than state agencies have. But...