FORRU-CMU contributed to a project organized by Thailand's Supreme Command and the IUCN to restore forest on 1,440 ha of degraded land on Doi Mae Salong (DMSL), Chiang Rai Province. The project was adopted by IUCN’s 'Livelihoods and Landscapes' Initiative, with tree-planting sponsored by Plant a Tree Today (PATT) Foundation. The restoration sites were exhausted former agricultural areas, on steep slopes, at risk of soil erosion and landslides.
The objectives were
- to transform degraded areas into forest to honour the Royal Family and
- to prevent soil erosion.
FORRU-CMU provided technical and scientific assistance to the project (2007-10) Sixty village leaders, local authority officers, school teachers and forestry officers attended 3 workshops, run by FORRU-CMU staff in Chiang Mai, on the general concepts and skills needed for forest restoration.
Subsequently, IUCN organized construction of tree nurseries at 8 village schools in the project area. FORRU-CMU provided training in tree nursery techniques on-site at the 8 school tree nurseries during 2009. The FORRU-CMU team ran a series of educational and training events at the schools, covering seed germination, potting trees, care of trees in the nursery, as well as tree planting and aftercare.
Seed collection was identified as requiring special attention. To address this, FORRU-CMU organized a “forest children” (“look mai pah”) club program. Children got involved in labelling target seed trees —"treasure trees"—, collecting seeds from them and also helping to germinate them. Participating children became members of the club, and accumulated points on a membership card, in exchange for rewards.
In addition, an experimental plot was established to test the suitability of the framework species method of forest restoration (FORRU, 2006) near Ban Lo Yo, in collaboration with the village committee. FORRU-CMU carried out monitoring of this plot over the year and a technical report, presenting initial results on performance of the planted trees, was submitted to IUCN in December 2009.
41: 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...
42: Effects of Media and Fungicide on Seed Germination and Early Seedling Growth
This project tested the effects of media composition and fungicide application on the propagation of 3 native forest species for restoration of forest ecosystems on degraded forestland. The...
43: Tree Seeds and Seedlings for Restoring Forests in Northern Thailand
The forests of northern Thailand are fast disappearing, along with their wildlife and the many products and ecological services they provide for local communities and the national economy. In...
44: 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...
45: 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...
46: Forest restoration research in conservation areas in northern Thailand
Loss of forests and their associated biodiversity is a serious issue in many tropical countries. In Thailand, for example, forest cover has been reduced from about 53% in the early 1960s...
47: 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...
48: Forest restoration research in northern Thailand: 2. the fruits, seeds and seedlings of Gluta usitata (Wall.) Hou (Anacardiaceae)
Gluta usitata was one of the first tree species we looked into as a potential framework species for restoration lowland deciduous forest. Its red-winged fruits put on a spectacular display at the...
49: Forest Restoration Research in Northern Thailand, 1. The Fruits, Seeds and Seedlings of Hovenia dulcis Thunb. (Rhamnaceae)
Hovenia dulcis Thunb. (Rhamnaceae) is a rare native tree species recently added to Thailand's flora, found in stream valleys in primary lower montane evergreen forest 1,075- 1,250 m above sea...
50: Effects of Heat Treatments on Seed Germination of Some Native Tree Species on Doi Suthep
ABSTRACT: Fifty species of native trees were collected from 27 families, 45 genera from Doi Suthep. Twenty-nine species germinated, 11 species from deciduous forest, 16 species from primary...