Abstract
This paper describes an early example of Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR), which resulted from collaboration between a university, local community, and national park authority in the upper Mae Sa Valley, near Chiang Mai City, northern Thailand. Working together, the Hmong community of Ban Mae Sa Mai, Doi Suthep National Park Authority and Chiang Mai University’s Forest Restoration Research Unit (FORRU-CMU) established a chronosequence of trial restoration plots from 1996 to 2013, to test the framework-species method of forest restoration. The project developed successful restoration techniques and gained insights into the factors that influence villagers’ participation in forest restoration. Recovery of forest biomass, carbon storage, structure, biodiversity and ecological functioning exceeded expectations. Villagers appreciated the improved water security resulting from the project, as well as a better relationship with the park authority and increased land security. Recently, however, tree chopping and a breakdown in fire-prevention measures (perhaps symptoms of “project fatigue”) have threatened the sustainability of the plot system. The project demonstrates the importance of a sound scientific basis for forest restoration projects, long-term institutional support, and appropriate funding mechanisms, to achieve sustainability.
Highlights
Successful restoration of tropical forest ecosystems depends on synergies between ecological science and social science
In 1996, FORRU-CMU contacted the national park authority to ask for a suitable location for field trials to test the framework-species method of forest restoration and the authority suggested that we work with the Hmong community of Ban Mae Sa Mai
The project was initiated during meetings among FORRU-CMU staff, national park officials, and key villagers, leading members of the Ban Mae Sa Mae Natural Resources Conservation group, in March 1996 at the village school, with participatory sketch maps of potential restoration sites drawn on the school blackboard
Summary
Successful restoration of tropical forest ecosystems depends on synergies between ecological science and social science. The framework-species method involves testing tree species from the indigenous target forest ecosystem for their ability to (1) survive and grow well in deforested sites; (2) shade out weeds (with dense spreading crowns); and (3) produce resources, such as fleshy fruit or nectar-rich flowers, early in life, to attract seed-dispersing animals and promote biodiversity recovery (Figure 1). This involved establishing a chronosequence of restoration plots, established annually from 1996 to.
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