Forest Restoration Programs Research Articles

The global potential of forest restoration for drought mitigation

Forest restoration is increasingly applied as a climate change mitigation measure. Apart from sequestering carbon, the large-scale addition of trees on Earth may enhance global precipitation levels. Here we estimate the global precipitation effects of the global forest potential by estimating its effects on evaporation and simulating the downwind precipitation effect of the moisture added to the atmosphere. We find that maximum forestation would on average increase evaporation by 0.6 mm d−1 and that two-thirds of that additional evaporation would rain out over land, especially during the growing season. Next, by excluding natural grasslands and prioritizing precipitation enhancement above areas that are projected to become drier due to global climate change, we establish where on Earth forest restoration would have the greatest precipitation benefits. Our results thus provide a first step towards forest restoration programs as double climate-change mitigation efforts.

Tropical Forest Landscape Restoration in Indonesia: A Review

Indonesia has the second-largest biodiversity of any country in the world. Deforestation and forest degradation have caused a range of environmental issues, including habitat degradation and loss of biodiversity, deterioration of water quality and quantity, air pollution, and increased greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. Forest restoration at the landscape level has been conducted to balance ecological integrity and human well-being. Forest restoration efforts are also aimed at reducing CO2 emissions and are closely related to Indonesia’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) from the forestry sector. The purpose of this paper is to examine the regulatory, institutional, and policy aspects of forest restoration in Indonesia, as well as the implementation of forest restoration activities in the country. The article was written using a synoptic review approach to Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR)-related articles and national experiences. Failures, success stories, and criteria and indicators for forest restoration success are all discussed. We also discuss the latest silvicultural techniques for the success of the forest restoration program. Restoration governance in Indonesia has focused on the wetland ecosystem such as peatlands and mangroves, but due to the severely degraded condition of many forests, the government has by necessity opted for active restoration involving the planting and establishment of livelihood options. The government has adapted its restoration approach from the early focus on ecological restoration to more forest landscape restoration, which recognizes that involving the local community in restoration activities is critical for the success of forest restoration.

A de novo reference assembly of the yellow mangrove Ceriops zippeliana genome.

Mangroves are of great ecological and economical importance, providing shelters for a wide range of species and nursery habitats for commercially important marine species. Ceriops zippeliana (yellow mangrove) belongs to Rhizophoraceae family and is commonly distributed in the tropical and subtropical coastal communities. In this study, we present a high-quality assembly of the C. zippeliana genome. We constructed an initial draft assembly of 240,139,412 bases with an N50 contig length of 564,761 bases using the 10x Genomics linked-read technology. This assembly was further scaffolded with RagTag using a chromosome-scale assembly of a closely related Ceriops species as a reference. The final assembly contained 243,228,612 bases with an N50 scaffold length of 10,559,178 Mb. The size of the final assembly was close to those estimated using DNA flow cytometry (248 Mb) and the k-mer distribution analysis (246 Mb). We predicted a total of 23,474 gene models and 21,724 protein-coding genes in the C. zippeliana genome, of which 16,002 were assigned gene ontology terms. We recovered 97.1% of the highly conserved orthologs based on the Benchmarking Universal Single-Copy Orthologs analysis. The phylogenetic analysis based on single-copy orthologous genes illustrated that C. zippeliana and Ceriops tagal diverged approximately 10.2 million years ago (MYA), and their last common ancestor and Kandelia obovata diverged approximately 29.9 MYA. The high-quality assembly of C. zippeliana presented in this work provides a useful genomic resource for studying mangroves’ unique adaptations to stressful intertidal habitats and for developing sustainable mangrove forest restoration and conservation programs.

Large-scale forest conservation and restoration programs significantly contributed to land surface greening in China

China has implemented a portfolio of large-scale forest conservation and restoration programs (FCRPs) to advance the sustainable management of forests. However, the contributions of these programs to forest recovery and land surface greening were generally evaluated on a local scale, which hindered the systematic planning of FCRPs. In this study, we analyzed the spatiotemporal patterns of tree cover (TC) change before and after the intensification of FCRPs using the Mann-Kendall test and the Theil–Sen slope estimator. With the improved phenology-based residual trend analysis (P-RESTREND) method, we derived the spatiotemporal patterns of human-induced tree cover (TCH) change on the national scale. Then, we calculated the effectiveness index of FCRPs at the provincial level, based on which the effectiveness levels for the 31 provinces of mainland China were classified. Our study showed that the area of forested lands with a significant greening trend was almost five times larger in the post-intensification phase (1999–2015) than in the pre-intensification phase of FCRPs (1982–1998). More than 29.9% of the forested lands were significantly improved in TC by human activities in the post-intensification phase. Provinces with high effectiveness levels were generally distributed in humid areas, whereas the majority of provinces with low and moderately low effectiveness levels were spread in arid and semi-arid regions. We concluded that the implementation of FCRPs had contributed greatly to the land surface greening in China. Moreover, the effectiveness of FCRPs in forest recovery was heterogeneous at the provincial level and was driven by multiple natural and socioeconomic factors.

Small and slow is safe: On the drought tolerance of tropical tree species.

Understanding how evolutionary history and the coordination between trait trade-off axes shape the drought tolerance of trees is crucial to predict forest dynamics under climate change. Here, we compiled traits related to drought tolerance and the fast-slow and stature-recruitment trade-off axes in 601 tropical woody species to explore their covariations and phylogenetic signals. We found that xylem resistance to embolism (P50) determines the risk of hydraulic failure, while the functional significance of leaf turgor loss point (TLP) relies on its coordination with water use strategies. P50 and TLP exhibit weak phylogenetic signals and substantial variation within genera. TLP is closely associated with the fast-slow trait axis: slow species maintain leaf functioning under higher water stress. P50 is associated with both the fast-slow and stature-recruitment trait axes: slow and small species exhibit more resistant xylem. Lower leaf phosphorus concentration is associated with more resistant xylem, which suggests a (nutrient and drought) stress-tolerance syndrome in the tropics. Overall, our results imply that (1) drought tolerance is under strong selective pressure in tropical forests, and TLP and P50 result from the repeated evolutionary adaptation of closely related taxa, and (2) drought tolerance is coordinated with the ecological strategies governing tropical forest demography. These findings provide a physiological basis to interpret the drought-induced shift toward slow-growing, smaller, denser-wooded trees observed in the tropics, with implications for forest restoration programmes.

Factors driving native tree species restoration in plantations and tree structure conversion in Chinese temperate forests

Forests have been planted over large areas during forest restoration programs in Northeast China. An important challenge is transforming forest species structure by allowing colonization of native species in plantations, especially under the present policy of limited logging intensity and near-natural management practices. However, research on the entire process of native tree species restoration and conversion of tree species structure over time remains limited. Therefore, a multi-year field study was conducted to document native tree species restoration in plantations and different open land-cover types in Chinese temperate forests. We evaluated native tree species restoration in plantations (n = 30) and different types of natural recovery in open areas (n = 50) as controls. The first survey was conducted in 1990, with plots sampled in plantations of age 4–30 years, and repeat surveys were conducted in 1993, 2004, and 2016. We compared the importance of abiotic and biotic factors in the different survey periods using the Random Forest algorithm for restoration outcome (i.e., presence of ‘large trees’ (DBH ≥ 5 cm) of natural tree species in plantations) and the changes in plantation tree species composition during the survey periods. The aim was to test our hypothesis that abiotic and biotic factors, such as topography, habitat, and distance from nearest forest (i.e., seed source), differ in importance under different restoration periods. The results revealed that the basal area of large trees was the most important variable for native tree species restoration in plantations over the entire survey period. Abiotic factors, such as elevation and slope, differed in importance and relevance in the different recovery periods to the restoration outcomes in plantations and open areas. Increase in distance from seed source had a negative effect on natural tree species restoration in plantations and different types of open areas. Although the correlation of distance from seed source to restoration outcomes is consistent during the entire survey period, the importance of distance from seed source varied along a chronosequence. Different forest management measures require implementation. As succession progressed, the dominance of planted tree species in plantations gradually decreased. Compared with passive natural recovery, active planting of seedlings in open land not only promotes the restoration of coniferous species that no longer exist in an area owing to excessive logging, but also promotes the restoration of other native tree species.

Phenolic Compounds from Leaves of Cariniana estrellensis (Raddi) Kuntze (Lecythidaceae): A Brazilian Atlantic Forest Tree

Cariniana estrellensis (Raddi) Kuntze seedlings have been used in forest restoration programs in the Atlantic Forest biome. However, despite the economic and ecological relevance of this species, to date no general method for rapid identification of primary and secondary metabolites of C. estrellensis leaves has been reported. In this work, we explore the feasibility of using rapid analysis by nuclear magnetic resonance techniques and liquid chromatography coupled to diode array, charged aerosol, and mass detection. The main secondary metabolites identified were hydrolysable tannins, quinic acid, hydroxycinnamic acids (trans-p-coumaric acid, cis-p-coumaric acid, and trans-ferulic acid), and flavonoids (kaempferol and quercetin derivatives). These compounds are particularly useful as chemotaxonomic markers for the genus Cariniana and for the family Lecythidaceae, and may also be important for pharmacological uses and for the survival of the seedlings in reforestation programs.

Understanding the mountainscape dynamics and its drivers using geospatial technology and indigenous knowledge in the Ado-Awaye Mountains, Nigeria

This study quantified the mountainscape transformation and identified its drivers over the last two decades in the Ado-Awaye Mountains, Nigeria, a protected mountain area in Oyo State, managed by the State government in conjunction with communal efforts. This potential mountain tourism destination is home to a suspended lake. A supervised classifier algorithm, a post-classification method, landscape metrics and indigenous knowledge (through interviews and questionnaires) were used to determine the patterns, dynamics, fragmentation and drivers of the mountainscape. The results revealed that the rock outcrop / bare ground / built-up areas and open secondary forests covered the greatest and smallest landmasses of the entire area in the study periods (2000 and 2019), both showing an increase. Mountainscape fragmentation also increased. Three categories of underlying drivers (cultural, natural and technological) contributed to mountainscape transformation and fragmentation in the Ado-Awaye Mountains. Forest restoration programmes and eco-friendly approaches are recommended to improve the destination’s serenity and mitigate the environmental impact of the underlying drivers.

Human Wildlife Conflict and Impacts on Livelihood: A Study in Community Forestry System in Mid-Hills of Nepal

Human wildlife conflict (HWC) impacts the livelihood of many rural communities worldwide. This study investigated the impact of HWC on people living near community forests (CF) in Nepal. Using databases provided by the Division of Forest Offices and data obtained from surveys between October 2019–March 2020, we quantified the financial loss of HWC to the local people. Between 2015 and 2019, 3315, or 27%, of the livestock owned by the survey respondents were killed by wild predators in the Kaski and Tanahun Districts. Chicken (Gallus spp.) was the most common prey taken (80%), followed by sheep (Ovis spp.) and goats (Capra spp.) (15%), cows (Bos spp.) (2%), pigs (Sus spp.) (2%), and buffalo (Bubalus spp.) (1%). Leopards (Panthera pardus) were the primary predators, followed by golden jackals (Canis aureus), jungle cats (Felis chaus), yellow-throated martens (Martes flavigula), and Himalayan black bears (Ursus thibetanus). The financial loss of livestock during this period was USD $115,656.00, equivalent to USD $142.61 per household. Crops were also damaged and eaten by wildlife, and 2165 crop-raiding events were recorded between 2015 and 2019. Rice (Oryza sativa), followed by maize (Zea mays), millet (Panicum miliaceum), and potatoes (Solanum tuberosum) were the main crops lost. Rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) were the most common crop raiders, causing 74% of the damage, followed by Indian field mice (Mus booduga) (12%). From 2015 to 2019, crop losses equated to USD $83,424.00. Forest regeneration on abandoned agricultural land expanded wildlife habitats, enabling wild animals to come within reach of human settlements, which increased the likelihood of HWC events. Although the success of the community forest restoration program resulted in increased forest-cover, marginally increasing biodiversity, the reduced distance between human settlements and wildlife habitat, compounded by a lack of natural prey, may have unwittingly exacerbated HWC in this region. We recommend surveying predator and prey populations in the forest habitat, and implementing a habitat management program to improve prey populations within the community forests. Meantime, we propose establishing a financial relief and insurance program for crop and livestock losses at the local community level to alleviate any financial difficulties to the local communities caused by HWC.

Biocultural restoration improves delivery of ecosystem services in social‐ecological landscapes

Increasing local people and indigenous communities' participation on restoration programs is widely recommended as a way to increase restoration long‐term benefits and local people's commitment with restored lands. Here, we demonstrate how traditional knowledge can provide crucial information on usefulness of plant species that increases direct value of forest and landscape restoration programs. Our study analyzed secondary data from 73 studies that assessed indigenous and local knowledge regarding plant's utility across the densely populated dry forest of the Brazilian Caatinga. Our results suggest that highly valued plants represent a relatively small number of useful species (52 out of 632 useful species) that account for more than half of the plant services (i.e. functional space represented by the uses people give to plants). Interestingly, these plants belonged to closely related lineages, suggesting that people must select plants based on phylogenetically conserved traits that provide utility. We propose that accounting for indigenous and local knowledge in early phases of restoration process such as species selection can both maximize classical restoration targets (e.g. species diversity) and increase delivery of ecosystem services to forest‐dependent people. Such an interdisciplinary integration moves us a step closer to ambitious targets set for global ecosystem restoration based on fair and inclusive participation of indigenous people and local communities.

Bracken fern does not diminish arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus inoculum potential in tropical deforested areas.

Tropical montane forests are threatened by uncontrolled fire events because of agricultural expansion. Consequently, deforested areas frequently are dominated by the bracken fern, Pteridium spp., for long periods, and forest regeneration is limited. Despite considerable research on bracken-dominated ecosystems, little is known about the relationship between bracken mycorrhizal fungi and tree seedlings. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) form symbiotic relationships with terrestrial plants, providing nutrients and protection against pathogens and promoting seedling growth and establishment. Therefore, AMF inoculum have high potential for forest restoration programs. Here, we compare the species diversity of AMF spores, root colonization, and seedling growth of Clusia trochiformis 1year after the addition of different liquefied root inocula: forest conspecific, forest heterospecific, and from Pteridium rhizomes. Thirteen morphospecies of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi were identified on the roots of C. trochiformis, and Glomus spp. were the most abundant in all treatments. No differences were observed in spore species richness and diversity among treatments, but spore density was the highest subsequent to the Pteridium inoculum. There was no significant difference in mycorrhizal root colonization and seedling growth of C. trochiformis among inoculated treatments. We found a positive relation between root colonization and total biomass. This study shows that the AMF communities in bracken areas and forests present similar characteristics and that the bracken fern does not limit AMF inoculum potential, favouring seedling growth of Clusia.

LANGUAGE AND ECOLOGY: A SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL GRAMMAR ANALYSIS OF THE MAU FOREST CONSERVATION IN KENYA

This paper explores political leaders’ utterances in regard to the Mau Forest complex in Kenya. The paper adopts an ecolinguistic approach to critical discourse analysis to shed light on how political leaders use language to encode their perceptions and feelings about environmental conservation in general and Mau Forest restoration in particular. Awareness on such language use is important because of the understanding that political leaders are part of the elite members of society who inform and direct public opinion on many critical issues in society. The political class also controls the agenda of public debate on many societal issues. Using Critical Discourse Analysis within Halliday’s (1994) Systemic Functional Grammar (SFG) approach, this paper brought to fore how the political class uses language to (de)emphasize or conceal meanings depending on whether such meanings or beliefs are for or against the political leaders’ interests. The findings revealed that the political leaders perceived the forest conservation programme as oppression, distortion and provocation to ethnic-based violence. In addition, the politicians’ lexical choices indicate that the politicians perceived the Mau Forest restoration programme as a falsehood propagated by the political rivals.
 
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High tree diversity enhances light interception in tropical forests

Abstract Understanding the processes that underlie the effects of tree diversity on primary production is of foremost importance to enhance climate change mitigation by tropical forests. Here, we investigated the effects of tree diversity on light interception over space and time in two tropical tree experiments, located in Panama—Sardinilla site (monocultures to 18‐species mixtures), and in Brazil—Anhembi site (20‐ to 114‐species mixtures). We assessed intercepted photosynthetically active radiation (iPAR) over horizontal grids and vertical transects (up to 5 m high in Sardinilla and up to 4 m high in Anhembi), in plots containing different richness levels and combinations of species. Light interception increased from monocultures to 5‐species mixtures in Sardinilla and from 20‐ to 114‐species mixtures in Anhembi (during the dry season). At the Sardinilla site, five‐species mixtures showed iPAR comparable to the best performing monocultures, despite substantial differences observed among monocultures. Diversity‐iPAR relationships changed seasonally and were more pronounced during the dry season. Tree richness promoted a less variable temporal and spatial (i.e. both horizontal and vertical) distribution of light interception. Synthesis. High tree diversity (i.e. over a hundred species in mixture) maximizes the amount of light intercepted by the canopy in restored tropical forests through more even capture in space and time. Diversity‐light interception relationships should be critically considered for designing cost‐efficient large‐scale tropical forest restoration programs.

Coordinated adjustments of carbohydrates and growth of tree legumes under different fertilization regimes in degraded areas in Amazonia

Soil fertility management and N-fixing species can support the ecosystem-level restoration of disrupted biogeochemical cycles in tropical degraded environments. However, the effectiveness of N-fixers during tropical forest restoration remains unclear. We hypothesized that tree legumes adjust growth, nonstructural carbohydrate allocation and foliar nutrients under different fertilization regimes. We compared the following six tree legume species: three native nonfixers (Cenostigma, Senna and Dipteryx), two native N-fixers (Clitoria and Inga) and an introduced N-fixer (Acacia). Twenty-four months after the experiment was established, fertilized plants increased growth rates and starch allocation to leaves, whereas unfertilized plants primarily increased their biomass and starch allocation to roots. The greater tolerance to nutrient deficiency of the Acacia than other native tree legumes was due to Acacia’s ability to adjust carbohydrate pools. N-fixers adjusted the shoot-to-root ratio and soluble sugar allocation to leaves, increasing biomass growth. The three N-fixing species were especially suitable for restoration because Acacia had tolerance of nutrient deficiencies, Clitoria and Inga had fast growth and biomass production. Hence, fertilization management and N-fixing species may have a considerable impact on C stocks in different plant compartments. Overall non-structural carbohydrate adjustments influence growth responses of species, especially the ratio between leaf and root tissues. Our findings suggest that this aspect should be considered as a tree species selection criterion for forest restoration programs in the Amazon region.

Recognizing the insurance value of resilience: Evidence from a forest restoration policy in the southeastern U.S.

The long-term supply of ecosystem services is dependent on properly functioning ecosystems and their susceptibility to natural and anthropogenic disturbances such as climate change and urbanization, as they can alter ecosystem structure and function. Forest function is not static, but rather a risky asset that fluctuates and can decrease as a result of forest disturbance. Therefore, concepts such as resilience and insurance value as well effective policy formulation, management, and restoration are key to maintaining these benefits. This study estimates the insurance value that the public places on a policy that promotes restoration for increased resilience and ecosystem services using binary choice (BC) and best-worst scaling (BWS) models to estimate willingness to pay (WTP) and to vote for the restoration of longleaf pine (LLP) forests in the southeastern United States. Our BWS findings indicate that respondents seemed to only prefer programs with low risk of forest damage and lower monthly costs, while BC models show that low and moderate risk programs increased the likelihood of voting for them and that excellent wildlife habitat was also highly valued by our respondents. Positive attitudes towards the environment also positively influence voting for forest restoration programs. Findings contribute to an emerging body of literature on social-ecological systems and how the voting public conceptualizes trade-offs among ecosystem services, insurance value, and resilience. Results may help assess the use and incorporation of concepts such as resilience, ecosystem services, and insurance value in restoration, environmental, fire management, and climate change-related policy instruments and programs.

Reforestation of ‘Village Forest’ to Improve Sustaiability Creative Industries in Desa Siponjot

This program is conducted to assist Siponjot Village while empowering the people of Siponjot Village to be able to utilize and maximize the benefit of the village forest. Village forest might support the availability of raw materials required for making musical instruments, such as high quality of wood, including how to process wood waste from making musical instruments to be used as creative souvenirs and improve the economic value. The raw material for production determined its results of the production of wood-based musical instruments. Thus, in order to produce a high quality tanginang, hasapi, and gondang, which previously began to be produced by arts crafts in the Sitangkubang area of ​​Siponjot Village, a high quality of raw materials is needed. The community service team surveyed the location of planting seeds for village forest restoration, provided socialization related to the importance of village forest cultivation and the suitability of the Siponjot Village area for the cultivation of these plants. Village forest restoration aims to maintain the beauty and beauty of the village. Implementation of village reforestation activities starting from socializing forest tourism and the strength of village forests to the community, followed by a discussion about village forest management and its economic benefits. Handover of a thousand units of forest plant seedlings given to the villagers of Siponjot as part of the forest restoration program in the area.

Hidden destruction of older forests threatens Brazil's Atlantic Forest and challenges restoration programs.

Understanding the dynamics of native forest loss and gain is critical for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services, especially in regions experiencing intense forest transformations. We quantified native forest cover dynamics on an annual basis from 1990 to 2017 in Brazil's Atlantic Forest. Despite the relative stability of native forest cover during this period (~28 Mha), the ongoing loss of older native forests, mostly on flatter terrains, have been hidden by the increasing gain of younger native forest cover, mostly on marginal lands for mechanized agriculture. Changes in native forest cover and its spatial distribution increased forest isolation in 36.4% of the landscapes. The clearance of older forests associated with the recut of 27% of younger forests has resulted in a progressive rejuvenation of the native forest cover. We highlight the need to include native forest spatiotemporal dynamics into restoration programs to better estimate their expected benefits and unexpected problems.

Restoration potential of eight tree species from a seasonally dry tropical forest in southeast Piauí, Brazil

ABSTRACT Background: The conservation and restoration of forest landscapes is an important aspect of sustainable development. In semi-arid regions these practices are difficulted by the harsh climate of these environments, with low precipitation values and prolonged dry seasons. The objective of this study is to identify tree species from the south of the Brazilian state of Piaui that have potential to be used in forest restoration programs. Results: Data from forest inventory and tree characteristics were used to select eight tree species using target species definition, focusing on species with desirable wood properties, abundance in the study region, favorable dendrometric variables, seed availability, ease of seed germination and seedling growth in nursery and field conditions, among others. These species were then evaluated as candidates for restoration using a framework species approach focusing on the following attributes: (i) 70% or higher seedling survival in the field; (ii) seedling height of 45 cm or taller after the first growing season in the field and (iii) 70% or greater nursery seedling survival. Conclusion: The species Combretum glaucocarpum, Cenostigma macrophyllum, and Pityrocarpa moniliformis are suitable to be employed in forest restoration programs in the southern region of Piaui, Brazil. Further studies must be carried out to assess the behavior of these and other potential tree species in long term field conditions and under varying silvicultural regimes, a key aspect for forest restoration.

Understanding the Effects of China's Agro-Environmental Policies on Rural Households' Labor and Land Allocation with a Spatially Explicit Agent-Based Model.

Understanding household labor and land allocation decisions under agro-environmental policies is challenging due to complex human-environment interactions. Here, we develop a spatially explicit agent-based model based on spatial and socioeconomic data to simulate households' land and labor allocation decisions and investigate the impacts of two forest restoration and conservation programs and one agricultural subsidy program in rural China. Simulation outputs reveal that the forest restoration program accelerates labor out-migration and cropland shrink, while the forest conservation program promotes livelihood diversification via increasing non-farm employment. Meanwhile, the agricultural subsidy program keeps labor for cultivation on land parcels with good quality, but appears less effective for preventing marginal croplands from being abandoned. The policy effects on labor allocation substantially differ between rules based on bounded rational and empirical knowledge of defining household decisions, particularly on sending labor out-migrants and engaging in local off-farm jobs. Land use patterns show that the extent to which households pursue economic benefits through shrinking cultivated land is generally greater under bounded rationality than empirical knowledge. Findings demonstrate nonlinear social-ecological impacts of the agro-environmental policies through time, which can deviate from expectations due to complex interplays between households and land. This study also suggests that the spatial agent-based model can represent adaptive decision-making and interactions of human agents and their interactions in dynamic social and physical environments.

Mushroom as a means of sustainable rural development in the Chin State, Myanmar

Restricted access to quality crops and markets limits the capacity of rural communities to generate income in the mountainous regions of South and Southeast Asia, often resulting in the exploitation of forest systems, a subsequent decline in forest health, and the need for alternative means of income generation as well as forest restoration programmes. Cultivation of edible and medicinal mushrooms has been shown to be a feasible alternative source of income and also contributes to the household nutrition of rural and impoverished communities. There are a number of ongoing programmes in South and Southeast Asia currently implementing trainings and demonstrative practices for the cultivation of mushrooms at the village level. In this context, we implemented different cultivation strategies in selected rural areas in the Chin State, Myanmar. The cultivation strategies were to 1) introduce mushroom cultivation using locally sourced raw materials as substrates for rural communities unfamiliar with mushroom cultivation; and 2) improve the technical knowledge of those already experienced in mushroom cultivation in order to increase yield and minimize challenges in production systems. We introduced <i>Pleurotus</i> sp. cultivation to mushroom growers in the Chin state, Myanmar. These cultivation strategies will help further improve and develop mushroom industries in rural areas and contribute to rural development. In addition, we focused on cultivation systems that incorporate the use of crop residues and woody substrates in order to ensure a sustainable, integrated approach.