Forest Restoration for wildlife conservation: Some Research Priorities
1995
Elliott, S. | Edward, G. Tupacz | Maxwell, J.F. | Hardwick, Kate | Sakorn Promkutkaew (Chiang Mai Univ., Chiang Mai (Thailand). Faculty of Science, Dept. of Biology)
Most serious threat to Thailand's wildlife is undoubtedly deforestation. To prevent further loss of wildlife species, it is becoming apparent that, in addition to improving protection of existing forests, reforesting degraded sites within wildlife sanctuaries is necessary to provide wildlife habitat in the future. Although there is growing public enthusiasm for reforestation projects, little research has been done to determine the most effective methods to restore natural forest ecosystems in wildlife sanctuaries or to monitor the effectiveness of tree planting programs. This paper provides preliminary results of a research program which aims to develop appropriate techniques to restore natural forest ecosystems for wildlife conservation within protected areas in Northern Thailand. It includes a study of the seasonal cycles of seed production in deciduous forest, to help to plan seed collection and nursery work programs; experiments applying various treatments to germinate seeds of a wide range of native tree species and monitoring of a seedling planting project. Before planting out seedlings, careful surveys are needed to determine which tree species are able to re-establish themselves naturally and which will require propagation to retain the biodiversity the regenerating forest. It is suggested that research should concentrate on tree species with large, animal-dispersed seeds, especially those which depend on extirpated animal species such as primates and hornbills for seed dispersal.
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