NAT. HIST. BUL L. SIAM Soc. 54(2): 239-260 ，2006 SA VING A FOREST: THE COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE OF A DECIDUOUS FOREST UNDER COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT IN NORTHEAST THAILAND Md. Enamul Kabir and Edward L. Webb 1 ABSTRACT 百lis study investigated the composition and structure of a 560 ・.ha deciduous forest in Northeast Northeast Th ailand 白紙 has been under community protection and management since 由e 1980s.ηle site had a long history of timber harvesting for local and regional needs until the 1970s ，wi 出町ict protection against 回 e cutting beginning 泊 the late 1980s. We ωtablished 31 31 temporary circular plots in the forest to sample 田 es 10 cm diameter (dbh) (0.97 ha) ， saplings saplings 2.5-9.9 cm dbh (0.09 ha) ，seedlings 2.5 cm dbh (0.01 ha) ，and vines/woody climbers. We recorded 97 species in 48 families. Sindora siamensis var. siamensis ，Xylia 巧Ilocarpa v釘. kerrii ，E. ηIthrophloeum succirubrum ， and 8auhinia saccocalyx were 血.e most important species in 出is forest ，and accounted for about 92% of all recorded stems 2.5 cm dbh. Le guminosae ， Papilionoideae Papilionoideae was the most abundant family in this fores t. Species composition and stand S官邸ture reflected 出 e forest's degraded condition from persistent disturbances. However ， the forest forest appear 官d to be regenerating and the villagers had been able to harvest several non-timber forest forest pr 叫 ucts to supplement their livelihoods. We compar 官d species composition and forest 紺 uc 旬 re of Kh ok Bung Pre u forest with other similar forests types in 百lailand. Kh ok Bung Pre u was less diverse 由加 fo 問自 under protection m 組 agement in Th ailand. Without the initiative initiative of the community leaders ， the existing forest would have been converted to a. 割 culture 泊 the 1970s. As a result ，Kh ok Bung Preu forest contains a fairly diverse flora and apparently regenerating 町民commu 凶ty. Yet persis 胞nt disturbances and rarity of several sμcies ，combined with with the isolation of this 合'agment ，indicate that proactive management should be implemented. Protection Protection against encroachment ，illicit felling ， charcoal making ，setting fire ，grazing ，釘 ld hunting hunting wildlife should assist natural succession of the fores t. Moreover ，regeneration can be facilitated facilitated by planting indigenous 田 e species attractive to wildlife ，and by protecting seed dispersal dispersal agen 臼， particularly 合ugivorous birds and bats. Lo ng-term monitoring is needed to demonstrate demonstrate both the trajectory 釦 d rate of fo 問 :st recovery or degradation ， and the effects of village village users on fo 悶 st condition. Key words: Community fo 問唱位y ，disturbances ，diversity ， remnant fo 陀 :st ，structure ，Th ailand 別 TRODUCTION Forest cover inτbailand has decreased substantially during the last 30 years due to heavy commercial logging of trees followed by large-scale conversion of forest land to non-forest uses. Forest cover in Th ailand has decreased from 53% in 1961 to 23% 泊 1995 (FAO ，1999) and 17% by 1999 (PRAYURASIDDHI ET AL. ，1999) ，which may have resulted I Natural Resources Management ， School of Environment ， Resources & Development ，Th e Asian In stitute of Technology ， P.O. Box 4，Klong Luang ，Pathum Th ani 12120 ，Th ailand. Correspondence: E. L. Webb ， email: eweb b@ ai t. ac.th; Fax: 662 ・524-643 1.百 le authors have contributed equal1y to this paper. Received Received 25 Ju1y 2006; accepted 28 October 2006. 239 240 Mo. ENAMMUL KABIR ANO EOWARD L. WEBB in in greatly reduced forest biodiversity. In particu1 訂， the northeast region of τbai1and h部 undergone undergone almost to 凶 conversion between 1960 and 1990 (WES 百 R & YONGVANIT ，2005) ， from primari1y deciduous forest cover to agriculture interspersed with degraded forest patches. patches. Conservation Conservation of bio1ogical diversity in 百lai1and requires not on1y protected 紅白 conservation ， but also efforts to restore and preserve remaining forests outside protected are 部 (VANDERGEEST ， 1996; WITTAYAPAK & DEARDEN ， 1999; JOHNSON & FORSYTH ， 2002). 2002). Local1eve1 community-based forest management (CBFM) is seen as one possib1e 紺 ategy for forest conservation ， as 10cal communities can contribute to conservation under the the appropriate conditions ，and when certain 1eve1s of contro1 釘 e vested to them (Os 百 OM ， 1990; 百 APA ， 1998; WEBB & KHURSHID ， 2000; WEBB & GAUTAM ， 2001). Traditional or informal informal (i. e. ， not state-sanctioned) CBFM is widespread throughout Asia (Asc 田 R，1995; PO 開 E悶皿GER ， 1999) and formalized commu 凶ty fores 町 programs are gaining popu1arity in in severa1 Asian countries (e.g. ，FISHER ， 1989; GLIMOUR ， 1990; BARTLETT ， 1992; VANDERGEEST ， 1996; ARNOLD ， 1998; POFFENBERGER ， 1999; WITTAYAPAK & DEARDEN ， 1999; 1999; CHAUDHARY ， 2000; SATO ， 2000; WEBB & GAUTAM ， 2001; DELANG ， 2002; JOHNSON & FORSYTH ， 2002; V ANDERGEEST ， 2003). h 官 lailand ，community management of forests occurs outside protected areas ， although often often the efforts of communities to protect or c1aim forests for their use has 1ed to confrontation ，conflict ，and in some cases vio1ence (MATSUMURA ， 1994; POFFENBERGER ， 1999; 1999; W I' π'AYAPAK ， 2002). Moreover ，血ere has been wide publicity and co 附 oversy surrounding surrounding the proposed Thai Community Forestry Bill since the ear1y 1990s (PO Fl司 ENBERGER ，1999) ，which has been under discussion and revision by a series of national national governments ， yet has fai1ed to pass through parli 創 nen t. In In order to evaluate whether CBFM c組 serve as a significant conservation too1 in 官lailand ，researchers need to investigate 出e impacts of CBFM on forest composition 佃 d 柑 ucωre. Given the high diversity of forest types ，biogeography ，cultures ，1andscapes ，and community management objectives in Th ai1and ，出 .e most reliab1e approach to understanding CBFM's potential con 凶bution to conservation is 白rough case studies and site-specific investigation. investigation. To date ， there has been very litt1e scientific investigation on the composition and structure of community managed forests in 百 ai1and (but see KI 口'E WACHAKUL Ef AL. ， 2004). 2004). 官邸 study investigated the vegetation composition and 紺 ucture in a community- managed forest 泊 Northeast τbai1and. Kh ok Bung Pr eu ，a remnant community-protected forest forest in Nakhon Ratchasima Prov 泊ce ， is an 加 portant compone 凶 of the live1ihoods of several several villages that access and manage it. It is a well-publicized forest in Th ailand because of of its history 泊 which 出 e villagers overcame significant-sometimes vio1ent-barriers ， and has 甜 ong 1eadership and e釘'ective managemen t. Th is forest is considered a “successfu1 communi 旬 forest" from a social perspective ， but requires quantitative 蜘 dy to ascertain the the bio1ogical succ 四 s of community protection and management. COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE OF A COMMUNITY-MANAGED DECIDUOUS FOREST 241 MATERIALS AND METHODS Study Area Khok Bung Preu is a remnant, lowland deciduous forest located in Dan Khuntot District, Nakhon Ratchas.ima Province, Northeast Thailand (Fig. 1). It is an isolated 560- ha forest fragment surrounded mainly by agricultural land and settlements. The topography is flat and at an elevation of 240 m msl. The soil is a well-drained sandy loam. The climate is tropical seasonal monsoon with a rainy period from June to October and a mean annual rainfall of about 950 mm (Fig. 2). There are three seasons, namely hot and dry from March to April, rainy from May to October, and dry from November to May. The mean monthly temperature is 27"C with the mean maximum of 31 ·c in April and minimum of 23 ·c in December (Fig. 2). During the dry season, temperatures can reach 4o·c or more. The mean monthly humidity of the study area is 70%. The vegetation is highly susceptible to fire in the dry season. N A 00 100 1m 1~ 100 200 0 200 400 Kilometers Figure I. Study area. Black clot show in g the location of Khok Bung Preu forest in Nakhon Ratchasima Province in Northeast Thailand. 242 MD. E NA MMU L K AB IR AND EDWARD L. W EBB 50 .---------------------r 3500 --+-- Temperature 3000 40 -+-- Rainfall u 0 2500 .­ E ~ 30 :::J 2000 E ~ - Q) ~ 0.. 20 1500 c E ro Q) 0::: I- 1000 10 500 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Month Figure 2. Meteorological data (1981- 2001) from meteorological station number 431201 based in Nakhon Ratchasima. Source: Meteorological Department of Thailand. Survey Design To understand the history of the site and contemporary management patterns, key informant interviews and opportunistic informal group discussions were held with people living in the vicinity of the forest. Key informants were purposively selected among elderly villagers, village leaders, township administrative officials, local forest officials, and members from the forest management committee. Informal group discussion and key informant interviews provided us the inf01mation on site history, history of community forest forn1ation , forest management practices, and forest resources use. We investigated the vegetation composition and structure ofKhok Bung Preu community forest by using a 3-stage random sampling method to establish 31 0.03-ha temporary sample plots. Using GPS combined with mapping of the existing forest patch from an orthorectified Landsat ETM+ image (acquisition date February 18, 2002), we established a temporary transect that bisected the forest in a N-S direction. Subsequently we randomly selected 31 points along the transect. At each point, we randomly chose a direction (east or west) by flipping a coin, randomly selected a distance between each point and the edge of the forest using a random number generator, and then entered that coordinate into the GPS. After finding the coordinate on the ground, we established the center of each vegetation plot. In this way, every point in the forest had an equal chance of being selected as a plot location.