by the King on his recommendations to find out suitable development approaches for northern Thailand so as to extend knowledge to farmers in surrounding villages of this northern region. Before 1984, this watershed was very poor covered by degraded forests. The forests have protected the watershed upstream, and downstream areas are agriculture and fisheries. Reforestation by planting multi-purposed species is practiced yielding pole wood, fuel wood and fruits, and soil-water conservation to increase site moisture. Fifteen water reservoirs are made over the area, and check dams are placed along streams help to settle sediments, retain moisture, and encourage wildlife. Fish are taken from water reservoirs, whereas agriculture and pasture, and mushroom culture are carried out in the lower watershed area. Each year, many visitors, either Thais or foreigners, come here to learn integrated natural resource management. DDF and MDF cover various soils and parent rocks. Different soil types influence the variation of plant communities: species composition, richness and diversity, plant growth and production. Other factors such as rainfall amount, topography, altitude, and microclimate are also important factors. Soils under sub-type DDF varied from Order Entisols (shallow) to Inceptisols (moderately deep) and Ultisols (deep) as in 1. Four dipterocarps are dominant species in DDF: Teng (Shorea obtusa), Rang (S. siamensis), Hiang (Dipterocarpus obtusifolius) and Pluang (D. tuberculatus), while species in MDF include teak (Tectona grandis). Carbon sequestration by forests as the carbon sink is an important process of reducing carbon dioxide and global warming. 2, 3. This research aimed to provide the overall assessment of plant species diversity and carbon storages in two deciduous forests, 26 years after Center establishment. II. MATERIALS AND METHODS 1. Study area The HHKRDS Center is about 27 km north of Chiang Mai city. It covers an area of 1,360 ha (8,500 rai) and altitude range of 350- 591 m above m.s.l. Average annual rainfall, maximum and minimum air temperatures, and water evaporation have been reported as 1,328.9 mm, 32.2oC and 18.9oC, and 1,222.6 mm per year, respectively. 2. Plant community study A plant community analysis was used for vegetation study. The 47 plots, each of size 40 x 40 m (0.16 ha), were used and arranged randomly over the forest. Stem girths at 1.3 m above ground and tree heights of all species were measured. Plant data were calculated for the parameters: frequency, density, dominance, importance value index and Shannon-Wiener Index of species diversity, as in 4. Forest condition index (FCI) was calculated using the following equation, as in 5. FCI = Σ n1.10-4 + n2.10-3 + n3.10-2 + n4.10-1 + 1(n5) + 2(n6) + …… When n1 = number of trees having girth <25 cm n2 = number of trees having girth 25 to <50 cm n3 = number of trees having girth 50 to <75 cm n4 = number of trees having girth 75 to <100 cm n5 = number of trees having girth 100 to < 200 cm n6 = number of trees having girth 200 to < 300 cm 3. Plant biomass estimation Data of stem girth and tree heights of tree species were used for the calculation of plant biomass by these equations, as found in 6. 284 Proceedings of the International Conference on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Policy and Practice 27-29 June 2016, Cha-am, Phetchaburi, Thailand
Proceedings of International Conference on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services for the Sustainable Development Goals : Policy and Practice 27-29 June 2016 at the Sirindhorn International Environmental Park, Cha-am, Phetchaburi, Thailand
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