FOREST RESTORATION

CNF advocates a science-based holistic approach to forest landscape restoration. We employ a range of restoration strategies tailored to site characteristics, degradation level, disturbance regime, and the needs of the communities who stand to benefit the most from forest restoration. There are few one-size-fits-all solutions, and we believe that multifarious problems require multifaceted responses. In essence, we aim to plant the right trees in the right place at the right time.

PROTECTED & ASSISTED NATURAL REGENERATION (ANR)

Removing barriers to natural regeneration includes reducing competition through weeding, mulching, and planting fast-growing species with wide crowns and large leaves to shade out herbaceous grasses and weeds. Strategies to reduce disturbances include protection from livestock grazing and establishing fire breaks to minimize risk during the annual burning season. We also attempt to augment multiple regenerative pathways by attracting seed dispersers with fruits, nectars, and shelter structures like bird perches, as well as selecting sites within 5km of natural forest to enhance seed rain and dispersal.

THE FRAMEWORK SPECIES METHOD

The Framework Species Method is an accelerated forest restoration strategy that involves planting a mixture of 20-30 species of certain functional traits to promote vertically and horizontally complex, self-regulating, healthy regeneration. Our target planting density – based on the optimal balance between competition and facilitation during growth – is 3100 trees per hectare. In Northern Thailand, most of the species we plant using this framework display certain common traits: high survival rates (Ficus spp., Prunus cerasoides), rapid growth rates (Tectona grandis, Hopea odorata, Terminalia catappa), fire resilience through re-sprouting or coppicing (Tectona grandis, Caesalpina sappan), nitrogen-fixation (Fabaceae spp., Tamarindus indicus), rooting complexity (Bauhinia purpurea), and wide, dense crowns (Tectona grandis). Depending on the site, we plant a mixture of pioneer and late-successional species that capture a sufficient fraction of target biodiversity to stratify the forest structure and provide multiple ecological niches for seed dispersers from nearby forests and promote species recruitment. 

Here you can learn about some of the species we plant – take a look!

MANGROVE RESTORATION

As of December 2021, we have expanded our work to include mangrove landscape restoration in the south of Thailand, fitting with Conserve National Forest’s mission and vision. CNF has already restored mangrove sites in the provinces of Krabi and Satun where our work continues, and are currently working on restoring sites in Phang Nga

Communities along the coast of southern Thailand depend on mangrove forests, as it protects their livelihood by maintaining healthy supplies of fish and shellfish while also functioning as a protective barrier from the ocean. Mangroves operate as hatcheries for invertebrates and a wide variety of fish species. They provide shelter for young fish from predators and a warm, calm aquatic environment for them to grow in. This, in turn,  safeguards a steady population of fish that can be caught by the local fisherman.

Mangroves are not only important but highly unique. They have adapted to grow where other trees are unable to. These adaptations are:

Physical Stability:

Mangroves have “prop roots” that descend from the trunk and branches that provide structural stability and anchor the tree to the ground. Additionally, pneumatophores are lateral roots that grow upwards out of the mud and water to allow for the intake of oxygen and, subsequently, respiration.

Salt Tolerance:

Mangroves’ tolerance to salt means they are able to not only survive, but thrive in harsh saline environments. The red mangrove, Rhizophora mangle, has the ability to exclude salt uptake via a  filtration process that takes place on the surface of the root while the white mangrove, Laguncularia racemose, excretes salt through its leaves.

Reproductive Adaptation

Mangroves have a unique way of producing, known as vivipary, whereby the seeds germinate into seedlings while still attached to the tree.

Ensuring the conservation of mangrove forests is ensuring our own safety and livelihoods.

 

Click here to read our planting report from Krabi, February 2022.

 

EXPLORE THE CONTEXT IN WHICH WE WORK

OUR NETWORK

Want to find out more? Send us a message!

Want to contribute to our cause?

Conserve Natural Forests was built and continues to grow thanks to the generosity of like-minded people who support our work. We would not be where we are today without their help. If you would like to know more about how you can contribute toward restoring Thailand’s beautiful ecosystems and saving endangered species, please consider donating to one of our projects.

Want to contribute to our cause?

Conserve Natural Forests was built and continues to grow thanks to the generosity of like-minded people who support our work. We would not be where we are today without their help. If you would like to know more about how you can contribute toward restoring Thailand’s beautiful ecosystems and saving endangered species, please consider donating to one of our projects.

Want to find out more? Send us a message!

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Building a sustainable future, one tree at a time.

info@conservenaturalforests.org

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Find us online and follow us on our journey.

Building a sustainable future, one tree at a time.

info@conservenaturalforests.org

Sign up to receive regular updates from cnf

Find us online and follow us on our journey.

Building a sustainable future, one tree at a time.

info@conservenaturalforests.org