Many studies show that human activities influence forest plant diversity in different ways depending on the severity and type of disturbance. However, the impacts of traditional land use by local people in tropical forests are poorly understood, and more scientific understanding is required.

Aimed at studying the impacts of different types of traditional human disturbance on the diversity and composition of forest ecosystems in Xishuangbanna, Dr. Mo Xiaoxue and her supervisor Prof. Zhu Hua of Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) studied four types of forests with different management histories in Nabanhe National Nature Reserve (NNNR), Xishuangbanna, China.

Nabanhe National Nature Reserve (NNNR) is situated in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan province, China (22°04′–22°17′N; 100°32′–100°44′E).

The objectives of the study were (1) to determine the impacts of different traditional human forest use types on the forest structure and species composition of tropical seasonal rainforests in Nabanhe National Nature Reserve, as well as assess their conservation potentials, (2) to understand the succession pattern of tropical seasonal rainforest after disturbance.

　 A total of twenty plots in four forest types (five plots per forest type) with a different management/disturbance regime were included in the study: (i) old-growth forest that was open to understory non-timber products collection, (ii) old-growth forests with understory Amomum plantation, (iii) old secondary forests about 200-years after slash and burn, and (iv) young secondary forest about 15–50-years after slash and burn. The relationships between forest management types, environmental factors, plant diversity and plant species composition were examined, and implications for effective conservation strategies in the tropics were discussed.

　The results showed relatively small impact of traditional forest use on forest structure, species composition and biodiversity, and even indicate potential benefits of traditional forest use by increasing landscape level diversity and species turnover. However, this beneficial impact of traditional land use is only possible when the undisturbed old-growth forests exist as seed source for succession.

The research entitled “Traditional forest management has limited impact on plant diversity and composition in a tropical seasonal rainforest in SW China” has been published in Biological Conservation, 144(6):1832-1840.

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2011.03.019 

Abstract 　http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320711001133