The Forest Ecosystem Research Center (FERC) strives to study the structure, function and dynamics of tropical and subtropical forest ecosystems in SW China, with the purpose of understanding the elementary processes occurring in forest ecosystems and developing multidisciplinary approaches in the restoration of degraded habitats. FERC, on the other hand, commits itself to translating this information into results relevant to sustainable development of local economy and society. To achieve the objectives, FERC supports international cooperation with both institutions and individuals from all countries of the world. Moreover, we intend to develop programs that will allow the Center to bring together experts from a variety of disciplines to deal with ecological problems in the land use of tropical Asian countries.

Focal areas of research
        Structure and function
        Dynamics and monitoring
        Assessment and management
    There are 21 staff members in FERC, which is divided into 6 research groups upon various focuses. These are: Forest Ecosystem Research Group (including Xishuangbanna Tropical Rain Forest Ecosystem Station, and Ailaoshan Station for Forest Ecosystem Studies)
    Restoration Ecology Research Group,Soil Ecology Research Group (including Biogeochemistry Laboratory)，Co-evolution Research GroupLandscape Ecology Research Group,and Molecular Ecology Research Group (To be launched)
    To monitor the dynamics of forest ecosystems, FERC has established two field stations in Mengla County, Xishuangbanna Prefecture and Jingdong County, Simao Prefecture respectively. These are Xishuangbanna Tropical Rain Forest Ecosystem Station, and Ailaoshan Station for Forest Ecosystem Studies, both are members of Chinese Ecosystem Research Network (CERN). The Biogeochemistry Laboratory that is equipped with ICP and AAS, based in Kunming, serves for analyzing the inorganic elements containing in the samples of plants, animals and soils that are collected from local forest ecosystems.