Upland vegetation of Doi Chiang Dao Wildlife Sanctuary, Chiang Mai Province, Thailand
Maxwell, J.F.
Tigerpaper 25(3): 5-11
1998
ISSN/ISBN: 1014-2789 Document Number: 378599
This is the second part of a study on this wildlife sanctuary in northern Thailand. The first part of the study was reported in Tigerpaper 19 (3) 21-25 (1992), and described the lowland vegetation of the sanctuary. This paper gives brief accounts of the forest types found in the sanctuary, which are basically of 2 types - deciduous and evergreen, based on seasonality and altitude. The deciduous forests (DF) are primary and secondary; much of the original primary forest (which was dominated by the commercially valuable species (Tectona grandis) has been destroyed by logging, and degraded primary forest consists mainly of bamboo and various non-commercial deciduous species, which tends to be maintained in a degraded state by fire, continuous felling and grazing. The secondary deciduous forests are dominated by deciduous dipterocarps and deciduous oaks (Quercus) (DOF); this tends to be a climax type which does does develop into the original primary forest type, and it extends to altitudes of 1550 m, into evergreen hardwood/pine areas. During the height of the dry season, much of the original, lowland (primary) forest exhibits equal amounts of leafless and evergreen trees, and is described as mixed evergreen + deciduous, seasonal hardwood forest (MXF). The evergreen forests reach from 1000 m altitude to the summit of Chiang Do 2565 m), and are primary, evergreen seasonal hardwood in type (EGF); these merge with the lower MXF at 850-1000 m altitude, and include Pinus spp. (P. kesiya, P. merkusii) in some parts (notably 1000-1550 m with P. kesiya), designated evergreen hardwood + pine (EG/Pine). EG/Pine which has been burnt and logged has degraded to a deciduous-oak + pine habitat (DO/Pine). The flora of the evergreen and DO/Pine forest types, and of the summit, is described in some detail.