Forest Restoration in China: Advances, Obstacles, and Perspectives

摘要

Because of the prolonged history of disturbance caused by intense human activities, restoration in China has been a major task facing many ecologists and land managers. There are six major forest types in China: cold temperate coniferous forest, temperate coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forest, warm temperate deciduous broad-leaved forest, subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest, tropical rainforest and monsoon forest, and Qinghai-Tibet Plateau alpine vegetation. All of them suffer from degradation due to human interference and various methods and specific techniques have been applied in their restoration. As ecology research on succession is maturing and theories and models on restoration are becoming established, restorationists and ecologistsare optimistic. In addition to reporting on the history and progress of forest restoration in China, this article describes its obstacles and future perspectives.