Effects of local forest utilization on community forest stand structure and species composition in Nyaung Shwe Township, Shan State, Myanmar

摘要

Community Forestry (CF) was started in Myanmar in the mid-1990s. In 2016, to ensure that CF remained applicable to the current environment, Community Forestry Instructions (CFI), which was originally issued in 1995， was revised. CF has different functions depending on their location and livelihoods. Most community forests are located in Shan State, Mandalay, Magway, and Ayeyarwaddy Regions, where deforestation and a shortage of fuel wood are prevalent and persistent problems. To address these issues, it is important to understand the balance between resource exploitation and utilization under local management systems because CF is a management tool to increase forest area and provide a sustainable supply of forest products. Understanding past utilization patterns can highlight how local people utilized forest products to meet their basic needs and reveal the interaction with livelihoods activities of CF user groups. Here, we examined the structure, species composition, and past anthropogenic disturbances at two community forests, and the impact of livelihoods transition to less forest dependent activities on community forests.