"Adaptive forestry"
Evaluation of genetic resources for strengthening productivity and adaptability of tropical forests

Related Research Program
Environment

2023-06-16

Background

Tropical forests are rich in diversity and have trees with a variety of excellent properties for timber. However, the harvesting of natural forest timber is not sustainable due to the uncertainty of subsequent resource regeneration, and the depletion of resources is limiting natural forest timber production and switching production to plantation timber. Therefore, there is a need to develop afforestation technologies for degraded secondary forests, abandoned cultivated lands, and other areas with high afforestation needs, in order to restore timber production capacity. Furthermore, many of the major tree species in natural forests are susceptible to the effects of climate change, and it is necessary to establish sustainable tropical forest management using diverse forest genetic resources with high environmental adaptability.

Objectives

This project aims to clarify the characteristics, functions, and adaptability to environmental changes of the indigenous genetic resources of tropical forests in Southeast Asia and other regions, and to develop silviculture technologies to enhance forestry productivity and environmental adaptability based on this information.

Research Themes

  • Characterization of tropical forest genetic resources for enhanced productivity and environmental adaptability
  • Development of silviculture techniques that take into account the impact of vegetation change on ecosystem functions
  • Networking of indigenous genetic resource management information and sharing of utilization methods

Target Countries

Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand

Target Beneficiaries

Government of partner countries, state forest agencies, foresters and forestry enterprises

Project Leader

NOGUCHI Shoji (Forestry Division)

Poster

JIRCAS Report

Dissemination of JIRCAS Research Results at the UNFCCC Bonn Climate Change Conference

The Bonn Climate Change Conference of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was held in Bonn, Germany on June 5-15, 2023. Dr. NOGUCHI Shouji (Director, Forestry Division) and Dr. YOSHIHASHI Tadashi (Project Leader, Biological Resources and Post-harvest Division) presented their research at the 15th Research Dialogue held on June 8th.

Two JIRCAS Projects Under SATREPS Officially Start Joint Research Collaboration

Two JIRCAS research projects adopted in FY2021 under the Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS) program jointly implemented by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) have been approved by the partner countries and will now officially start joint research, replacing the previous conditional collaboration.

Dr. KAWAI Kiyosada Receives the 25th Kira Award of the Japanese Society of Tropical Ecology

Dr. KAWAI Kiyosada of the Forestry Division was awarded the 25th Kira Award of the Japanese Society of Tropical Ecology. The award was given for his research on “Variations of leaf and stem traits in relation to altitudinal distributions of 12 Fagaceae species of Mount Kinabalu, Borneo”.

Press Release

Event, Symposium

Symposium
Date
(JST)
The 69th Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of Japan (ESJ69)
Symposium ”Global Warming and Methane Uptake in Upland Soils as Key Processes for Future Climate”
Registration period:
- (JST)
Place
Hybrid format (online + on-site in Fukuoka + on-demand streaming) 

Research Highlights