Research Progress on the Forest Understory Economic Model in the Karst Region of Northwest Guangxi

The Karst areas in Northwest Guangxi cover cities like Hechi and Baise, known for typical Karst landforms with widespread stone mountains, forming a unique ecosystem and abundant natural resources. The region's rich forest land provides a vast stage for the development of forest - under economy. Through an exhaustive literature review and in-depth case dissection, this study systematically distilled the operational mechanisms and performance outcomes of four under-canopy business archetypes: (1) underwood planting—embracing medicinal herbs, edible fungi, fruit crops and forage grasses; (2) underwood-breeding—spanning free-range poultry, forest livestock and beekeeping; (3) forest-based wellness tourism; and (4) the harvesting and primary processing of non-timber forest products. In forest - under planting, various models such as forest - under medicine, mushroom, fruit, and grass are booming. Farmers cultivate medicinal herbs like Gastrodia and Paris polyphylla under forests, improving forest land use efficiency and creating new income sources. Forest - under farming models like poultry, livestock, and bee - keeping fully utilize forest - under space and resources for a win - win of ecological balance and economic benefits. Forest tourism is rising rapidly, relying on the ecological beauty of forests to develop diverse projects such as farm - stay and wellness vacations, boosting the development of surrounding industries. Forest - under product collection and processing are also thriving, with farmers collecting wild edible fungi, bamboo shoots, etc., and adding value through processing. However, the development of forest - under economy faces many challenges, such as fragile ecological environment, desertification threats, and biodiversity loss. In terms of industrial development, there are problems like scattered management, weak technological support, short industrial chains, and poor infrastructure that need to be solved urgently. Based on this, countermeasures are proposed with ecological protection as the bottom line, industrial integration as the path, technological empowerment as the handle, and policy coordination as the guarantee, providing a replicable and scalable demonstration model for rural revitalization in karst mountainous areas.