Land-Use Change and the Structural Dynamics of Pinus kesiya in a Hill Evergreen Forest in Northern Thailand

This study describes changes occurring in a stand of Pinus kesiya in hill evergreen forest adjacent to a new settlement of tribal people in the Doi Inthanon mountain region of northern Thailand. These forests are increasingly experiencing chronic human impacts as tribal people are settled permanently at one site by government programs which encourage the cultivation of cash crops in place of opium. Results from age stand structure analysis suggest that two factors, human-set fires and kindling stick harvesting, are now severely affecting the age distribution of Pinus kesiya in the mixed pine and evergreen hardwood forest.