Observations on forest restoration in Jilin, China

Abstract

This paper reviews various forestry practices in Jilin Province, China. The authors emphasize the rich natural diversity of Jilin and the need to focus research efforts on understanding the potential of native species to meet the needs of land-management agencies involved in forest resource exploitation and ecological restoration. The native species of China hold great potential, and deserve more research attention, for meeting these needs. The introduction and testing of exotic species should be done only under rigorous scientific testing and after comparison with native species prior to operational introduction into forestry in order to avoid unwanted ecological consequences, including potential problems with alien invasives and pest introductions. The authors also emphasize the need to maintain viable (e.g., genetically diverse and reproductively fit) natural populations of native species in order to protect China's valuable natural diversity and maintain the potential of native species to function as future seed sources for local forest and ecological restoration activities.