Forest Environments in the Mekong River Basin

322 Pages·2007·7.68 MB·English

by  Nick A. Chappell, Mark Sherlock, Kawi Bidin, Ray Macdonald, Yani Najman, Gemma Davies (auth.), Haruo Sawada Ph. D., Makoto Araki, James V. LaFrankie Ph. D., Akira Shimizu Ph. D. (eds.)

H. Sawada, M. Araki, N.A. Chappell, J.V. LaFrankie, A. Shimizu (Eds.)
Forest Environments in the Mekong River Basin
H. Sawada, M. Araki, N.A. Chappell,
J.V. LaFrankie, A. Shimizu (Eds.)
Forest Environments in
the Mekong River Basin
With 145 Figures, Including 37 in Color
Haruo Sawada, Ph. D.
Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute
1 Matsunosato, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305–8687, Japan
Makoto Araki
Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute
1 Matsunosato, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305–8687, Japan
Nick A. Chappell, Ph. D.
Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University
Lancaster LA1 4YQ, UK
James V. LaFrankie, Ph. D.
Center for Tropical Forest Science, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
National Institute of Education
1 Nanyang Walk, Jurong, Singapore
Akira Shimizu, Ph. D.
Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute
1 Matsunosato, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305–8687, Japan
ISBN 978-4-431-46500-3 Springer Tokyo Berlin Heidelberg New York
Library of Congress Control Number: 2007921191
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Foreword
Deforestation and forest degradation have continued over a long period of time, and
the deterioration of forest environment management services is becoming one of the
biggest concerns in the world. Especially in large continental river basins, selfi sh
political attitudes and individual interests in some regions predispose other regions
to problems downstream and bring about international issues. The Mekong is just
such a river basin and its water is the most important resource, interdependent with
the forest conditions in the region. The lives of millions of people are sustained by
the water of the Mekong River, and mutual understanding on water resource manage-
ment is essential in this region. Consequently, appropriate environment management
to control water resources is required of each country along with scientifi c knowledge
of forest management, including forest hydrology.
The Mekong River Commission (MRC) was established in 1995 to jointly manage
shared water resources and develop the economic potential of the river by the govern-
ments of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. However, very limited operational
forest management for water resources is being conducted based on reliable sources
of information.
International cooperation in science and technology has progressed in Southeast
Asia. One such activity, the research project “Changes of Water Cycle in the Mekong
River Basin” (CWCM), has been conducted by the Forestry Administration (FA) of
Cambodia, the Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute (FFPRI) of Japan, and
several universities, since 2002.
Advanced observation systems of atmospheric fl ux, ground water levels, soil water
movement, and stable isotope variation as well as satellite remote sensing technologies
were introduced for the continuous monitoring of the forest environment. The project
has produced much new information about the forest environment of Cambodia. To
honor their efforts, the Cambodian government awarded the Japanese researchers the
medal of the Chevalier of the Order of Sahametrei in June 2005 as a tribute to their
ongoing activities. In December 2005, the members of the project organized the inter-
national conference titled “Forest Environment in Continental River Basins; with a
focus on the Mekong River” as an International Union of Forest Research Orgniza-
tions (IUFRO) meeting with the support of the FFPRI.
Participants from more than 10 countries attended, most of whom live in the
Mekong River basin. Mr. Ty Sokhun, Head of FA, introduced the meeting as the fi rst
V
VI Foreword
international conference in the fi eld of forest research in Cambodia. Because very little
knowledge of this region had been available to the public, interest was raised among
many international researchers, and much new information was exchanged during the
meeting of 160 participants, including Cambodian university students.
I fi nd the chapters of this book, comprising the papers presented and collected at
the conference, most exciting. Even as recently as 10 years ago, who would have
guessed that this kind of scientifi c data could be obtained from the Mekong River
basin? One of the most pleasing features of this book is the original data and views
presented by the authors, which fi ll in the gaps in the forest data of the world.
Motoaki Okuma
President
FFPRI
Preface
The Mekong River runs through six countries, from China to Vietnam, and the usage
and management of water resources are different in each country. The Mekong River
Commission (MRC) plays an important role in collecting various kinds of informa-
tion about the lower Mekong and in strengthening the integrated water resources
management capacity. However, the history of each country in the region is quite
complex, and the scientifi c knowledge of water resources is still very limited in some
areas.
Although adequate information on forest hydrology is lacking in some countries,
the practical knowledge of others is quite useful in this region because of the many
similarities in their natural environments. As a result, we organized an international
International Union of Forest Research Orgnizations (IUFRO) conference, “The
Forest Environment in Continental River Basins; with a focus on the Mekong River,”
so that scientists in related fi elds could meet and share their knowledge of the region
for the purpose of good forest management with a focus on water resources.
We were greatly pleased that the meeting provided a good opportunity not only
for researchers but also for many university students to learn of the research activities
on forest ecosystems, hydrology, and forest management. It was the fi rst such confer-
ence on forest research in Cambodia, and there were several diffi culties that had to
be overcome. However, it proved enjoyable for everyone to work together to make
the conference a success.
We believe the conference was productive and has resulted in this volume, among
other things, which we are proud to present to our colleagues around the world. The
book consists of three parts, each contributing to a better understanding of the
Mekong River basin: forest hydrology, forest management, and forest ecology.
The chapters of the book are based on full papers that were collected after the confer-
ence, with each paper being sent to two peer reviewers. The papers were designated
as either research papers or technical papers, according to the evaluations of the
reviewers.
We would like to acknowledge IUFRO and IUFRO-J for their understanding and
support of the conference. We are grateful to the Forestry Administration (FA) of
Cambodia and to the Japan International Cooperation Agency in Cambodia for their
valuable contributions to the conference. The FA opened a secretariat’s offi ce and
assigned full-time assistants to the conference. We express our thanks to the Forestry
VII
VIII Preface
and Forest Products Research Institute (FFPRI) and staff members who helped the
editors to accomplish their goal. We also thank staffs of Springer Japan for keeping
in close contact with us and making possible the publication of this book.
Haruo Sawada
Makoto Araki
Nick Chappell
James LaFrankie
Akira Shimizu
Editors
Editorial Board
Editors:
Sawada, Haruo
Araki, Makoto
Chappell, Nick A.
LaFrankie, James V.
Shimizu, Akira
Assistant Editors:
Furuya, Naoyuki
Ito, Eriko
Kabeya, Naoki
Reviewers:
Araki, Makoto
Awaya, Yoshio
Chappell, Nick A.
Furuya, Naoyuki
Hattori, Sigeaki
Hirabuki, Yoshihiko
Ito, Eriko
Kanzaki, Mamoru
LaFrankie, James V.
Mochida, Haruyuki
Ohnuki, Yasuhiro
Ohta, Seiichi
Sawada, Haruo
Seino, Tatsuyuki
Shimizu, Akira
Shimizu, Takanori
Shinomiya, Yoshiki
Suzuki, Masakazu
Tamai, Koji
Tsuboyama, Yoshio
Tsuchiya, Toshiyuki
Tsuyuki, Satoshi
IX
Contents
Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . V
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VII
Editorial Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IX
Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XV
Color Plates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XXI
Part I Forest Hydrology
Runoff Processes in Southeast Asia: Role of Soil, Regolith, and
Rock Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
N.A. Chappell, M. Sherlock, K. Bidin, R. Macdonald, Y. Najman,
and G. Davies
Impact of Land-Use Development on the Water Balance and Flow
Regime of the Chi River Basin, Thailand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
K. Boochabun, S. Vongtanaboon, A. Sukrarasmi, and N. Tangtham
Evaluation of Evapotranspiration in Forested Areas in the Mekong
Basin Using GIS Data Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
S. Sawano, N. Hotta, H. Komatsu, M. Suzuki, and T. Yayama
Severe Drought Resulting from Seasonal and Interannual Variability
in Rainfall and Its Impact on Transpiration in a Hill Evergreen
Forest in Northern Thailand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
T. Kume, H. Takizawa, N. Yoshifuji, N. Tanaka, K. Tanaka,
C. Tantasirin, and M. Suzuki
Factors Affecting Interannual Variability in Transpiration in a Tropical
Seasonal Forest in Northern Thailand: Growing Season Length and Soil
Drought. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
N. Yoshifuji, N. Tanaka, C. Tantasirin, and M. Suzuki
XI
XII Contents
Scale Dependency of Hydrological Characteristics in the Upper Ping
River Basin, Northern Thailand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
K. Kuraji, K. Punyatrong, I. Sirisaiyard, C. Tantasirin,
and N. Tanaka
Year-Round Observation of Evapotranspiration in an Evergreen
Broadleaf Forest in Cambodia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
T. Nobuhiro, A. Shimizu, N. Kabeya, Y. Tsuboyama, T. Kubota,
T. Abe, M. Araki, K. Tamai, S. Chann, and N. Keth
Measurements of Wind Speed, Direction, and Vertical Profi les in an
Evergreen Forest in Central Cambodia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
K. Tamai, A. Shimizu, T. Nobuhiro, N. Kabeya, S. Chann, and
N. Keth
Stomatal Response Characteristics of Dry Evergreen and Dry
Deciduous Forests in Kampong Thom, Cambodia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
K. Daikoku, S. Hattori, A. Deguchi, Y. Fujita, M. Araki, and
T. Nobuhiro
Changes of Vertical Soil Moisture Conditions of a Dry Evergreen Forest in
Kampong Thom, Cambodia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
M. Araki, A. Shimizu, J. Toriyama, E. Ito, N. Kabeya, T. Nobuhiro,
B. Tith, S. Pol, S. Lim, S. Khorn, P. Pith, S. Det, S. Ohta,
and M. Kanzaki
Stable Isotope Studies of Rainfall and Stream Water in Forest Watersheds
in Kampong Thom, Cambodia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
N. Kabeya, A. Shimizu, S. Chann, Y. Tsuboyama, T. Nobuhiro,
N. Keth, and K. Tamai
Runoff Characteristics and Observations on Evapotranspiration in Forest
Watersheds, Central Cambodia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
A. Shimizu, N. Kabeya, T. Nobuhiro, T. Kubota, Y. Tsuboyama,
E. Ito, M. Sano, S. Chann, and N. Keth
Part II Forest Management
Object-Oriented Land Cover Classifi cation Based on Two Satellite
Images Obtained in One Dry Season in Cambodia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
N. Furuya, H. Saito, S. Preap, B. Tith, and M. Meas
Land Cover Change Mapping of the Mekong River Basin Using NOAA
Pathfi nder AVHRR 8-km Land Dataset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
H. Saito, Y. Sawada, N. Furuya, and S. Preap
Effect of Forest Cover Change on Sedimentation in Lam Phra Phloeng
Reservoir, Northeastern Thailand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
K. Lorsirirat