New options for land rehabilitation and landscape ecology in Southeast Asia by “rainforestation farming”

Continental and insular Southeast Asia were originally endowed with vast areas of luxurious Tropical Evergreen Forest. Mainly since the sixties of the last century these tropical rainforests have been under a steadily increasing pressure due to intensive logging for commercial purposes and the increasing number of people depending on the given environment for more agricultural land and for fuel wood.One innovative approach to combine the necessities of rural development, safe natural resource management and biodiversity restoration was developed under the acronym “Rainforestation Farming” on the island of Leyte in the Philippines. More than 100 different local forests and fruit tree species were tested and planted in a near-to-nature planting scheme concerning species composition in a former degraded area covered by Imperata cylindrica.The recommended planting scheme includes both sun-requiring trees and shade-loving trees, highly valuable timber trees and fruit trees. During the first year of planting, nursery grown sun-loving trees were planted at close distance of 2×2 m to quickly reach the condition of a closed canopy and therefore shading out of the grass. During the second year, shade-loving trees, coming from either the nursery or from the natural forest in the form of seedlings sitting under mother trees, were planted under the established first year pioneers.To support the protection of the remaining forest, particularly the mother trees as resource for seedlings and to spur biodiversity rehabilitation efforts through people's participation a support system with community organisers was established. Already after four years some highly endangered species like the herbivorous Flying Lemure, Gynocephalus volans, and the insectivorous nocturnal ape, Tarsius syrichta, moved back into parts of the reforested closed canopy areas of the research and model farm.