Taiwan Forestry Research InstituteTaiwan Forestry Research Institute

Hengchun Research Center was founded in 1902 when Japanese rule era under the auspices of the Products Bureau of Taiwan Governor General’s Office. The bureau established a seed orchard in each of its 4 nurseries: Gueizihjiao (Kuraru), Gangkou, Chulaoshu (Lideh), and Gaoshifo; and set up an office at Gueizihjiao. Around the office there were many specimen gardens for collecting tropical economic plants, which was the forerunner of today's “Hengchun Tropical Botanic Garden”.

The tropical plant collection and reproduction is one of the major tasks of Hengchun Tropical Botanic Garden. The studies and collection focus on tropical areas of Taiwan, including Hengchun peninsula and Lanyu Island (Orchid Island). Reproduction materials were collected not only for research, but also for providing the material for the Garden display and to enhance the interaction and corporation with other nations through the International Plant Exchange Network (IPEN).

The center disseminates various explanatory materials and posts interpretive signs in the botanical garden, and offers free interpretive tour services to Hengchen Tropical Botanic Garden visitors through volunteer guides.

The management of plant exhibition area：
In total, 17 plant display area currently set up in the Hengchen Tropical Botanical Garden, which dedicated to research, conservation, and educational purposes.

The center oversees an 870-ha experimental forest, including the Hengchun Tropical Botanic Garden, the Kenting Uplifted Coral Reef Natural Reserve, Gueizihjiao Nursery, Gangkou Nuesery, Lideh Nursery, and other experimental-use forests. The nurseries endeavor to raise seedlings needed for the botanical garden management and rare endemic plant species conservation. The experimental forest sites, on the other hand, offer as the research sites of many universities for ecological and botanical research projects. A 10-ha long-term forest dynamic plot was also established inside the Kenting Uplifted Coral Nature Reserve to conduct long-term monitoring of stand dynamics in accordance with common international protocols, and the research results from the plot can be used for multinational research exchange purposes of tropical ecology.

The forerunner of the center was a rubber tree propagation experimental site established in 1907 at the Bizihtou Nursery of Chiayi City. After several transformations, the center was named the Chungpu Research Center of the TFRI in 2002. Currently there are 6 researchers and 10 technicians affiliated with the center. The main mission of the center is to research the technologies of coastal environmental protection forests, environmental greening and beautification of industrial parks, and urban forestry. fter transformations, the center was named the Chiayi Research Center of the TFRI in 2023.

The major tree species planted in the coastal plantations are salt-tolerant and wind-resistant Casuarina spp. However, several problems associated with the construction of pure man-made forests are difficult to resolve, causing them to fail to achieve sustainable stand growth and an environmental protection function in the long run. Through mixing several endemic coastal tree species with Casuarina spp. for afforestation, the structure of the forest is modified and stand component functions are enhanced; at the same time, these practices allow investigations of the regeneration capability of coastal forests and the resolution of the aforementioned problems to be carried out.

With importance placed on utilizing the he characteristics of plants to improve and maintain spheres of human activities, environmental protection forests also serve to green and beatify our environments. Particularly in coastal industrial parks often with extremely poor soil and climate conditions, the regenerative capability of the plants is vital to environmental protection purposes. In addition, different tree species are selected based on their special adaptability to urban areas, parks, recreational sites, disaster prevention, soil and water conservation, and windbreaks, to allow them to fully exert their unique characteristics.

The Chiayi Arboreturn and Bizihtou Botanical Gardens, and the Sihhu Coastal Botanical Garden overseen by the center each has developed its own style and function, and has become a display area used for academic research, recreation, education, and natural resource conservation. The center has established an environmental protection and greening exhibition hall as well, providing a venue for environmental education and extension of knowledge that conforms to society's needs.

This center was founded in 1918 as the Medicinal Plants Cultivation Experiment Field, and is now formally known as the Lienhuachih Research Center, TFRI, MOA. The center oversees 461 ha of experimental forests, and is located at elevations of 576~925 m. The average annual temperature is 21°C, and average rainfall is 2,200 mm. We have central Taiwan's most intact, low-elevation natural broadleaf forests. The Pilushi Workstation, located near Lishan with an elevation range of 2,100~3,370 m, is classified as a temperate-zone forest with flora of natural coniferous tree stands and mixed conifer-broadleaf stands. The workstation mainly undertakes hydrological research of high-montane experimental watersheds and mid- to high-elevation forest ecological studies.

Management of the Lianhuachih Experimental Forest

A 25-ha Lienhuachih Broadleaf Forest Dynamic Plot was established in accordance with guidelines developed by the Center for Tropic Forest Science (CTFS) for undertaking long-term permanent plot studies in 2008. Through a general survey of woody plants in the permanent plot, the composition and characteristics of the region’s low elevation natural broadleaf forests can be analyzed and understood. The research results accrued can become a basic database of long-term ecological research and are helpful in fostering even more-diverse and interdisciplinary research that provide the best foundation and theoretical support for a sustainable management model of forest ecosystems in the region.

Current research on the fauna and flora of the region indicates that there are 879 species of higher plants, 78 species of wild birds, 131 species of insects and butterflies specimens, 24 species of frogs, 10 species of lizards, 11 species of other reptiles, and 20 species of mammals. A diverse and intact biota exists in the Lienhuachih region that is representation of central Taiwan's low-elevation broadleaf forests. Therefore, we continuously manage, monitor and conserve the forest ecology and natural resources.

The project for future green

Based on "the project for future green ", we collected, propagated, and preserved germplasm of endangered plants in the central Taiwan. We also performed the ex situ conservation of Taiwan's native and endangered plants. In addition, due to the historical position as a medicinal plant garden, we also collected and cultivated the indigenous medicinal plants.

Forest-gardening Therapy

In recent years, we have devoted to the development of forest-gardening therapy. Based on the high-quality of the Lianhuachih experimental forest, combined with locally produced products such as black tea, honey, and shiitake mushrooms, and incorporate "horticultural therapy" courses to develop a series of experiential courses to promote physical and mental balance.

Under-forest economy

Based on the current forestry policy, we started conducting development and promotion of under-forest economy in 2016. Up to now, Promotion items include beekeeping under forest, shiitake mushroom cultivation, Camellia formosensis, and Cinnamomum osmophloeum. We aim to create diversified minor forest products and open up new opportunities for revitalizing economic of the mountain villages.

1. Monitor and conservation of forest ecology and natural resources in central Taiwan.
2. Perform “the project for future green” to preserve the endangered plant species.
3. Establishment and extension of the forest-gardening therapy.
4. Establishment and extension of the model of under-forest economy.
5. Establishment of the Lienhuachih long-term forest dynamic plot and its biological resource study.

The Taimalee Research Center was established in 1933 by the Forestry Department of the Central Research Institute in Taitung as the Medicinal Plants Experimental Field specifically for the cultivation and afforestation of cinchona trees. In 1939, it was transferred to the Forestry Research Institute, and was called Malipulu Branch. In 1945, after the retrocession of Taiwan, the name was changed to the Taimalee Branch; and in 2002, renamed the Taimalee Research Center. The center has jurisdiction over 974 ha of experimental forest, which is situated at 90~1,450 m in elevation with an average annual temperature of 24℃, and an average annual rainfall of 1800 mm. The forest is most suitable for the selective growing of coastal and broadleaf trees. The major buildings include an office, greenhouses, nurseries, storehouses, and dormitories.

The most important objective of the center is to cultivate and breed certain economically important and specialty plants. At the moment, research is focused on the cultivation and breeding of Taiwan yew, (Taxus sumatrana Miq.) preservation of stout camphor parent trees, and management of plantations. Taiwan yew is an endemic yew tree in Taiwan, the branches and leaves of which can be extracted to provide taxol, a well-known anticancer drug. The center cooperates with the Silviculture Division to cultivate and produce branch and leaf materials of Taiwan yew trees from a planting site center in the first compartment. The harvested materials are further pretreated by pulverizing and drying them at the center facilities.

Stout camphor tree (Cinnamomum kanehirae) is an indigenous tree of the Lauraceae with a delicate and appealing wood grain and essential oil having a fragrant odor with high economic value in making artifacts and furniture. This tree is naturally distributed in forests of the research center, and a stout camphor parent tree reserve was established in the First Workstation to protect the precious Taimalee stout camphor mother trees. Since 1998, the center has also undertaken afforestation experiments of stout camphor trees (Cinnamomum kanehirae) in the first and second compartments of the experimental forest to provide important information regarding silvicultural practices and economic utilization of this valuable tree species.

In 1926, the Imperial Kyoto University of Japan established a Taiwan Experimental Forest in the Lioukuei area of Kaohsiung County. Since being taken over by the Taiwan Administrative Office in 1946, it became the Second Model Forest, and in 1948 merged with the Kaohsiung Mountain and Forest Administration. In 1949, the portion of the cinchona work component became an experimental center of the TFRI, and was named the Cinchona Experimental Field in 1950, and the Lioukuei Branch in 1964. It was renamed the Lioukuei Research Center in 2002. The center oversees a 9,882-ha experimental forest with an elevation range of 250~2,600 m. The average annual temperature is 24℃, and the average annual rainfall is 3,400 mm at the Shanping Workstation. It is an optimal place for silvicultural experiments with tropical and subtropical tree species. Main buildings in the center include offices, greenhouses, nurseries, workshops, a Forest Ecological Conservation Hall, forestry hostels, a Forestry Education and Extension Center, wood art classroom, storehouses, and dormitories.

Workstations under the Lioukuei Research Center

1. Shanping Workstation
2. Fengkangshan Workstation
3. Duona Workstation

The Lioukuei Experimental Forest, a 9,882-ha reserve in southern Taiwan, at elevations of 250~2,600 m, is a part of the Laonong River drainage system. The forest composition is dominated by trees of the Lauraceae and Fagaceae. On its 1,560 ha of plantations, the major tree species are Taiwan-fir (Taiwania cryptomerioides), Luanta-fir ( Cunninghamia konishii), Taiwan red cypress (Chamaecyparis formosensis), stout camphor tree ( Cinnamomum kanehirae), Formosan michelia (Michelia compressa), Taiwan zelkova (Zelkova serrata), Formosan ash (Fraxinus griffithii), and Formosan alder (Alnus formosana), all of which are important endemic conifer and broadleaf species of Taiwan.

The Lioukuei Experimental Forest is located in Tauyuan District and Maolin District, Kaohsiung City, and adjacent to the 3 villages of Maolin, Wanshan, and Duona. These sites are endowed with rich resources for scenery, recreation, and tourism. The main aboriginal groups in the area are the Paiwan and Rukai indigenous tribes with typical agrarian societies. The communities also have strong links with Lioukuei District; hence in planning for the management of the experimental forest, we took the economic and social needs of these neighboring areas into consideration.

1. Development of economical plantation.
2. Dynamic monitoring of permanent plot at natural forests and landslide sites.
3. Seedling cultivation, phenology, chemical composition analysis, leaf anatomy, and application to under-forest economy of Camellia formosensis.
4. Operation and Management of Shan-Ping Forest Ecological Garden and the Shanping Bamboo Specimen Garden.

This research center is located in a region straddling between New Taipei City and Ilan Counties, at elevations of 400~1400 m. The area has an average annual temperature of 18.5°C, average rainfall of 4125 mm, and average annual relative humidity of 94.1%. The Fushan Experimental Forest is designated into 3 zones. The northernmost is a 355.7-ha headwater conservation area with a predominately natural broadleaf forest. Both Hapen and Tsukeng Creeks originate in the area. This area is maintained in its original state and is open only to various research and surveillance activities; casual visitors are not permitted to enter. The central zone is a 409.5-ha botanical garden; in addition to providing sites of research and experimentation, a relatively flat area of 30 ha is developed into an administrative complex and a plant display area. A systematic collection of endemic Taiwanese plants is cultivated for display to maximize the garden’s academic research, environmental education, resource conservation, and forest recreation functions. South of the botanical garden is the 332.7-ha Hapen Nature Reserve, a proclaimed nature reserve designated in accordance with the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act. The purpose is to protect the natural ecosystem of this region to preserve its genetic resources, allowing for perpetual ongoing observation and research.Research focuses.

Every year, there are several LTER projects carried out at the Fushan Experimental Forest, investigating the various components of the forest ecosystem and their functions, including biotic factors such as microorganisms, fungi, vegetation, and animals; and non-biotic factors such as light intensity, rainfall, climate, soil, nutrient salts, etc. Also examined are the long- and short-term effects of disturbance events such as typhoons and air pollution on the ecosystem, as well as the evolving successional patterns of the ecosystem. To the present, over hundreds research papers have been published, and exceptionally rich basic knowledge and information have accrued which are imbued with very worthwhile academic and educational functions.

The 25-ha subtropical forest dynamic plot was established in national forest, and is dedicated to long-term forest dynamic research. It is a core location for carrying out research on forest regeneration, nutrient cycling, and other related research in Fushan area. Besides helping to understand the plant community and its dynamics, these research achievements can help Taiwan gain international recognition in areas of long-term ecosystem and subtropical rainforest research.