Vegetation of Southeast Asia Studies of Forest Types 1963-1965

A large number of such profiles have been made throughout Thailand,
covering the principal forest types and subtypes occurring in
that country, and which are typical of the other Mekong basin countries.
When these field studies are completed the considerable -amount
of data gathered on the various forest assocatiom or types will have
to be categorized and prepared into a final report. /Then completed, the
project fulfills important phases of military science, such as the
problems of mobility, defoliation, perceptibility, by providing more
precise information on the physiognomy and composition of diverse
forests scattered over the major portion of Thailand. In addition,
this information will be of considerable scientific value, contributing
to a better knowledge of the floristic composition and structure
of diverse forest associations occurring in Thailand-and for
comparison with the vegetation of the adjacent Makong basin countries.
AERIAL STUDIES uF TROPICAL FORESTS
In former years forest inventories were carrie jut entirely
on the ground. However, the value of aerial surveys, either to supplement
ground studies or to expedite the task of making forest inventories,
has aroused considerable interest among foresters and in the
forest industry during the last '(0 years. 3in.ce the second World War,
in particular, aerial photographs have been uaed on an increasing
scale in the United States, Canada, Europe; and other countries, and
are already established as a method to cor duct inventories and
ecological studies of forests. There are regions in North America
where coasiderable saving has been achieved by the U.S. Forest Service
through the use of aerial photographs, for example to spot insect
infestation, and thereby reducing expensive ground work.
As already pointed out, a characteristic feature of certain
forest types, such as the Rain or Moist Evergreen ; forest of Southeast
Asia, as in other tropical regions, is their complex nature,
composed of numerous species ranging from tall trees, to shrubs,
woody vines, palms, low herbaceous plants. Tropical forests consist
of a large variety of plant communities. It is particularly
important to reduce the ground work in tropical forests, where such
task is both laborious and expensive in time and money because of
the nature of the forests, the climate, and often lack of communications.
For these reasons, it is anticipated that increasing importance
will be attached to aerial photography as a means of expediting
the study of tropical forests or at least to complement
ground studies.
Pnoto sampling in Thailand: Accompanied by Lt. Col. W. R. So
Col.Prasart Mokhaves, and Dr. L. T. Burcham of ARPA, and Mr. Tem
Smitinand of the Thai Royal Forest Department, a brief reconnaissance
was made in a helicopter, in November 1963, of the Khao Yai National
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