Vegetation of Southeast Asia Studies of Forest Types 1963-1965

a Mangrove swamp facilitates easy, quick movement by canoes and
other small craft.
Usually there are houses or hamlets scattered through the Mangrove
forest inhabited by families -occupied in cutting firewood or
timber for charcoal, or in fishing. These abodes also provide ideal
sites for hiding and ay staging areas.
The Mangrove swamps furnish a constant supply of a wide variety
of fisb and prawns, which form an important item in the daily
diet of Southeast Asians of all classes. In addition, there is an
abundance of fuelwcod for cooking.
For these reasons, the Mangrove forest is an ideal concentration
and staging site, just as important as v,he tul.l Evergreen humid
forest. Constant vigilance, both on the ground and from the air,
should be maintained in this forest. Although ground-to-ground
visibility may be somewhat low in the Mangrove forest, air-to-ground
visibility is better than in the Evergreen Rain or Moist forests, because
of its lower stature and more uniform nature.
It seems that the best craft to patrol the Mangrove swamp and
forest is a small launch of shallow draft, propelled by an outboard
motor with a long shaft. This appears to be the most practical and
economical, able to penetrate shallow waters, where an outboard
motor, with upright shaft, cannot navigate.
Bamboos are widespread in Thailand, as in Vietnam, Laos and
Cambodia. One or two species are grown around farmhouses, hamlets,
and along canals for live fences and windbreak. Most of these grow
spontaneously, often forming extensive brakes; some flourish in
Moist and Dry forests, others in moist sites along the banks of
streams and rivers, and still others in open arid areas. They appear
readily when a forest is partially culled or when clearings are
opened, such as in the teak forest, or where land was once tilled
and later abandoned.
'Mai-ruak' (Thyrsostachys sianunsis) grows spontaneously over
large areas of Thailand, on well-drained slopes and dry or arid
plains. This slender bamboo and the tall, graceful, unarmed 'maisi-suk
1 (Bambusa blumenea) are invariably grown around abodes for
fences and windbreak.
The most common bamboo, is the armed 'mai pha' (Bambusa arundina.cea).
It is widespread in Southeast Asia, appearing in thorn
forest, rice-paddies and formerly tilled land, in cutover forests
of various types, and along river banks. It often forms tall, dense,
almost impenetrable brakes.
Bamboos as a rule are resistant to fire. Their culmns or stems •
may be damaged cr destroyed, but nev shoots soon appear, and make
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