Restoration of Monoculture Rubber Plantations Toward a Near-Subtropical Rainforest Structure

Tropical rainforests are the core of global biodiversity. Over the past few decades, large-scale monoculture expansion of monoculture crop has led to a dramatic decline in rainforest coverage across Xishuangbanna, with rubber plantations being the most significant driver. However, since 2011, as international rubber prices have fallen, the total planting area has decreased, and the abandonment rate of “three-over” rubber plantations—those exceeding altitude, slope, and planning limits—has sharply increased. Restoring these degraded “three-over” areas has therefore become an urgent priority for achieving sustainable development in the region.

This project aims to establish the first pilot site for rainforest restoration and protection in Menglun Town, Mengla County. By restoring a 20-mu (approximately 1.3-hectare) plot of monoculture rubber plantation into a near-natural tropical rainforest ecosystem, it seeks to significantly enhance ecological functions and ecosystem services. Meanwhile, the establishment of a “Rainforest Club” at Menglun Middle School will engage local youth and community members, fostering a sense of pride in their native rainforest environment and cultivating the next generation of rainforest guardians.

The project is a joint initiative between Good to Nature and the Restoration Ecology Research Group of Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences. It follows a closed-loop model of “Scientific Restoration – Community Co-benefit – Social Participation”, aiming to establish a long-term mechanism where ecological restoration and local economic development mutually reinforce each other.

By establishing a 20-mu (approximately 1.3-hectare) restoration site in degraded rubber plantations, the project applies three scientific restoration methods—Natural Regeneration, Framework Species Method, and Nucleation Restoration—to restore tropical forest biodiversity and enhance ecosystem service functions. At the same time, it aims to identify the most effective model for tropical forest restoration.

This widely applied method in tropical degraded forest restoration involves protecting the restoration site from further human disturbance, allowing species to naturally recolonize and succeed over time. Through this autonomous ecological succession process, the method enables the recovery of forest biodiversity, community structure, and ecosystem functions.

This method is most suitable for areas with low levels of degradation where small forest remnants still exist, or where natural regeneration has already begun. It is one of the few viable approaches for implementing large-scale forest restoration.

As of December 2023, the Menglun Middle School restoration site has recorded 90 newly established plant species.

Framework Tree Species Approach

In this approach, 20–30 carefully selected pioneer and climax tree species are planted during the initial stage to establish a structural “framework” for forest succession. The flowers and fruits of these species attract birds, mammals, and other wildlife, which in turn disperse seeds from surrounding areas. This process accelerates natural regeneration and significantly enhances the biodiversity of the tropical rainforest.

The project team has planted 363 seedlings across 10 native tree species, and the current seedling survival rate has reached 97 percent.

Applied Nucleation Restoration

This method leverages the vigorousstrong root systems, high cutting survival rate, and natural grafting ability of Ficus species to gradually connect individual plants until they form a “forest from a single tree.” Beyond creating a unique and visually striking landscape, this approach effectively stabilizes soil and prevents erosion, contributing both to ecological restoration and to the resilience of the tropical ecosystem.

The project team carried out slope bio-restoration, planting more than one hundred individuals of native species such as Ficus vaccinioides, Ficus altissima, and Melicope pteleifolia.

Scientists from the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, lead local students in hands-on scientific experiments, helping them observe and understand the rainforest through a scientific lens while building knowledge and practical skills. Key activities include scientist-led lectures, biodiversity monitoring at the restoration site, framework species planting, and exchange programs connecting urban middle and university students.

Good to Nature leverages the rainforest resources of Mengla County to develop project-based learning programs centered on locally valuable natural products. By integrating activities at the restoration site, the initiative creates a complete commercial value chain within an educational framework, allowing local students — after exploring the wider world — to realize that the rainforest itself is the ultimate treasure.

Rainforest experts from eight regions around the world delivered foundational lectures on their local rainforests during the “Good to Nature Rainforest Season” Summer City Camp.
Their sessions covered rainforest biodiversity, restoration stories and methods, and the ways local communities depend on and protect these ecosystems.
Students then applied what they had learned by serving as guides and interpreters for visitors in the Global Rainforest Week exhibition area.

Project Videos