Restore Habitat for Cao Vit Gibbons

From Oct 13 to Oct 19, 2023, we conducted the autumn site visit to the habitat of the Cao Vit Gibbon in Guangxi. The purpose of the visit was threefold:
(1) To visit representative and nursery-needed woodlands to take photographs and learn about woodland conditions;
(2) To measure the seedlings planted artificially in the woodland to provide reference data on woodland conditions;
(3) Make initial contact with villagers to understand their needs and knowledge of conservation. Woodland visits and woodland conditions.

We visited 4 planting sites this time. From the site visit, we discovered that the survival rates for woodlands planted in recent years have been in the range of 70 to 80%, which is in line with general silvicultural standards. One stand is in slightly poorer condition due to a lack of maintenance over a long distance and the fact that the first replanting of the stand took place in the summer, which resulted in a low survival rate of the summer replanting. It is proposed to select fall and winter for replanting in the future to improve the survival rate. The other woodland, although not as well survived, has been able to connect the natural habitats at both ends when viewed from the canopy level, which is good news.

From the measurements of the woodland, it is clear that the late stage of conservation of the woodland is very critical. Considering the situation of each forest plot, we will consider replanting and weeding-based conservation 1-3 years after planting; vine-removal-based conservation 3-5 years after planting; and when the forest plot is basically forested after 5 years or more, we can replenish the portion of the forest plot that is insufficient for gibbons to pass through by hauling in hemp ropes.