Mass flowering: Research findings important for forest conservation and restoration
KUALA LUMPUR: Research findings on t h e m a s s flowering p h e n o m e n o n as well as activities and strategies carried out by organisations are vital to ensure t h e collection of seeds for t h e production of planting materials for forest conservation and restoration.
According to Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM), m a n y of Malaysia's dipterocarp forests are undergoing mass flowering
at t h e moment, w i t h a 'mosaic' of colours observed in t h e canopy of many rainforests and is a u n i q u e p h e n o m e n o n t h a t usually occurs intermittently, b u t sometimes may see intervals of many years.
FRIM director-general Dr Ismail Parian said w i t h t h e input gained f r o m t h e research, various agencies involved in forest conservation and restoration are able to discuss and form a n e t w o r k for f u t u r e
collaborations.
"I hope t h e findings obtained t h r o u g h t h e various studies presented during this webinar would shed some light on t h e issues and challenges as well as opportunities related to making plant materials available for forest restoration and conservation projects," he said.
Ismail said t h i s in his opening speech at a webinar on Mass Flowering of t h e Malaysian
Rainforest: Capitalising on t h e Event for Mass Production of Planting Materials' held yesterday.
The session w a s t h e second series of webinars in conjunction w i t h Greening Malaysia: The 100 Million Tree-Planting Campaign 2021-2025 which w a s launched in January, w i t h nearly 1,200 participants f r o m several countries including Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia,
Japan and Australia.
Co-organised by t h e Energy and Natural Resources Ministry, FRIM and The Habitat Foundation, t h e session disclosed interesting research findings on m a s s flowering as well as strategies and activities u n d e r t a k e n by various agencies and organisations.
Meanwhile, FRIM head of Seed Technology Laboratory, Forestry Biotechnology Division Nashatul Zaimah Noor Azman in her
session said t h e m a s s f r u i t i n g season is expected following t h e mass flowering, and t h e r e f o r e w i t h t h e a b u n d a n c e of seeds available, m a n y planting and conservation programmes can be implemented.
However, s h e noted t h a t prior to that, t h e collected seeds have to be tested to ensure only t h e good, healthy and high germination percentages of seeds are used.
— Bernama
