practices in Thailand. One recommendation is to consider plant
phenology in the selection of species used in restoration (Kuaraksa
et al., 2012). Others have recommended secondary natural succession
in abandoned swidden cultivation areas (Fukushima et al.,
2008), or direct seeding in high and low land regions where agriculture
has been abandoned (Woods and Elliott, 2004; Tunjai and
Elliott, 2012). However, few evaluations have been made of species
functional traits and the factors affecting the restoration process.
Our study investigated forest communities that had been restored
both by natural regeneration and enrichment plantation,
considering plant functional traits and the factors affecting restoration
success after the abandonment of shifting cultivation in tropical
montane forests. Specifically, we intended to answer the
following questions. First, after agricultural abandonment, to what
extent can we expect natural regeneration to occur in the forest
restoration process? Second, can the functional traits of species
be used to predict the regeneration success of each species in
deforested sites? Third, do functional traits provide useful information
that can be used to improve forest restoration management?