2. STUDY AREA
The study area Amphoe Wanon Niwat, a part of Sakon Na Khon province, is lacated in the SKNB and covers an area of about 1001 sq.km (Fig.1). Physiographically, the areas are flat to gently undulating terrain with elevation of about 170 m. above mean sea level. Land use pattern in the areas is dominated by human
milieux over which are rice based for subsistence and dwarf dry Dipterocarp forest with its fragmentation.