Village Fengshui Forests of Southern China – Culture History and Conservation Status

Abstract

The post-reform revival of fengshui has revitalized village management of ``fengshui forests'' (fengshuilin). This study examines the cosmological principles, landscape ecology, conservation status, and floristic diversity of forest patches comprising critical biological refugia in China's subtropical broadleaved forest region. From 1949-79, fengshui was prohibited by the state, but many lineage villages continued to protect fengshuilin through nontraditional means. Village fengshuilin still lack official state recognition, which impedes systematic research and conservation planning. We assess the political ecology of fengshui practice, fengshuilin management, enforcement of harvesting bans, and tree species selection in seventeen villages associated with over forty forest patches. There is little species selection on the basis of utility, thus fengshuilin contain diverse taxonomic assemblages resembling patches of old growth forest. Strong village management traditions and a general lack of state intervention suggest robust local institutional capacity for maintaining and enhancing forest diversity and protecting unique indigenous landscape ecologies.