Abstract: Early in 2 008, a frozen rain and snow weather spreading over most parts of south China caused a big disaster. Forest resources in Wenshan Prefecture of Yunnan Province, as a subtropical region, had been seriously damaged. This paper investigated impacts of the disaster on the plantations by estimating the damage degrees, analyzing the damage types and comparing the forest closure, diameter at breast height. The result revealed that large scale afforestation with exotic species, without considering appropriate trees adapting to the local environment, was one of the main reasons that caused serious loss in the investigated region. At the current stage of China’s ongoing right reform in using the collective forest land, the majority of farmers will truly become the operators of woodland, and forest classification management is under being fully implemented. This article in this context distinguished the difference between management and operation of the main objectives, proposed the recommendations for a scientific and rational choice of tree species in future plantations, provided a reference for technical and management of afforestation.

Key words: FONT-SIZE: 10.5pt, mso-bidi-font-family: 宋体, mso-font-kerning: 1.0pt, mso-ansi-language: EN-US, mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN, mso-bidi-language: AR-SA, mso-fareast-font-family: 宋体, mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt" lang=EN-US>disaster of snow storm and frozen rain, loss in plantation, species selection