Abstract—Dense clouds of smoke hang in the air over the
Mae Hong Son province caused by intense forest fires is a
significant source of air pollution which is the most hazardous
to environment and public health, particularly during
November to April each year. This study is aimed to exploit the
energy potential of leaf litter from various plants in
dipterocarp forest of Mae Hong Son Province. Five tree species
with high IVI show the energy potential as follows: Shorea
obtusa 4,950 Kcal/Kg, Dipterocarpus tuberculatus 4,679Kcal/Kg,
Shorea siamensis 4690 Kcal/Kg, Dipterocarpus obtusifolius 4674
Kcal/Kg and Quercus kerrii 5137 Kcal/Kg.
During the fire season there is an average of 449.58 tons of
leaf litter per Rai (1600 m2).We can collect these leaves and
turn them into fuel which means reducing the percentage of
air pollution and the amount of firewood the inhabitants
gather for their use up to 86,400 tons per year.
Index Terms—Air Pollution, dipterocarp leaf, enegy resource,
Mae Hong Son.
The authors are with Environmental Sciences,Faculty of Science,
Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand (e-mail:
thoongsap@hotmail.com; s.suwann@gmail.com; benjavunr@gmail.com;
somporn.chantara@gmail.com).
Cite:N. Phobdhamjarenjai, S. Chairuangsri, B. Ratanasthien, and S. Chantara, "Potential Energy Resources from Dipterocarp Leaf Litter and the Potential in Air Pollution Reduction in Mae Hong Son Province, Thailand," International Journal of Environmental Science and Development vol. 4, no. 6, pp. 676-680, 2013.