The 15-hectare Doi Inthanon Forest Dynamics Plot, located in the shadow of the highest peak in Thailand - Doi Inthanon - was founded in 1997 by Osaka City and Utsunomiya Universities (Japan), Kasetsart University (Thailand), and the Royal Thai Forest Department. The Doi Inthanon forest is in a typical monsoon climate, and, thus, the lower elevations contain deciduous forest while the areas above 1,500 meters (areas often covered in clouds) contain evergreen forests. Situated at 1,700 meters, the Doi Inthanon FDP typifies the montane evergreen forest, and acts as the Asian equivalent to the montane La Planada site in Colombia. There are approximately 120 tree species and 17,000 trees in the first three hectares analyzed from the Doi Inthanon FDP.