Abstract: A decision-tree model of an indigenous agroforest management system centered around Chinese fir(Cunningharaia lanceolata)is constructed from extensive interviews with peasants in Lijiayang and Linfenkeng villages of Shouning county, Fujian province. From this model, additional researches are conducted to elicit the reasons of these peasants for selecting among decision alternatives. The indigenous interpretations of ecological processes elicited by these reasons are discussed in detail in order to test an bypothesis that a strong analogy exists between traditional indigenous and scientific knowledge of ecological processes.

Key words: thermal dissipation method, sap flow, potential error, transpiration