Khao Chong is one of the most biologically diverse forests in Thailand, and is particularly well known for its exceptional diversity of rattan palms and butterflies.  Khao Chong is home to a 24 ha Forest Dynamics Plot in the network of the Center for Tropical Forest Science, and scientists from around the globe visit Khao Chong every year to study animals, plants, and other organisms.  This plot is a natural laboratory for the study of tropical forest composition, phenology, and species turnover.   Current and recent research projects at Khao Chong include the following studies:

1. Spatial distributions in trees, with emphasis on the timing of flowering and fruiting and the birth and death of individual trees.
2. The role of tropical forests in sequestering carbon to mitigate global climate change.
3. The role of soil and seasonality (the presence of a dry season) on determining forest composition.
4. The spatial arrangement and natural history of behaviour-altering fungal infection in the ant Camponotus leonardi.
5. Host plant specialization and the spatial ecology of herbivory by moth and butterfly caterpillars in a tropical forest.
6. Seasonal and latitudinal changes in forest insect diversity over time.