The book includes a selection of 37 contributions (all in the original language – 16 in Portuguese, 13 in English and 8 in Spanish – but with abstracts in English) presented to the International Symposium “Integrated Management of Neotropical Rainforests by Industries and Communities: Applying Research Results, Involving Stakeholders and Defining Policy”, held in Belem, Brazil, from December 4 – 7 , 2000. The symposium intended to contribute – by providing information and recommendations – to the efforts underway at different levels (local, national, regional) to improve the perspectives for a wider adoption of sustainable forest management in the neotropics. The papers are divided in the three themes of the Symposium: Industrial-scale forest management (16 contributions), Community forest management and extrativism (15) and Means to promote the adoption of sustainable forest management (6). Overall, the papers provide a wide variety of conceptual, methodological and technical aspects related to the planning and implementation of forest management under different conditions, as well as practical experiences, research results and recommendations to improve the quality of forest management by different actors.
Tag: conferences
Acacia mangium plantations in PT Musi Hutan Persada, South Sumatera, Indonesia
PT Musi Hutan Persada, a forestry company growing wood for pulp in South Sumatra manages about 200 000 ha of forest plantations, 90% of which consists of Acacia mangium. Most of the plantations are in an area with high rainfall and on red-yellow podzolic soil with inherently poor fertility and low pH. Inter-rotation site productivity and management have been identified by the company as one of the crucial issues for sustaining the long-term productivity of its plantations. This paper describes the study plan for inter-rotation site productivity and management of A. mangium plantations in PT Musi Hutan Persada. The experiment tests the on-site effect of different treatments of organic matter or aboveground biomass management. Information from earlier work indicates that most A. mangium biomass and three major nutrients (N, P and K) is in the wood, and harvesting will remove around 200 kg N, 45 kg P and 240 kg K per hectare. Litter production of an 8-year old stand was about 13 t ha -1 and about 70% of its mass will be lost in one year.
Development of criteria and indicators for forest plantations from assessment toward communication tools for management
The rapid loss of forest resources from teak plantations in Java is a serious problem that is raising interest in finding new systems of management that will ensure sustained availability of resources. At the same time, all around the world a growing number of stakeholders are becoming involved in forest management. Sustainable forest management (SFM) has become the goal for many countries and stakeholders. But the definition of sustainability may differ significantly among stakeholders, who often have different perceptions and interests. Achieving a common definition of sustainability is the first step needed for stakeholders involved in forest management to reach agreement on goals. An impressive amount of work has already been done to develop criteria and indicators (C&I) for forest sustainability. CIFOR’s pioneering work in this area has included efforts to develop a set of C&I for forest plantations. This article describes the process involved in developing these C&I. The process is collaborative and cross-disciplinary, and particularly aims to improve the communication among experts.
Changes in biological factors of fertility in managed Eucalyptus plantations on a savanna soil in Congo
Biological factors of fertility were assessed through the study of litter quantity and quality, soil organic matter quantity and quality, soil microfauna, soil macrofauna, organic matter dynamic, particularly decomposition and non-symbiotic nitrogen fixation in an age series of Eucalyptus PF1 and one stand of E. urograndis (E. urophylla x E. grandis). The litter system underwent drastic changes with plot age: litter fall was higher in the older plots than in the younger ones. Soluble carbon and lignin content decreased significantly with plot age and decomposition rate increased. Change in soil organic matter amount occurred in the top layer of soil only and increased with plot age. This enhanced cation exchange capacity. Increase in soil organic matter content was due to the light organic fraction (>0.05 mm), and the amount of C did not change in the organo-mineral fraction. Soil organic matter quality changed also, and the C/N ratio increased with plot age. A drastic decrease in free living nematode density from savanna to young plantations was observed after which it increased slowly with plot age although in the 19-year-plots it was still about ten times lower than in savanna. The importance of Xiphinema parasetariae, a parasite of eucalypts, was confirmed. Its density increased markedly with plot age and the size of the patches where it occurred increased. All soil macrofauna, earthworms, termites and litter inhabiting groups, except the ant group, increased in density with plot age. Termite density decreased in logged stands but no other measured parameters showed any significant difference between plantations and clear felled areas. The long-term effect of harvesting was observed mainly in the litter system and it appeared to be strongly disturbed by previous logging. Previous logging did not affect soil organic matter and nematode populations, either free living or plant parasitic. Soil macrofauna groups slightly increased after harvesting. Total phenolic compounds and fibre content were very different in leaf litter among clones and hybrids.
Site characterisation and the effects of harvesting on soil tillage on the productivity of Eucalyptus grandis plantations in Brazil
Two commercial eucalypt sites were selected in Sao Paulo State, Brazil, to evaluate productivity and soil chemical and physical properties before clearcutting, and the effect of harvesting and soil tillage system on productivity of second rotation. At site 1, the Eucalyptus grandis plantation was 7 years old, on its first rotation, and reached 21 m mean height, 13.6 cm diameter breast height (dbh), an estimated commercial volume of 479 m3 ha-1 and a mean annual increment of 68 m3 ha-1 year-1. At site 2, E. grandis, also on its first rotation, but 12-years-old, had 25 m mean height, dbh 16 cm, an estimated volume of 662 m3 ha-1 and a mean annual increment of 55 m3 ha-1 year-1. Litter collected at site 2 before harvesting totalled 19.8 t ha-1, and after harvesting and new planting, litter left on surface totalled 2.64 t ha-1. At site 1, 31.3 t ha-1 of litter accumulated before harvesting and 7.6 t ha-1 after new planting. Soils of both sites are classified as Dark Red Latosol (Oxisol), having loam texture at site 2 and clay texture at site 1. Clay content difference between sites was around 10 %, available soil water content between sites varied less than 0.02 cm3 cm-3. Penetrometer soil resistance measured before harvesting and after new planting was less than 21 kg cm-2, at 50 cm besides tree row, on both sites. Greater soil resistance measured at tree row was found at 15-cm depth, in both sites. Soil of site 1 has greater CEC, base saturation and organic matter content compared to site 2. One year after planting eucalypts growing on soil tilled with subsoiler with one shrank were smaller at site 2.
Company–community partnership outgrower schemes in forestry plantations in Indonesia: an alternative to conventional rehabilitation programmes
Indonesia has a considerable area of degraded land requiring rehabilitation. However, most rehabilitation projects in the past have been government driven, depending on public funding (ndonesian government and international donors), and have focused mainly on technical aspects. As a result people living in surrounding targeted areas are not adopting rehabilitation techniques. Innovative approcahes are necessary if the objectives of a rehabilitation programme are to be met while providing benefits to private companies and local people. The findings of a study of outgrower schemes in Indonesian timber plantations suggested that company–community partnerships could be an alternative for implementing rehabilitation programmes. The partnership arrangement over a 10- to 45- year period is based on a contract. It states the rights and duties of each party in establishing a forestry plantation and the benefit-sharing agreement at the time of harvest. The schemes take place on logged-over forests and idle lands, mostly Imperata grasslands. The partnership provides opportunities for forestry plantation companies to play a social role and rehabilitate degraded resources. It also provides job opportunities to local people and incomes from harvested timber at the end of each rotation under a long-term contract.
Growth and timber quality of Tectona grandis in high input plantations of Costa Rica
Linking forest management to timber industry requirements is fundamental. Connections of silvicultural activities with wood quality are often limited to size-related characteristics, such as minimum DBH. Restrictions set by international markets (e.g. minimum log dimensions, heartwood content and wood defects) limit seriously the marketing options of several forest companies in Costa Rica and many other countries in the area. Therefore, efficient management practices are urgently needed to lead not only to a maximization of per-hectare volume but also to the production of desirable individual-tree dimensions and high quality commercial timber. This paper discusses following topics: aboveground biomass and the applicability on stand density management; wood quality of young and advance aged plantations; effects of stand density on wood quality, results from a thinning trial; effects of stand density on growth and yield, results from a thinning trial; preliminary pruning program, pruning intensity and timing; and total and merchandable volume equations.
Ecology and management of tropical secondary forest: science, people and policy: proceedings of a conference held at CATIE, Costa Rica, November 10-12, 1997
The disturbance and destruction of the old-growth forests of the tropics continue to monopolize attention in international fora and the popular media, but a steadily growing land area is covered by secondary forest developing on sites which have been deforested and then abandoned by their owners. The natural process of secondary forest succession offers hope that the unique combination of goods and services provided by the original old-growth forests may be at least partially recovered. An enormous number of questions concerning secondary tropical forests and their potential role in sustainable land management and biodiversity conservation remain to be answered, however. Many of these questions are biological and ecological: What are the factors that bring about successional change in vegetation? How does biodiversity change during succession, does its similarity to the biodiversity of old-growth forests increase over time and why, or why not? How might secondary forests be manipulated to optimize their value for a given set of management objectives? Many more questions nevertheless concern people and their actions: what factors bring about land abandonment? How are secondary forests perceived and utilized by rural people? What market or policy changes may contribute to a more profitable and sustainable use of secondary forests? This volume contains 16 papers presented at a conference which brought together researchers concerned with biological, ecological, social/organizational, financial/economic and political aspects of secondary forests and their management with a strictly neo tropical focus. Although the biophysical side of secondary forest research dominated this conference, it is becoming clear that sound management of this resource will depend on interdisciplinary approaches.
Tropical forests and adaptation to climate change
This book encompasses inputs from science, policy making and development cooperation with regard to the linkages between climate change, sustainable livelihoods and biological diversity. It presents experiences, challenges and alternatives to scientists and practitioners for commonly assessing the needs of poor livelihoods to successfully cope with climate change as well as for bridging the gap towards a meaningful implementation of adaptation measures. It is based on the recognition of the need to establish a bridge between science, policy making and development cooperation with regard to promoting adaptation to climate change and variability at the local level. Many of the articles included are based on the discussions that took place during the international workshop on “Adaptation to Climate Change, Sustainable Livelihoods and Biological Diversity”, held March 2004 in Turrialba, Costa Rica.
Tropical forests and adaptation to climate change: in search of synergies
This book encompasses inputs from science, policy making and development cooperation with regard to the linkages between climate change, sustainable livelihoods and biological diversity. It presents experiences, challenges and alternatives to scientists and practitioners for commonly assessing the needs of poor livelihoods to successfully cope with climate change as well as for bridging the gap towards a meaningful implementation of adaptation measures. It is based on the recognition of the need to establish a bridge between science, policy making and development cooperation with regard to promoting adaptation to climate change and variability at the local level. Many of the articles included are based on the discussions that took place during the international workshop on “Adaptation to Climate Change, Sustainable Livelihoods and Biological Diversity”, held March 2004 in Turrialba, Costa Rica.