Forest plantations

Extent and rate of expansion

Forest plantations presently account for a modest proportion of the total forest area in Asia and the Pacific. The FRA2000 reports the total area of plantations in the Asia-Pacific region to be 113.2 million hectares. This translates to approximately 16 percent of the region's forest estate, a significant component compared with the global average of plantations comprising 5 percent of forests. In terms of global plantation resources, the Asia-Pacific region is an extremely important player, accounting for 61 percent of the world's plantation forests (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Global distribution of forest plantations by region in 2000

Source: FAO, 2001

Equally revealing is the share of the global forest plantation resource held by a small group of countries. Five Asia-Pacific countries rank among the world's top ten plantation countries - China (45.1 million ha), India (32.6 million ha), Japan (10.7 million ha), Indonesia (9.9 million ha) and Thailand (4.9 million ha). Together, these five countries account for 55 percent of the global forest plantation resource and 91 percent of the Asia-Pacific resource.

Total forest planting in the Asia-Pacific region (excluding Japan, Australia and New Zealand) during 1990-2000 was around 34 million hectares (Table 5), a marked increase on the 27 million hectares established during the 1980s. India (averaging 1.5 million hectares per annum) and China (averaging 1.2 million hectares per annum) had the highest rates of plantation establishment in the 1990s. Recent statistics from China suggest plantation establishment has accelerated markedly in recent times. Plantation establishment in 2002 is reported to exceed 7 million hectares.

China's timber plantations comprise mainly Cunninghamia lanceolata and a variety of different pine and poplar species. More than 80 percent of China's plantations are planted with industrial species. In Japan, around 45 percent of forests are classified as plantations. The main species are sugi (Cryptomeria japonica), hinoki (Chamaecyparis obtusa), a variety of pines and Japanese larch (Larix leptolepis).

Plantation forests in India have, generally, had a markedly different focus with more than two-thirds of plantations designated "non-industrial", although many have actually been harvested as sources of construction timber. In recent times, much planting in India has been for industrial purposes. India's plantations are dominated by fast-growing hardwoods, particularly, acacia and eucalyptus species. Teak (Tectona grandis) is the most commercially important timber species planted, totalling around 1 million hectares. India's new National Afforestation Programme was launched in 2002. The Programme aims to help meet a national target of 25 percent tree/forest cover. In December 2002, the Programme had 227 operational projects covering an area of 375 000 hectares.

Indonesia has planted 3 million hectares of plantations, with the predominant species being rubber (Hevea brasiliensis), teak and Acacia mangium. Thailand's plantations are similarly dominated by rubber, with teak the second most important species.

Table 5: Plantation areas by sub-region and species 2000

Source: FAO, 2001

The majority of Asia's industrial plantations are aged less than 15 years (Figure 2). This is largely the result of a very rapid acceleration in plantation establishment in China, and owing to the short rotations generally used in that country. Japanese plantations predominate in the older age-classes.

Figure 2: Derived industrial plantation age-class structure - Asia 1995

Source: Brown, 1999

Figure 3 shows the age-class distribution for plantation forests in Oceania. The dominant plantation species in Oceania is Pinus radiata. This species accounts for 91 percent of plantation area in New Zealand, and 62 percent in Australia.

Figure 3: Derived industrial plantation age-class structure - Oceania 1995

Source: Brown, 1999

Other pine species, most notably Pinus caribaea in Fiji, and Pinus caribaea and P. oocarpa in northern Australia make up the bulk of the softwood plantations in Oceania. Eucalyptus species in Australia predominate in hardwood plantations, although Fiji also has significant areas of mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) and teak plantations.

Both New Zealand and Australia commenced plantation establishment programmes prior to 1930. Significant areas of plantations have reached maturity and are being harvested. Substantial plantation areas in New Zealand and Australia are in second rotation, with a few in third rotations. New Zealand, Australia and Fiji anticipate significant increases in their plantation wood production during the next decade.

Tree improvement and other biotechnology programmes

The basis of successful plantation forestry production lies in effective research and development, based on suitable genetic resources and appropriate silviculture. In particular, major production gains are associated with tree improvement, which can be defined as the utilization and development of species, provenances (seed sources) and individuals that exhibit desirable characteristics (Palmberg-Lerche and Hald, 2000).

FAO has been supporting the exploration, conservation and testing of species and provenances in the Asia-Pacific since the 1960s, when tree-breeding projects were initiated in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. Despite this long history, enormous scope for improvement exists through the application of more sophisticated biotechnologies. Good tree improvement programmes will result in considerable gains in wood yields from tropical and non-tropical forest plantations.

Extensive information on tree improvement programmes in Asia-Pacific countries is available through the FAO REFORGEN Database (www.fao.org/forestry). For example, information on tree improvement programmes in South Asian countries shows that activities relating to improvement of plantation species are relatively extensive in many countries with, for example, more than 100 teak provenances having been tested in India alone, and almost 650 different clones established in seed orchards. In developed countries in the region, efforts in tree improvement are generally even more intensive. Australia, for instance, has implemented tree improvement programmes for 39 species.

In addition to traditional tree improvement programmes, considerable efforts are being devoted to biotechnology research, particularly in more developed countries. Among the most promising biotechnology programmes are those relating to genomic mapping, molecular markers, transformation and micro-propagation. The development of clonal propagation techniques is an important addendum to these, enabling advances to be rapidly transferred into growing stock. In New Zealand for example, research into improvement of radiata pine encompasses a spectrum across genome mapping, gene discovery, genetic modification, molecular breeding, classical tree breeding, vegetative propagation, and developing customized genotypes for specific sites and purposes.

Similarly in Malaysia, tree breeding activities are currently focusing on commercial indigenous species such as Dryobalanops aromatica, Endospermum malaccense, Shorea parvifolia and Hopea spp., while exotic species include Acacia mangium, Hevea brasiliensis and Tectona grandis, aimed at increasing the growth and standing volume of timber. Efforts are specifically focusing on identifying elite materials using DNA studies, mass-propagating these materials through tissue culture and extending seed viability through long-term storage.

In countries where tree improvement efforts are less well developed, enhancement of productivity of plantations has been achieved through importing genetically superior planting material, better nursery practices and improved planting and management practices.

Supporting forest plantation establishment

A number of countries have implemented programmes to encourage and increase plantation establishment. In many countries the government's forestry agency is directly responsible for the vast majority of plantation establishment. In a number of countries, however, governments have started to devolve plantation establishment responsibilities to local governments and the private sector.

China has built its enormous plantation resource on the back of several government supported initiatives. The creation of the Three North shelter-forest has, for example, been an exercise in cooperative resourcing. The Chinese Government has provided funds to the programme, and counterpart funding has been provided from local governments and from other stakeholders. Local communities (the programme beneficiaries) have supplied most of the labour.

In the past several years China has implemented four new priority programmes for afforestation and greening that support tree-planting:

1. Program for conversion of cropland to forest and grassland: addresses erosion control with a total of 22.7 million hectares of erosion-affected land targeted for conversion by 2010.

2. Program to combat desertification in Beijing and Tianjin: aims to improve environmental conditions in the capital by focusing on the problem of sandstorms arising in neighbouring provinces. Forest cover in these areas is expected to be increased from 6.7 percent to 21.4 percent by 2010.

3. Shelterbelt development program for the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze river: this includes further development of the Three North shelterbelt and other areas including coastal areas, the Pearl river, the Huaihe river, and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze. The programme involves almost 1 700 counties and plans to establish of 22.7 million hectares of plantations. An additional 71.9 million hectares of natural forests will be conserved and enriched.

4. High-yield timber plantation development program: aims to resolve projected wood-supply shortages by establishing plantations to produce 130 million cubic metres per annum.

In India, the Grants-in Aid Scheme operated by the National Afforestation and Eco-Development Board provides financial assistance for afforestation, soil and moisture conservation, and regeneration of degraded forests. Similarly, the Philippines offers loans and tax exemptions to promote the establishment of industrial forest plantations. A common practice is to provide seedlings free of charge, as is done, for example, in Sri Lanka where planting material is provided to farmers and the general public under various Forest Department extension programmes.

Viet Nam initiated the Five Million Hectare Reforestation Program in 1998. This programme aims to re-establish or rehabilitate 5 million hectares of forest by 2010. The programme, launched to counter the devastating deterioration of the country's forests, represents an urgent attempt to increase forest cover and enhance ecological stability while expanding income opportunities for the rural population. Viet Nam proposes to establish around one million hectares of fast-growing plantations, with most of the remaining area comprising the rehabilitation of degraded natural forest using enrichment planting.

In 1997, Australia launched the Plantations 2020 programme, a national strategy for the development of the Australian plantation forestry sector with the aim of trebling the area of Australia's timber plantations to three million hectares.

Australian governments and industry will collaborate to create an environment that will attract the private investment necessary to develop a significant plantation resource, which will enhance the growth in Australia's forest industries and the contribution made by plantations to the Australian economy, rural communities and regional development. The development of both softwood and hardwood plantations will complement the production of wood from native forests managed on a sustainable basis through Regional Forests Agreements.^[13]