Description of plantation resources
Introduction
Pakistan is deficient in forest resources. The natural forest cover area in 1990 was 1 855 000 ha constituting 2.4 percent of the land area. Most of the forest cover belongs to Hill and Montane forest formations (FAO, 1993).
In terms of plantations, the Forestry Sector Master Plan (FSMP 1992) estimates the total forest area of the country, including plantations and scrub forests, at 4 220 000 ha. Plantations, with the exception of nearly 100 000 ha do not legally constitute forests (Siddiqui, 1997).
Development of forest plantations
Plantations in Pakistan were initially established in 1866 in the plains of Punjab and Sindh provinces to produce fuelwood for the railways. Due to the arid and semi-arid climate of the region, these plantations had to be irrigated through a network of canals and are referred to as "irrigated plantations". Their size varies between 2 000 ha to 10 000 ha (FAO, 1981 and MFA, 1981). These plantations are now managed to produce wood for industrial purposes.
During the five year plan from 1977 to 1982, 39 872 ha of regular plantations and 16 200 km of linear (row) plantations were established, mainly in Punjab. During the same period 50 825 ha of plantations were established in watershed areas, mainly in North West Frontier Province (MFA, 1984). The total annual planting was on the order of 20 000 ha during that period.
Many trees have also been planted in farmlands and this constitutes a major portion of the wood supply.
The areas of different categories of forest plantations were estimated for the preparation of the Forestry Sector Master Plan (FSMP, 1992). The total area of irrigated plantations until 1992 was 103 000 ha, about 50 percent of which were poorly stocked. Farmland trees and linear plantations, when converted to an equivalent area of regular plantations, occupying 466 000 ha and 16 000 ha, respectively. The area planted in watershed and miscellaneous plantations was 155 000 ha (FSMP, 1992).
Species composition
Dalbergia sissoo has been the main species in the irrigated plantations. It produces high quality timber as well fuelwood. Other species subsequently introduced were Morus alba for sporting goods and Acacia nilotica for the mining industry (MFA, 1981).
In farm forestry plantations, Dalbergia sissoo, Acacia nilotica, Eucalyptus spp., Populus spp., Bombax cieba and Melia azedarach are popular species. Pinus roxburghii is planted in subtropical regions.
Trend
The Forestry Sector Master Plan (FSMP, 1992) proposed to increase the forest area of the country from the existing 4.8 percent to 9.8 percent in 25&nmbsp;years (1993-2017), mainly through plantations. The plan envisages establishing 3 900 000 ha of plantations on new areas of which 3 600 000 ha will be on private lands - 2 070 000 ha on farmlands and 1 530 000 ha in watershed areas. The irrigated plantations will be expanded by only 50 000 ha.
Issues
No information available.
References
FAO. 1981. Forest Resources of Tropical Asia, Tropical Forest Resources Assessment Project. In Technical Report 3, UN 32/6.1301-78-04. Rome.
FAO. 1993. Forest Resources Assessment 1990 - Tropical countries. FAO Forestry Paper No. 112. Rome.
FAO. 1998. Forest plantation areas 1995. November 1997, revised July 1998. In Report to the FAO project GCP/INT/628/UK. By Pandey, D. (unpublished). Rome.
FAO. 1997. Country report: Pakistan. Asia-Pacific Forestry Sector Outlook Study. Working Paper No. APFSOS/WP/11. By Siddiqui, K.M. Rome.
MFA. 1992. Forestry Sector Master Plan, Islamic Republic of Pakistan. I. Islamabad. Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
MFA. 1981. National Progress report of Forestry (1976-80) - Pakistan. In 11th Session of Asia-Pacific Forestry Commission, 6-10 April 1981, Suva, Fiji. Islamabad. Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
MFA. 1984. National Progress Report of Forestry (1981-83) - Pakistan. In 12th Session of Asia-Pacific Forestry Commission, 19-23 March 1984, Bangkok, Thailand. Islamabad. Ministry of Food and Agriculture.