4 Plantations

4.1 Content: What information is needed?

Plantations is one of the two general forest definitions belonging to the FRA 2000 i.e. natural forests (addressed in the woody vegetation description) and forest plantations. Unlike natural forest formations, plantations refer to forest stands established by planting or/and seeding in the process of afforestation or reforestation.

The purpose of this web page is to provide the user a concise description of forest plantations in a specific country. The page is divided into the following six sections:

• Introduction

• development of forest plantations

• species composition

• trend

• issues

• references

4.2 Style: How the information and data must be presented?

4.2.1 Introduction

This section is intended to concisely – one to two paragraphs of 5 lines each – introduce the role of plantations and its products in a specific country. The introduction must include the following data:

• Total extension of plantations area, compared to natural forests;

• ownership of plantations;

• role of plantations and its products in the national economy (GDP) and for its population (fuelwood contribution to the country's energy demand/timber), i.e.

Ghana

Introduction

The total area of natural forests and plantations is about 9 million ha, comprising 40 percent of the land area (ITTO, 1998). The forestry sector plays an important role in the economy. Since 1970, it has accounted for five to six percent of the country’s GDP. It also provides employment to about 70 000 people. Despite its importance, forest resources declined considerably from the middle of the 1970s until the early 1980s (FAO, 1995, 1998a).

4.2.2 Development of forest plantations

This section is intended to indicate: the initiation of forest plantations in a specific country, the species used, plus the development and current situation of forest plantations, including changes in plantation area (in ha).

The same recommendations requested in the former web pages are valid here i.e. concise description of plantations divided in paragraphs of approximately 5 lines, gathering interrelated information. Text length may vary according to the quantity and quality of the data, e.g.

The Gambia

Development of forest plantations

In 1959, the first plantation was established with Gmelina arborea. The major purpose was to produce timber for construction and fuelwood.

After 1974, due to frequent draughts, plantation establishment became increasingly difficult and costly, as failure rates became high. In 1978, a national tree-planting programme was initiated, but its results were rather disappointing due to the low survival rate of the seedlings.

From 1979 to 1986, USAID suported the Gambia Forestry Project and there was a programme component aimed at establishing 1 300 ha of plantations during that period. Actually, 600 ha were established. From 1985 to 1990, establishment of plantations was suspended. In 1990, an attempt was made to reforest 200 ha but it turned out not to be successful due to low rainfall and damage by livestock and termites.

4.2.3 Species composition

This section aims at describing the species composition of plantations within a specific country. The following information is therefore required:

• Scientific and common name (if available) of species planted and their origin, either indigenous, endemic or introduced;

• extension in ha if available;

• purpose and use of planted species;

• ownership of plantations.

Kenya

Species composition

There have been many changes over time in the choice of plantation species. Currently, the main species in government plantations are exotic: Cupressus, Pinus, Eucalyptus. Cupressus spp. and Pinus spp. comprise about 45 percent and 31 percent of the government plantations, respectively. Indigenous conifers were once planted but have not been widely planted recently. Indigenous broadleaved species have been planted. The main production from the governmental plantations is timber.

As for private plantations, the main species are Eucalyptus spp. and Acacia mearnsii, comprising about two-thirds of the private plantation area. Acacia mearnsii is planted for its bark (MENR, 1994).

4.2.4 Issues

This section intends to highlight issues of importance to plantations in a specific country. Text length may vary, according to the complexity and variety of issues.

In order to make the text clear and concise it is recommended to divide the different issues into separate paragraphs (one paragraph per issue, possibly of 5 lines each) or several paragraphs of interrelated data conducting to a complex issue), e.g.

Zimbabwe

Issues

The age class of Pinus spp. is not balanced if compared with most trees in the over mature class, 25 years or more. This unbanlance was caused by limited markets, low milling capacity and remoteness of some growing stocks. Besides, the quality of the over matured stocks is poor, with small diameters and heavy branching caused by por planting material and no silvicultural management.

The information about trees outside the forests is not sufficient. The method to collect it needs to be developed (Gwaze et al., 1998).

There are several environmental issues: plantations result in loss of biodiversity; besides, land degradation including soil compaction is caused by highly mechanical plantation operations. Finally, there is a reduction of soil fertility due to harvesting and burning of the rests and reduction of water yield and water quality (Gwaze et al., 2000).

Fire is the major cause of plantation damage and droughts follow (FC, Anon).

4.2.5 Trend

The purpose of this section is to illustrate current trends related to plantation activities. For the sake of clarity and conciseness, the same style recommendations made in the former sections are valid here, e. g.

Tanzania

Trend

To meet increasing demand and secure sustainable resources, strategies have been revised and endorsed in a Forestry Policy document in 1998. The main feature concerning plantations is to promote privatization and commercialization in order to meet the demand for fuelwood (FBD, 1998b). Concerning biodiversity conservation, the replacement of natural forests by exotic plantations will be minimized (MNRT, 1998).

4.2.6 References

This section summarises all the data source gathered to develop the plantations description. The format used corresponds to the FAO editorial guidelines for references (see former references section related to natural woody vegetation description).

4.2.7 Explanatory note on estimates for 2000

This section is aimed at explaining how the estimates for year 2000 were obtained, and from which sources, i.e.