A survey of the production and marketing system of Gmelina arborea (Roxb.) in smallholder farms was conducted in Claveria. Survey respondents included farmers, who planted and have undertaken their ...first harvest of Gmelina trees, and sawmill operators in the nearby coastal towns who are processing and marketing Gmelina logs.
Average farm size in the study was 2.5 ha. The majority of farmers have planted half or less than half of their farms to Gmelina arborea. The most common method of planting Gmelina is block planting while some farmers planted Gmelina as hedgerows along contour areas. The number of trees planted in these smallholder farms ranged from less than 100 to 1020 trees.
Farmers planted Gmelina trees mainly for construction materials for future family houses. However, most of the farmers had to cut and sell their trees to meet immediate financial needs such as payment of their children's schooling and loans, and to buy farm equipment, household appliances, and animal feed.
Harvested trees are sold either as timber (unprocessed log) or flitches (processed log). Higher prices are being paid for processed logs (US$ 114.48-161.12 m
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during the wet season) to cover cutting and sawing costs. Prices of Gmelina products fluctuate seasonally, with higher prices during the dry season due to high demand. Unprocessed logs are sold at US$ 55.12 m
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during the wet season and can sell as high as US$ 114.48 m
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during the dry season. Selling timber by boardfoot
1
was considered better than crude scaling of whole trees because the former is a more accurate method of estimating wood volume.
Lessons learned by farmers include the greater advantages of harvesting the trees during the dry season to fetch better timber prices, cutting trees at full maturity for better wood quality, growing cash crops during the first two years of tree growth, hedgerow planting of Gmelina trees for better soil erosion control, and planting the trees at 3 m × 4 m spacing for optimum growth.
There is a big market for Gmelina tree products in Claveria, both locally and internationally. Tree products marketed include wood for house construction and furniture making, slabs for forklift crates and tomato boxes, and for electric posts. However, government policies should be formulated to provide an efficient pricing system and improve the marketing system of timber products in the area as well as in other parts of the country. Government assistance will also be needed to encourage smallholder tree planting to improve the country's timber industry.
Early development of six fast-growing plantation tree species as well as the natural regeneration of Acacia mangium were studied after one rotation of A. mangium on an Imperata cylindrica grassland ...site in South Kalimantan, Indonesia. Seedlings were planted in a randomized complete block design in May 1994, one month after clear-cutting of the first rotation crops. No site preparation or fertilization was used. 24 mo after establishment A. mangium had high mean survival (98%) and height (8.7 m), followed by Acacia crassicarpa (survival 71%; height 8.0 m). A. mangium suffered from damage caused by squirrels (Lariscus sp.), and Eucalyptus camaldulensis from dieback. Gmelina arborea was occasionally attacked by weevils (Curculionidae). The quantity of ground vegetation was low and Imperata grass was suppressed by Chromolaena odorata and other shrub species. Early growth rates of A. mangium confirmed its potential for second rotation, even though observed damage for most of the species warrant careful studies and follow-up in large-scale operations. The mean density of natural regeneration of A. mangium 26 mo after harvesting the first rotation stand was 39 333 ha
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, of which 19 292 ha
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consisted of saplings over 1.3 m in height. The mean height and diameter at breast height of the dominant saplings were 5.1 m and 3.1 cm, respectively. The factors affecting the spontaneous natural regeneration of A. mangium need to be studied more carefully, since it may provide interesting management alternatives for second rotation stands in these critical areas. Utilization of natural regeneration may provide considerable savings in establishment costs of second rotation plantations, which may make plantation forestry an increasingly attractive alternative for local farmers.
Nutrient inputs via litterfall and associated nutrient accumulations and releases in the litter layer were investigated in 7-year-old Acacia mangium Willd. plantation stands in Indonesia. Annual N, ...Mg, Ca and K inputs via litterfall were 230-235, 21-26, 157-179 and 131-157kg ha-1 yr-1, respectively and the contributions of phyllode litterfall to these nutrient inputs were over 60%. Nutrient inputs via litterfall increased from dry to wet seasons being strongly associated with reproductive litterfall inputs as well as phyllode litterfall inputs. Annual mean N, Mg, Ca and K accumulations on the forest floor were 172-235, 12-14, 52-88 and 42-47kg ha-1, respectively. There were no clear seasonal variations in nutrient amounts on the forest floor. The peak of mass loss of phyllode litter was observed in the late wet seasons, and its seasonal change was coincided with the rainfall seasonality. Reflecting mass losses of reproductive and twig litters, however, seasonal variability in mass loss of whole litter became more complex. Nitrogen and Mg releases from litter layer tended to increase in the late wet seasons being affected by the retarded releases of these nutrients from fleshly fallen litters in addition to the increased mass loss of phyllode litter in the periods. Calcium releases from litter layer showed no significant seasonal variations reflecting the irregular seasonal changes in Ca release from twig litter rich in Ca. Meanwhile, the seasonal variation in K release from litter layer coincided with the seasonal changes in K inputs via litterfall.
Juvenile Growth Characteristics of Fast Growing Tree Species Treated with Liquid Pig Manure Kim, H.C., Korea Forest Research Institute, Suwon, Republic of Korea; Yeo, J.K., Korea Forest Research Institute, Suwon, Republic of Korea; Koo, Y.B., Korea Forest Research Institute, Suwon, Republic of Korea ...
Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer,
(Oct 2009), Letnik:
42, Številka:
5
Journal Article
This study was conducted to analyze growth responses of fast growing tree species(8 clones of hybrid poplars, Salix alba, Metasequoia glyptostroboides, Liriodendron tulipifera, Acer okamotoanum, and ...Quercus palustris), the chemical characteristics of soil and NO₃-N concentration of groundwater in a plantation applied with liquid pig manure. Concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorous in the soil treated with liquid pig manure were higher than that of the soil treated without liquid pig manure. With the exception of S. alba, DBH(Diameter at Breast Height) growth of all the fast growing tree species treated with liquid pig manure was higher than that of the species treated without liquid pig manure. In liquid pig manure treatment group, P. euramericana 'Eco28' clone showed the best performance in height and DBH growth. Concentration of nitrogen in the leaf with liquid pig manure was higher than that of the leaf treated without liquid pig manure. Based on the NO₃-N concentration of groundwater analyzed during the experimental period, there was no evidence that groundwater was polluted by the liquid pig manure applied at the plantation.
Line density effect on the yield of Leucaena leucocephala (Ll) and Gliricidia sepium (Gs) as cattle feed and green manure material in the Alley-cropping system was examined at Khon Kaen, Northeast ...Thailand. Seedlings were transplanted in June on the 5m interval ridge with line spacing of 0.25m, 0.5m, 1.0m and 2.0m, and monitored the growth monthly until January. A pattern common to both species was growth in rainy season and following cessation in dry season. Survival after severe desiccation differed by species i.e. Gs with shallow root died notably while Ll with deep root survived. Averaged mass of Ll was the highest at 1m spacing and lowest at 2m, and the difference grown larger while difference was not clear in Gs over whole period. The denser the interval, the higher the yield per length became. Above ground yield converted into biomass ranged between 0.73 to 0.06 in Ll and 2.14 to 0.27 ton/ha in Gs. The spacing-dependent difference was apparent from the initial stage in Ll. Leaf yield after rainy season ranged 800 to 80 g/10m-ridge in case of Ll, and harvest of 0.25m or denser spacing by October was recommended since giving the highest leaf yield on the assumption that 2cm in stem diameter was the handling criteria.
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