Natural regeneration and ecological succession in Pinus kesiya watershed plantations in northern Thailand : Implications on plantation management

Establishment of Pinus kesiya Roy. ex Gord. plantations in Thailand began in the 1960s by the Royal Forest Department. The aim was to reforest abandoned swidden areas and grasslands in order to reduce erosion and to produce timber and fuel wood. Today there are about 150, 000 ha of P. kesiya plantations in northern Thailand. Most of these plantations cannot be harvested due to a national logging ban. Previous studies have suggested that Pinus kesiya plantations posses a capability as a foster environment for native broadleaved tree species, but little is known about the extent of regeneration in these plantations. The general aim of the study was to clarify the extent of forest regeneration and interactions behind it in Pinus kesiya plantations of the Ping River basin, northern Thailand. Based on the results of this study and previous literature, forest management proposals were produced for the area studied. In four different pine plantation areas, a total of seven plantations were assessed using systematic data collection with clustered circular sample plots. Vegetation and environmental data were statistically analysed, so as to recognise the key factors affecting regeneration. Regeneration had occurred in all plantations studied. Regeneration of broadleaved trees was negatively affected by forest fire and canopy coverage. A high basal area of mature broadleaved trees affected the regeneration process positively. Forest fire disturbance had a strong effect also on plantation structure and species composition. Because of an unclear future forest management setting as regards forest laws in Thailand, a management system that enables various future utilisation possibilities and emphasises local participation is recommended for P. kesiya watershed platations of northern Thailand.

Carbon Dioxide emissions from an Acacia plantation on peatland in Sumatra, Indonesia

Abstract. Peat surface CO2 emission, groundwater table depth and peat temperature were monitored for two years along transects in an Acacia plantation on thick tropical peat (>4 m) in Sumatra, Indonesia. A total of 2300 emission measurements were taken at 144 locations. The autotrophic root respiration component of the CO2 emission was separated from heterotrophic emissions caused by peat oxidation in three ways: (i) by comparing CO2 emissions within and beyond the tree rooting zone, (ii) by comparing CO2 emissions with and without peat trenching (i.e. cutting any roots remaining in the peat beyond the tree rooting zone), and (iii) by comparing CO2 emissions before and after Acacia tree harvesting. On average, the contribution of root respiration to daytime CO2 emission is 21 % along transects in mature tree stands. At locations 0.5 m from trees this is up to 80 % of the total emissions, but it is negligible at locations more than 1.3 m away. This means that CO2 emission measurements well away from trees are free of any root respiration contribution and thus represent only peat oxidation emission. We find daytime mean annual CO2 emission from peat oxidation alone of 94 t ha−1 yr−1 at a mean water table depth of 0.8 m, and a minimum emission value of 80 t ha−1 yr−1 after correction for the effect of diurnal temperature fluctuations, which resulted in a 14.5 % reduction of the daytime emission. There is a positive correlation between mean long-term water table depths and peat oxidation CO2 emission. However, no such relation is found for instantaneous emission/water table depth within transects and it is clear that factors other than water table depth also affect peat oxidation and total CO2 emissions. The increase in the temperature of the surface peat due to plantation development may explain over 50 % of peat oxidation emissions.

The Politics of Pulp Investment and the Brazilian Landless Movement (MST)

The Politics of Pulp Investment and the Brazilian Landless Movement (MST) The paper industry has been moving more heavily to the global South at the beginning of the 21st century. In a number of cases the rural populations of the global South have engaged in increasingly important resistance in their scuffle with the large-scale tree plantation-relying pulp investment model. The resistance had generally not yet managed to slow down Southern industrial tree plantation expansion until 2004. After all, even the MST, perhaps the strongest of the Southern movements, has limited power in comparison to the corporations pushing for plantation expansion. This thesis shows how, even against these odds, depending on the mechanisms of contention and case-specific conflict dynamics, in some cases the movements have managed to slow and even reverse plantation expansion. The thesis is based on extensive field research in the Brazilian countryside. It outlines a new theory of contentious agency promotion, emphasizing its importance in the shaping of corporate resource exploitation. The thesis includes a Qualitative Comparative Analysis of resistance influence on the economic outcomes of all (14) Brazilian large-scale pulp projects between 2004-2008. The central hypothesis of the thesis is that corporate resource exploitation can be slowed down more effectively and likely when the resistance is based on contentious agency. Contentious agency is created by the concatenation of five mutually supporting mechanisms of contention: organizing and politicizing a social movement; heterodox framing of pulp projects; protesting; networking; and embedding whilst maintaining autonomy. The findings suggest that contentious agency can slow or even reverse the expansion of industrial plantations, whereas when contentious agency promotion was inactive, fast or even unchecked plantation expansion was always the outcome. The rule applied to all the assessed 14 pulp conflict cases. The hypothesis gained strong support even in situations where corporate agency promotion was simultaneously active. In previous studies on social movements, there has been a lack of contributions that help us understand the causal mechanisms of contention influencing economic outcomes. The thesis answers to the call by merging a Polanyian analysis of the political economy with the Dynamics of Contention research program and making a case for the impact of contentious agency on capital accumulation. The research concludes that an efficient social movement can utilize mechanisms of contention to promote the potential of activism among its members and influence investment outcomes. Protesting, for example via pioneering land occupations, seemed to be particularly important. Until now, there has been no comprehensive theory on when and how contentious agency can slow down or reverse the expansion of corporate resource exploitation. The original contribution of this research is to provide such a theory, and utilize it to offer an extensive explanation on the conflicts over pulp investment in Brazil, the globalization of the paper industry, and slowing of industrial plantation expansion in the global South.

Forest governance and climate change adaptation : Case studies of four African countries

Africa is threatened by climate change. The adaptive capacity of local communities continues to be weakened by ineffective and inefficient livelihood strategies and inappropriate development interventions. One of the greatest challenges for climate change adaptation in Africa is related to the governance of natural resources used by vulnerable poor groups as assets for adaptation. Practical and good governance activities for adaptation in Africa is urgently and much needed to support adaptation actions, interventions and planning. The adaptation role of forests has not been as prominent in the international discourse and actions as their mitigation role. This study therefore focused on the forest as one of the natural resources used for adaptation. The general objective of this research was to assess the extent to which cases of current forest governance practices in four African countries Burkina Faso, The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ghana and Sudan are supportive to the adaptation of vulnerable societies and ecosystems to impacts of climate change. Qualitative and quantitative analyses from surveys, expert consultations and group discussions were used in analysing the case studies. The entire research was guided by three conceptual sets of thinking forest governance, climate change vulnerability and ecosystem services. Data for the research were collected from selected ongoing forestry activities and programmes. The study mainly dealt with forest management policies and practices that can improve the adaptation of forest ecosystems (Study I) and the adaptive capacity through the management of forest resources by vulnerable farmers (Studies II, III, IV and V). It was found that adaptation is not part of current forest policies, but, instead, policies contain elements of risk management practices, which are also relevant to the adaptation of forest ecosystems. These practices include, among others, the management of forest fires, forest genetic resources, non-timber resources and silvicultural practices. Better livelihood opportunities emerged as the priority for the farmers. These vulnerable farmers had different forms of forest management. They have a wide range of experience and practical knowledge relevant to ensure and achieve livelihood improvement alongside sustainable management and good governance of natural resources. The contributions of traded non-timber forest products to climate change adaptation appear limited for local communities, based on their distribution among the stakeholders in the market chain. Plantation (agro)forestry, if well implemented and managed by communities, has a high potential in reducing socio-ecological vulnerability by increasing the food production and restocking degraded forest lands. Integration of legal arrangements with continuous monitoring, evaluation and improvement may drive this activity to support short, medium and long term expectations related to adaptation processes. The study concludes that effective forest governance initiatives led by vulnerable poor groups represent one practical way to improve the adaptive capacities of socio-ecological systems against the impacts of climate change in Africa.

Stand growth and management scenarios for Paraserianthes falcataria smallholder plantations in Indonesia

Paraserianthes falcataria is a very fast growing, light wood tree species, that has recently gained wide interest in Indonesia for industrial wood processing. At the moment the P. falcataria plantations managed by smallholders are lacking predefined management programmes for commercial wood production. The general objective of this study was to model the growth and yield of Paraserianthes falcataria stands managed by smallholders in Ciamis, West Java, Indonesia and to develop management scenarios for different production objectives. In total 106 circular sample plots with over 2300 P. falcataria trees were assessed on smallholder plantation inventory. In addition, information on market prices of P. falcataria wood was collected through rapid appraisals among industries. A tree growth model based on Chapman-Richards function was developed on three different site qualities and the stand management scenarios were developed under three management objectives: (1) low initial stand density with low intensity stand management, (2) high initial stand density with medium intensity of intervention, (3) high initial stand density and strong intensity of silvicultural interventions, repeated more than once. In general, the 9 recommended scenarios have rotation ages varying from 4 to 12 years, planting densities from 4x4 meters (625 trees ha-1) to 3x2 meters (1666 trees ha-1) and thinnings at intensities of removing 30 to 60 % of the standing trees. The highest annual income would be generated on high-quality with a scenario with initial planting density 3x2 m (1666 trees ha-1) one thinning at intensity of removing 55 % of the standing trees at the age of 2 years and clear cut at the age of 4 years.

Evaluation of the profitability of fast-growing tropical trees.

The profitability of fast-growing trees was investigated in the northeastern and eastern provinces of Thailand. The financial, economic, and tentative environmental-economic profitability was determined separately for three fast-growing plantation tree species and for three categories of plantation managers: the private industry, the state (the Royal Forest Department) and the farmers. Fast-growing tree crops were also compared with teak (Tectona grandis), a traditional medium or long rotation species, and Para rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) which presently is the most common cultivated tree in Thailand. The optimal rotation for Eucalyptus camaldulensis pulpwood production was eight years. This was the most profitable species in pulpwood production. In sawlog production Acacia mangium and Melia azedarach showed a better financial profitability. Para rubber was more profitable and teak less profitable than the three fast-growing species. The economic profitability was higher than the financial one, and the tentative environmental-economic profitability was slightly higher than the economic profitability. The profitability of tree growing is sensitive to plantation yields and labour cost changes and especially to wood prices. Management options which aim at pulpwood production are more sensitive to input or output changes than those options which include sawlog production. There is an urgent need to improve the growth and yield data and to study the environmental impacts of tree plantations for all species and plantation types.