Regreening the Bare Hills. World Forests, Band 8 (eBook)
In Regreening the Bare Hills: Tropical Forest Restoration in the
Asia-Pacific Region, David Lamb explores how reforestation might be
carried out both to conserve biological diversity and to improve
the livelihoods of the rural poor. While both issues have attracted
considerable attention in recent years, this book takes a
significant step, by integrating ecological and silvicultural
knowledge within the context of the social and economic issues that
can determine the success or failure of tropical forest landscape
restoration. Describing new approaches to the reforestation of
degraded lands in the Asia-Pacific tropics, the book reviews
current approaches to reforestation throughout the region, paying
particular attention to those which incorporate native species -
including in multi-species plantations. It presents case studies
from across the Asia-Pacific region and discusses how the
silvicultural methods needed to manage these 'new'
plantations will differ from conventional methods. It also explores
how reforestation might be made more attractive to smallholders and
how trade-offs between production and conservation are most easily
made at a landscape scale. The book concludes with a discussion of
how future forest restoration may be affected by some current
ecological and socio-economic trends now underway. The book
represents a valuable resource for reforestation managers and
policy makers wishing to promote these new silvicultural
approaches, as well as for conservationists, development experts
and researchers with an interest in forest restoration. Combining a
theoretical-research perspective with practical aspects of
restoration, the book will be equally valuable to practitioners and
academics, while the lessons drawn from these discussions will have
relevance elsewhere throughout the tropics.
1;Preface;6 2;Contents;12 3;Abbreviations;22 4;Chapter 1: Deforestation and Its Consequences in the Asia-Pacific Region;24 4.1;Introduction;24 4.2;Forests of the Asia-Pacific Region;25 4.2.1;Box 1.1Natural Forests with Limited Species Diversity;28 4.3;Deforestation Rates;30 4.3.1;Box 1.2Definitions of Deforestation;30 4.4;The New Landscapes;33 4.4.1;General Assessment of Degraded Lands;33 4.4.2;Undisturbed or Human-Dominated Lands;35 4.4.3;Mosaic lands;35 4.4.4;Frontier Forests;36 4.4.5;Grasslands;37 4.4.6;Box 1.3Definitions of Degradation;34 4.5;Estimates of the Area of Degraded Land Potentially Available for Reforestation;39 4.6;Assessing the Extent of Biodiversity Losses;40 4.6.1;Predicting Future Extinctions;40 4.6.2;Monitoring Actual Species Losses Following Deforestation;42 4.7;Consequences of Deforestation and Biodiversity Loss;45 4.7.1;Deforestation and Greenhouse Gases;46 4.7.2;Deforestation and Watersheds;47 4.8;Is the Present Protected Area Network Able to Protect Regional Biodiversity?;50 4.8.1;Threats to Asian Protected Areas;51 4.8.1.1;Logging and Agricultural Clearing;51 4.8.1.2;Gathering and Hunting;52 4.8.1.3;Lack of Commitment By Governments;52 4.8.1.4;Size and Boundaries;53 4.8.2;Protected Areas in the Pacific;53 4.8.3;Box 1.4Making Protected Areas Contribute to Development Needs;54 4.8.4;Box 1.5A Pacific Conservation Reserve;55 4.9;Conclusions;56 4.10;References;57 5;Chapter 2: Forest and Land Degradation in the Asia-Pacific Region;63 5.1;Introduction;63 5.2;Natural Disturbances;64 5.3;Human Uses of Forests;66 5.3.1;Hunting and Gathering;66 5.3.2;Shifting Cultivation;67 5.3.3;Sedentary Agriculture;70 5.3.4;Box 2.1 Errors in rice planting dates lead to food shortages;72 5.3.5;Logging;73 5.4;Environmental Determinants of Deforestation;76 5.5;The Socio-Economic Context a Short History of Deforestation in China and Japan;77 5.5.1;China;77 5.5.2;Japan;81 5.6;Deforestation and Degradation in the Asia-Pacific Region;83 5.6.1;The Rise in Abandoned Former Agricultural Lands;84 5.6.2;Populations and Deforestation;84 5.6.3;Causes of Deforestation;86 5.7;Seven Forest and Land Degradation Case Studies;86 5.8;Lessons Emerging from These Case Studies About the Causes of Forest and Land Degradation;100 5.9;Thresholds and Forest Transitions;103 5.9.1;Box 2.2 The forest transition at a local level in Northern Luzon, Philippines;105 5.10;Conclusions;106 5.11;References;107 6;Chapter 3: Reforestation, Conservation and Livelihoods;114 6.1;Introduction;114 6.2;Defining and Assessing Rural Poverty;116 6.3;Natural Forests and Livelihoods;117 6.4;Biodiversity Conservation or Livelihood Improvements?;121 6.5;Reforestation to Enhance Livelihoods and to Foster Biodiversity Conservation;124 6.5.1;Types of Reforestation;127 6.5.1.1;Plantations of Pulpwood and Commodity Grade Timbers;127 6.5.1.2;Plantations of High-Value Timbers Grown on Longer Rotations;129 6.5.1.3;Multi-Species Plantations of High-Value Species;130 6.5.1.4;Ecological Restoration or Environmental Plantings;131 6.5.1.5;Natural Regeneration;131 6.5.2;Some Qualifications;132 6.5.2.1;Environmental Conditions Will Constrain Silvicultural Choices;132 6.5.2.2;Not All Smallholders May Be Willing or Able to Engage in Reforestation;133 6.5.2.3;The Most Appropriate Silvicultural Systems Are Complex and Many Are Still Being Developed;134 6.5.2.4;These Options May Vary with Time;134 6.5.2.5;There May Be Other Silvicultural Options;134 6.5.2.6;There Must Be Trade-Offs Between Production and Biodiversity Conservation;135 6.5.2.7;Box 3.1 Forest Restoration in Northern Thailand by Villagers Lacking Formal Land Tenure;132 6.6;The Role of Land Tenure;136 6.7;Land Tenure and Reforestation;138 6.7.1;Box 3.2 Land Tenure and Reforestation by Smallholders in Vietnam;140 6.8;Community Forestry;141 6.8.1;Community Forestry Within Existing Natural Forests;141 6.8.2;Community Forestry on Cleared or Degraded Lands;144 6.8.3;Box 3.3 Community Forestry in the Philippines;145 6.8.4;Box 3.4 Community Reforestation on New Georgia Island, Solomon Islands;147 6.9;Community or Private Reforestation?;148 6.10;Conclusions;149 6.11;References;150 7;Chapter 4: Different Types of Reforestation;156 7.1;Introduction;156 7.2;A Conceptual Model of Degradation and Forest Restoration;157 7.2.1;Box 4.1Some Definitions;162 7.3;Choosing Between Ecological Restoration, Plantation Monocultures and Rehabilitation;159 7.3.1;Advantages and Disadvantages of Ecological Restoration;160 7.3.2;Advantages and Disadvantages of Plantation Monocultures;165 7.3.3;Advantages and Disadvantages of Rehabilitation Plantings;166 7.4;Degradation and Resilience;166 7.4.1;Resilience in Social-Ecological Systems;168 7.5;Building Resilience During Reforestation;170 7.5.1;Box 4.3The Hazards of Single Markets;172 7.5.2;Some Problems for Those Seeking to Design Resilient Forms of Reforestation;171 7.5.2.1;What Sort of Resilience Specific or More General?;171 7.5.2.2;How Much Diversity is Needed in Plantations to Generate (Sufficient) Resilience?;172 7.5.2.3;How to Encourage the Development of Resilient Forms of Reforestation?;173 7.5.2.4;Might It Be Easier to Enhance Resilience at a Landscape Scale Rather Than at a Particular Site?;173 7.6;Conclusion;174 7.6.1;Box 4.2Attributes of Restored Ecosystems (Society for Ecological Restoration International 2004);164 7.7;References;174 8;Chapter 5: Natural Regeneration and Secondary Forests;177 8.1;Introduction;177 8.2;Defining Secondary Forests;178 8.3;Natural Forest Regeneration at Disturbed Sites;180 8.3.1;Sources of Plant Colonists;181 8.3.1.1;Seed Stored in Topsoil;181 8.3.1.2;Seedlings Remaining on Forest Floor;181 8.3.1.3;Stumps, Rhizomes and Roots;182 8.3.1.4;Seed Dispersed into the Site from Outside;183 8.3.2;The Landscape Context and Its Influence on Seed Dispersal;184 8.3.3;The Fate of New Seedlings Colonizing After a Disturbance;186 8.3.4;Types of Secondary Forest Successions;188 8.3.5;Box 5.1Secondary Forests Arising After Successive Wildfires in Borneo;193 8.4;Ecosystem Services Provided by Secondary Forests;194 8.4.1;Secondary Forests as Habitats for Old-Growth Forest Species;194 8.4.2;Watershed Protection and Hydrological Flows;196 8.4.3;Carbon Sequestration;197 8.5;Using Natural Succession to Overcome Degradation;198 8.5.1;Protecting the Site from Further Disturbances;198 8.5.2;Removing Weeds and Pests;204 8.5.3;Soil Constraints;205 8.5.4;Source of Colonists Nearby;205 8.5.5;Box 5.2Natural Regeneration When Fires are Excluded;201 8.6;Accelerating Successional Development;205 8.7;Managing Established Secondary Forests;208 8.7.1;Increasing Timber Productivity in Existing Forests;208 8.7.2;Modifying the Composition of Secondary Forests;209 8.7.3;Box 5.3Requirements for Enrichment Planting in Timber Production Forests;210 8.7.4;Box 5.4Enrichment Planting in Secondary Dipterocarp Forest, Sabah;214 8.7.5;Box 5.5Maintaining Secondary Forests in the Face of Land Clearing Threats;215 8.8;Using Secondary Forests to Create Agroforests;216 8.8.1;Types of Agroforests;216 8.8.2;Conditions Favouring the Development of Agroforests;218 8.8.3;The Uncertain Future of Agroforests;220 8.9;Conclusions;222 8.10;References;223 9;Chapter 6: Monocultural Plantings;230 9.1;Introduction;230 9.2;Reasons for Establishing Plantations;231 9.2.1;Private Industrial Growers;231 9.2.2;State Forestry Agencies;232 9.2.3;Smallholders and Community Forestry Groups;232 9.2.4;Special Purpose Groups;233 9.3;Implementing Reforestation on Degraded Lands;233 9.4;The Particular Case of Mine Site Rehabilitation;240 9.5;The Standard Plantation Model;243 9.5.1;Box 6.1Why plantations sometimes fail?;247 9.6;Limitations of This Standard Model;247 9.7;The Hazards of Monocultures;249 9.8;Species Choices;252 9.8.1;Fast Growing or Slow Growing Species?;253 9.9;Sources of Information on Species Choices;255 9.9.1;Biogeographic Distribution and Knowledge of Silvicultural Attributes;255 9.9.2;Traditional Knowledge and Farmer Preferences;256 9.9.3;Box 6.2The best species to plant;257 9.9.4;Evidence from experimental field trials;257 9.9.5;Box 6.3 Hazards of long-term silviculture experimentation;261 9.9.6;Evidence from Markets;259 9.10;Problems Needing Resolution Before Using a Wider Range of Species in Reforestation Programs;261 9.10.1;How to Get Seeds and High Quality Seedlings?;261 9.10.2;Do Some Species Need Early Shade?;263 9.10.3;What Are the Preferred Sites of Different Species?;264 9.10.4;What Are Appropriate Pruning and Thinning Schedules?;264 9.10.5;What Are the Growth Rates?;267 9.10.6;What Are Appropriate Rotation Lengths?;269 9.10.7;How Should Natural Regeneration Beneath the Plantation Canopy be Managed?;270 9.11;Monoculture Plantations, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services;272 9.11.1;Biodiversity;272 9.11.2;Watershed Protection;273 9.11.3;Water Flows;274 9.11.4;Box 6.4The reversibility of hydrological changes;276 9.11.5;Carbon Sequestration and Storage;277 9.12;Conclusions;280 9.13;References;281 10;Chapter 7: Mixed-Species Plantings;287 10.1;Introduction;287 10.2;Some Potential Advantages of Mixed Species Plantations;288 10.2.1;Enhanced Production in Multi-Species Plantations;289 10.2.2;Improved Nutrition;295 10.2.3;Reduced Damage from Pests and Diseases;297 10.2.4;Financial Benefits;298 10.2.5;Ameliorating Site Conditions at Cleared or Degraded Sites;299 10.3;Species Functional Types;300 10.4;Designs for Mixed-Species Plantations;302 10.4.1;Cash Crop Grown Beneath a Timber Plantation;302 10.4.2;Uneven Aged Plantations Involving Only Trees;305 10.4.3;Even-Aged Plantation Using Species Grown Togetheron Short and Long Rotations;311 10.4.4;Even-Aged Plantation with All Species Grown Togetherin a Single Long Rotation;315 10.5;Identifying Ecologically Complementary Species;323 10.6;Some Management Issues;327 10.6.1;The Number and Type of Species to Use;327 10.6.2;Thinning;328 10.6.3;Rotation Length;330 10.7;Mixtures at a Landscape Scale a Mosaic of Monocultures;331 10.8;Providing Ecosystem Services;332 10.8.1;Biodiversity;333 10.8.2;Soil Protection and Hydrological Flows;335 10.8.3;Carbon Sequestration;335 10.9;Conclusions;336 10.10;References;337 11;Chapter 8: Ecological Restoration;342 11.1;Introduction;342 11.2;Re-Assembling Forest Ecosystems;343 11.2.1;Filters;344 11.2.2;Interactions Between Species;345 11.2.3;Putting Theory into Practice;347 11.2.4;Box 8.1An Apparently Successful Forest Restoration Program;346 11.3;Examples of Ecological Restoration of Tropical Forests;349 11.3.1;Case Study 1: Hong Kong;349 11.3.2;Case Study 2: Amazonia, Brazil;350 11.3.3;Case Study 3: North Queensland, Australia;351 11.3.4;Case Study 4: Chiang Mai, Thailand;352 11.3.5;Case Study 5: Khao Phaeng Ma, Thailand;353 11.4;Some Tentative Principles Governing the Ways in Which Forest Ecosystems Might Be Restored;355 11.5;In Practice;357 11.5.1;Nurse Tree Method;357 11.5.2;Framework Species Method;358 11.5.3;Maximum Diversity Method;359 11.6;Direct Seeding;361 11.6.1;Limitations on the Use of Direct Seeding;363 11.7;The Social Context;367 11.8;Monitoring and Adaptive Management;368 11.8.1;Box 8.2 Attributes of Restored Ecosystems (After SER 2004);369 11.9;Conclusion;372 11.10;References;372 12;Chapter 9: Plantation Finances;376 12.1;Introduction;376 12.2;Markets for Forest Products Examples from Vietnam;377 12.2.1;Fuelwood in Vietnam;378 12.2.2;Sawn Timber and Poles in Vietnam;379 12.2.3;Pulpwood in Vietnam;382 12.3;Forest Product Markets Elsewhere in the AsiaPacific Region;382 12.3.1;Box 9.1The Lao PDR Teak boom;384 12.4;Market Chains;386 12.5;Financial Models of Different Plantation Designs;388 12.5.1;A Vietnam Case Study;389 12.6;The Financial Profitability of Tree-Growing Elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific Region;392 12.7;Reforestation Businesses;393 12.8;Payments for Ecosystem Services;394 12.8.1;Role of PES in Enhancing Conservation Outcomes;395 12.8.2;Box 9.2Establishing the Price of Ecological Services Through Conservation Auctions;398 12.8.3;The Role of PES in Improving Livelihoods and Reducing Poverty;399 12.8.4;Making PES Schemes Work;400 12.9;The Carbon Market;401 12.10;Increasing the Incomes Received by Tree-Growers;403 12.11;Conclusions;406 12.12;References;407 13;Chapter 10: Reforestation and Farmers;410 13.1;Introduction;410 13.2;Farmers and the Farming Environment;411 13.2.1;Typologies of Farmers Based on Behaviour;411 13.2.2;A Typology of Farmers Based on Resource Limitations;413 13.2.3;A Typology of Farmers Based in Their Interest in Reforestation;414 13.3;Making Reforestation Attractive to Farmers;417 13.4;The Transition Away from Traditional Forms of Silviculture;420 13.4.1;Box 10.1The Evolution of Silvicultural Knowledge in South Western China;422 13.5;Reforestation Following Government Assistance;423 13.5.1;Smallholder Reforestation in Vietnam;424 13.5.2;Smallholder Reforestation in the Philippines;427 13.5.3;Smallholder Reforestation in Indonesia;430 13.5.4;Papua New Guinea;432 13.5.5;Solomon Islands;434 13.5.6;Australia;436 13.5.7;Lao PDR;437 13.6;Reforestation with Assistance from Private Timber Companies;438 13.7;Reforestation with Assistance from Non Government Organisations;440 13.8;Are Partnerships Enough? The Role of Incentives;440 13.9;Building Socially Resilient Forms of Reforestation;442 13.9.1;Learning Networks for Reforestation;444 13.9.2;Monitoring and Evaluating Progress;447 13.9.3;Box 10.2Transforming Social-Ecological Systems;443 13.10;Judging Success from a Farmer Perspective;448 13.11;Conclusions;449 13.12;References;450 14;Chapter 11: Reforestation at a Landscape Scale;455 14.1;Introduction;455 14.2;The Nature of Landscape Mosaics;456 14.2.1;Box 11.1Definition of Landscapes;457 14.3;Ecological Processes in Evolving Landscapes;458 14.3.1;Biodiversity;459 14.3.2;Hydrology, Sedimentation and Watershed Protectionin Landscape Mosaics;460 14.4;Building Resilience at the Landscape Scale;461 14.5;How Much Reforestation?;463 14.5.1;How Much Reforestation is Needed to Improve Biodiversity Conservation?;463 14.5.2;How Does Increasing Reforestation Area Affect Hydrologyand Watershed Protection?;464 14.5.3;How Much Reforestation is Needed to GenerateSocio-Economic Benefits?;465 14.6;Where to Undertake Reforestation;466 14.6.1;Where to Reforest to Improve Biodiversity Conservation?;466 14.6.2;Where to Reforest to Improving Ecosystem Functioning?;469 14.6.3;Where to Reforest to Improve Livelihoods?;470 14.7;What Types of Reforestation at Particular Locations?;471 14.8;Planning Forest Landscape Restoration;472 14.8.1;Top-Down or Bottom-Up Planning?;473 14.8.2;Steps in Planning Reforestation at a Landscape Scale;475 14.8.2.1;Stage 1: Develop a Landscape View of the Problem;475 14.8.2.2;Stage 2: Group Engagement;478 14.8.2.3;Stage 3: Identify Possibilities;479 14.8.2.4;Stage 4: Decision-Making and Priority Setting;480 14.8.2.5;Stage 5: Monitoring and Adaptive Management;482 14.8.3;Box 11.2Forest Landscape Restoration as Part of a Larger Land Use Planning Program in Fiji;476 14.8.4;Box 11.3Evaluating Alternative Reforestation Scenarios;481 14.9;Approaches and Decision-Support Tools for Forest Landscape Restoration;484 14.9.1;Visualisation;484 14.9.2;Scenario Analysis;487 14.9.3;Simple Models;488 14.9.4;Role Playing Games;490 14.9.5;Cost Effectiveness;491 14.9.6;Market-Based Instruments;492 14.10;Conclusion;494 14.11;References;495 15;Chapter 12: Developing Institutional Support for Large-Scale Reforestation;499 15.1;Introduction;499 15.2;The Future Context?;500 15.2.1;Population Growth and the Need for Greater Food Production;500 15.2.2;Urbanisation;500 15.2.3;A Rising Middle Class and Rising Environmental Concerns;502 15.2.4;New Markets for Forest Products and Ecosystem Services;502 15.2.5;Climate Change;503 15.3;Undertaking Reforestation in the Future;505 15.3.1;The Role of Markets;506 15.3.2;The Role of Governments;507 15.3.3;Box 12.1Losing Knowledge;510 15.4;The Role of Plantation Timber Companies;511 15.4.1;The Role of Non-Government Organisations;512 15.4.2;The Role of Households and Communities;512 15.5;New Institutional Settings to Encourage Reforestation;513 15.5.1;A System of Cooperative Advisory Groups;514 15.5.2;Problems in Implementing Change;517 15.5.3;Box 12.2Consultative Principles;518 15.6;Revisiting Resilience;519 15.7;Conclusions;522 15.8;References;523 16;Chapter 13: The Way Forward;526 16.1;Introduction;526 16.2;Alternative Visions of the Future;529 16.2.1;Scenario 1: A Gloomy Outcome;530 16.2.2;Scenario 2: A Modest Improvement;530 16.2.3;Scenario 3: A Conservational Outcome;531 16.3;Some Things We Still Need to Know;532 16.3.1;Ten Ecological Questions;533 16.3.2;Ten Socio-Economic Questions;534 16.4;Finally;536 16.5;References;537 17;Glossary;539 18;Index;544
