Plantation silviculture

333 Pages·1986·17.42 MB·English

by  Kenneth R. Shepherd (auth.)

PLANTATION SILVICULTURE
FORESTRY SCIENCES
Baas P, ed: New Perspectives in Wood Anatomy. 1982. ISBN 90-247-2526-7
Prins CFL, ed: Production, Marketing and Use of Finger-Jointed Sawnwood. 1982.
ISBN 90-247-2569-0
Oldeman RAA, et aI., eds: Tropical Hardwood Utilization: Practice and Prospects. 1982.
ISBN 90-247-2581-X
Den Ouden P and Boom BK: Manual of Cultivated Conifers: Hardy in Cold and Warm-
Temperate Zone. 1982. ISBN 90-247-2148-2
Bonga JM and Durzan DJ, eds: Tissue Culture in Forestry. 1982. ISBN 90-247-2660-3
Satoo T and Magwick HAl: Forest Biomass. 1982. ISBN 90-247-2710-3
Van Nao T, ed: Forest Fire Prevention and Control. 1982. ISBN 90-247-3050-3
Douglas J: A Re-appraisal of Forestry Development in Developing Countries. 1983.
ISBN 90-247-2830-4
Gordon JC and Wheeler CT, eds: Biological Nitrogen Fixation in Forest Ecosystems:
Foundations and Applications. 1983. ISBN 90-247-2849-5
Nemeth MV: The Virus-Mycoplasma and Rikettsia Disease of Fruit Trees.
ISBN 90-247-2868-1
Duryea ML and Landis TD, eds: Forest Nursery Manual: Production of Bareroot Seed
lings. 1984. ISBN 90-247-2913-0
Hummel FC, ed: Forest Policy: A Contribution to Resource Development. 1984.
ISBN 90-247-2883-5 . \ . ---
Manion PD, ed: Scleroderris Canker of Conifers. 1984. ISBN 90-247-2912-2
Duryea ML and Brown GN, eds: Seedling Physiology and Reforestation Success. 1984.
ISBN 90-247-2949-1
Staaf KAG and Wiksten NA: Tree Harvesting Techniques. 1984. ISBN 90-247-2994-7
Boyd JD: Biophysical Control of Microfibril Orientation in Plant Cell Walls. 1985.
ISBN 90-247-3101-1
Findlay WPK, ed: Preservation of Timber in the Tropics. 1985. ISBN 90-247-3112-7
Samset I: Winch and Cable Systems. 1985. ISBN 90-247-3205-0
Leary RA: Interaction Theory in Forest Ecology and Management. 1985.
ISBN 90-247-3220-4
Gessel SP: Forest Site and Productivity. 1986. ISBN 90-247-3284-0
Hennessey TC, Dougherty PM, Kossuth SV and Johnson JD, eds: Stress Physiology and
Forest Productivity. 1986. ISBN 90-247-3359-6
Shepherd KR: Plantation Silviculture. 1986. ISBN 90-247-3379-0
Plantation silviculture
by
KENNETH R. SHEPHERD
Reader in the Department of Forestry
Australian National University
Canberra, ACT, Australia
1986 MARTINUS NIJHOFF PUBLISHERS
a member of the KLUWER ACADEMIC PUBLISHERS GROUP
DORDRECHT / BOSTON I LANCASTER
Distributors
for the United States and Canada: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 101 Philip
Drive, Assinippi Park, Norwell, MA 02061, USA
for the UK and Ireland: Kluwer Academic Publishers, MTP Press Limited,
Falcon House, Queen Square, Lancaster LAI 1R N, UK
for all other countries: Kluwer Academic Publishers Group, Distribution Center,
P.O. Box 322, 3300 AH Dordrecht, The Netherlands
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Shepherd, K. R. (Kenneth Ronald)
Plantation silviculture.
(forestry sciences)
Bibliography, p.
Includes index.
n.
1. Tree farms. 1. Title. Series.
58391.537 1986 634·9' 5 86-14175
IS8N-13: 978-94-01 0-8478-9 e-IS8N-13: 978-94-009-4446-6
001: 10.1007/978-94-009-4446·6
Copyright
© 1986 by Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Dordrecht.
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1 st edition 1986
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of
the publishers,
Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, P.O. Box 163, 3300 AD Dordrecht,
The Netherlands.
v
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface xi
Acknowledgements xiii
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
NATURE OF PLANTATIONS 1
Plantations Defined 3
Monoculture Tree Crops 4
plantations and Long Term Productivity 5
PLANTATIONS, ECONOMICS AND LAND USE 6
COSTS AND BENEFITS 6
Land as a Resource 8
Plantations and Development 9
SILVICULTURE AS BOTH ART AND SCIENCE 9
SILVICULTURAL SYSTEMS 10
CHAPTER 2 SEED PRODUCTION 12
THE NEED FOR GOOD QUALITY SEED 12
THE REPRODUCTIVE CYCLE IN FOREST TREES 14
Development of Gymnosperm Seeds 14
Development of Angiosperm Seeds 18
FACTORS INFLUENCING FLOWERING AND SEED PRODUCTION 21
SEED PRODUCTION FROM THE NATURAL FOREST OR FROM PLANTATION 26
SEED ORCHARDS 31
Siting of Seed Orchards 33
Orchard Establishment 34
Orchard Management 37
CHAPTER 3 SEED HANDLING 41
TRADE IN SEED 41
SEED COLLECTION 42
Pre-collection Planning 42
Field Collection Methods 43
Precautions at Harvest to Minimise Disease Infection 47
Labelling the Crop 47
SEED EXTRACTION 48
DRYING AND STORAGE OF SEED 49
Seed Quality 51
Moisture Content 52
Seed Storage 53
SEED TESTING 55
Sampling the Seedlot 56
Physical Characteristics of the Seed Sample 58
Weight 58
Moisture content 58
Genuiness and origin 58
Seed Germination Tests 58
vi
SEED DORMANCY AND PRE-SOWING TREATMENT 60
Immaturity of the embryo 61
Complete inhibition of water absorption 61
A state of dormancy in the embryo itself 62
Secondary dormancy 63
CHAPTER 4 NURSERY PRACTICE 64
SEEDLINGS FOR PLANTING 64
THE NURSERY SITE 64
Selection of a Nursery site 65
Layout of the Nursery 67
BARE-ROOT SEEDLING PRODUCTION 68
The Nursery Soil 68
Texture 68
Structure 69
Nutrients 69
Organic matter 70
Soil reaction, or pH 71
Mycorrhiza 72
Soil Management 73
Tillage 73
Fertiliser use 74
Maintaining soil organic matter 75
Adjusting soil pH 76
Pest and disease control 77
Irrigation 80
Seedbed preparation, Sowing and Maintenance 83
Sowing 84
Weed control 85
Pre-emergence weed control 85
Post-emergence control 86
Interrow Cultivation 87
Root Pruning and Root Wrenching 88
Nutrient Deficiency in the Seedbed 91
Nitrogen 91
Phosphorus 91
Potassium 91
Magnesium 91
Lifting, Packing and Transport of Bare-root Stock 92
Lifting 92
Packing 93
Transport 93
PRODUCTION OF CONTAINER STOCK 93
Choice of Container 94
Cost of the container 94
Weight when filled with a growing medium 95
Durahili ty 95
Effects on the root system 95
Choice of Growing Medium 96
Fumigation and Sterilization of Potting Mixtures 96
Sowing Seed or Pricking out into Containers 97
Shading 98
Low~shade 99
High shade 99
Disease Control 100
vii
Watering 100
Hardening-off 100
Handling and Transport 101
ASEXUAL OR VEGETATIVE PROPAGATION 102
Propagation by Cuttings 103
Grafting and Budding 104
Tissue Culture 105
PLANTING STOCK QUALITY 106
NURSERY RECORDS 107
CHAPTER 5 PLANTATIONS AND LAND-USE 109
PLANTATIONS AND CONSERVATION 110
SITE EVALUATION 111
CLIMATE 111
Soil and Terrain 113
Market and Economic Considerations 116
Existing and potential markets 116
Availability of infrastructure 117
Labour supply 117
Scale of operations 117
Environmental Impacts of Plantation Establishment 117
Hazards of fire, wind, erosion and landslide 118
Hazards of a biological nature 118
Conservation of native plants and animals 118
Problems of stream sedimentation and loss of water quality 118
Soil compaction and loss of fertility 118
Adverse impacts on landscape values 118
Adverse impacts on recreational values 119
SITE QUALITY 119
PLANTATION DESIGN 121
Plantations and Landscape 122
Planning the Access System 123
Stage construction 123
Classification of plantation roads 124
Roading density 125
Compartment shape 125
Non-wood Production Plantations 125
Windbreaks and shelterbelts 128
Urban forestry 130
Farm forestry and agroforestry 131
CHAPTER 6 GROWTH OF EVEN-AGED CROPS 133
TREE STANDS, AND MONOCULTURES 133
GROWTH OF SINGLE STEMS 134
Height Growth 134
Free or indeterminate growth 134
Fixed or determinate growth 134
Diameter Growth 136
Root Growth 138
Tree Form and the Influence of the Tree Crown 140
GROWTH OF THE FOREST STAND 141
Competition, Tolerance, Dominance and Crown Class 142
Competition 142
Tolerance 142
viii
Dominance and crown class 143
Heigh t Growth 145
Diameter Growth 147
Root Growth 149
STAND GROWTH AND STOCKING DENSITY 151
BIOMASS PRODUCTION 153
CHAPTER 7 PLANTING, SITE PREPARATION AND MAINTENANCE 162
SILVICULTURAL DECISIONS 162
SITE PREPARATION METHODS 164
Clearing the Land 165
Broadcast felling and burning 165
Felling, windrow clearing and burning 166
Drainage and Mounding 168
Drainage 168
Mounding 168
Deep Ripping the Planting Site 170
Ploughing and Screefing 171
Weed Control on the Planting Line 172
Fertilizing at Planting 177
Benefits of adding fertilizers 177
Forms of fertilizer used at planting 181
Economics of fertilizer use at planting 184
Legumes as a source of nitrogen 184
MAINTAINING SITE PRODUCTIVITY 186
Loss of Nutrients 188
Direct loss of nutrients in harvested biomass 188
Indirect loss of nutrients from the site 189
Water Relations and Second Rotation Sites 194
Improving the water holding capacity of the soil 194
Increasing tree crop water usage 185
Soil Compaction 196
Managing the Nitrogen Supply 198
CHAPTER 8 PLANTING AND EARLY MAINTENANCE 201
CHOICE OF SPECIES 201
purpose of the Plantation 201
Plantings primarily for wood production 201
Plantations for protection 202
Plantations for fuelwood and fodder 202
Amenity and urban planting 202
Site and Climate 203
Use of Indigenous Species 204
Use of Exotic Species 204
CHOICE OF ESPACEMENT 206
Espacement, Tree and Stand Growth 206
Mortality 206
Height 207
Diameter growth 207
Stem form 208
Bral}ch size 208
Volume production 209
Wood quali ty 210
Effects of Initial Espacement on Costs 210
ix
PLANTING 212
Timing of Planting Operations 212
Special Forms of Planting 213
Agro-forestry 213
Taungya, or trees with food crops 215
Line planting, or line enrichment planting 216
urban plantings 216
Planting Methods 217
PROTECTION AND EARLY MAINTENANCE 219
Protection from Vermin 221
Watering and Water Conservation 222
Minimising Competition from other Vegetation 222
Applicatiion of Fertilizer 223
CHAPTER 9 PRUNING 225
REASONS FOR PRUNING 225
NATURAL PRUNING 226
ARTIFICIAL PRUNING 227
Methods of pruning 229
Axe pruning 229
Saw pruning 230
Shear pruning 230
High pruning 231
Mechanical pruning 232
Timing and Intensity of Pruning 233
PRUNING AND WOOD QUALITY 234
CHAPTER 10 THINNING 236
THINNING AND GROWTH OF STANDS 237
OBJECTIVES OF THINNING 242
National or Organisational Objectives 243
Financial Considerations 243
Integration of Forest and Industry 243
Biological Considerations 244
THINNING METHODS 244
Commencement of Thinning 244
Type of Thinning 246
Low thinning 246
Crown thinning 247
Selection thinning or thinning from above 248
Mechanical thinning 248
Free thinning 250
Thinning Interval 251
Thinning Intensity 252
Severity of Thinning 253
THINNING, HARVESTING AND THE ENVIRONMENT 253
WIND STABILITY AND THINNING 255
THINNING AND WOOD QUALITY 258
CHAPTER 11 SILVICULTURAL MANAGEMENT 263
TACTICS AND STRATEGIES IN SILVICULTURE 263
A SILVICULTURAL REGIME 265
Shorthand Notation for a Silvicultural Regime 266
x
Factors Influencing a Choice of Regime 266
Silvicultural Prescriptions 269
Use of Systems Analysis to Determine Regimes 270
Recognition 271
Definitiion of the extent of the problem and its boundaries 271
Identifying the hierarchy of goals and objectives 272
Generation of solutions 272
Modelling 272
Evaluation of potential courses of action 272
Implementation of the results 273
MODELS FOR EVALUATING SILVICULTURAL ALTERNATIVES 273
The Data Base 274
Data for building a model 274
Data for using a model 275
Yield Simulation Models 275
Economic Analysis of the Results of Simulation 277
Present net value 280
Internal rate of return 280
Benefit cost ratio 281
Seeking Optimum Management Strategies 282
SILVICULTURAL REGIMES TO SUIT DIFFERENT MANAGEMENT OBJECTIVES 283
Maximum Production Regimes 283
with a small wood market 284
with no small wood market 285
Maximum Value Regime 285
An Agro-forestry Regime 287
A Regime for Windy Climates 289
PLANTATIONS AND THE FUTURF. 290
INDEX 293
REFERENCES 297