A case study of natural forest management in Trinidad
The tropical forests of the world are under pressure from squatters and the practice of slash and burn agriculture. Forest managers are forced to struggle against intense competition for the forestry land base. In Trinidad, despite this intense competition, large stands of natural forests have been managed under the polycyclic selection system referred to locally as the Periodic Block System. Using this system, the natural forests have been harvested sustainably ensuring a continuous supply of timber for the local market, whilst maintaining the integrity of the forest ecosystem. The chief method used is the silvicultural selection and harvesting of stems within a defined area of 150-300 ha using a 30-year cutting cycle. Some 10.000 ha of the evergreen seasonal Mora (Mora excelsa Benth.) forests are harvested using this method. Blocks which were harvested 30 years ago are now being re-harvested. These appear to be ecologically well balanced in terms of the species composition, diameter distribution, stand structure, regeneration of important species and volume production. By comparison, another selection method, the Open Range Method, is more widely used. In this method the chief control are girth limits on selected species. However, lack of adequate control in operating this method has lead to over-exploitation of the forests. As a result, forests managed under the Open Range Method appear to be in an ecologically poorer condition than those managed by the Periodic Block System. An inventory of the periodic blocks has been undertaken to enable analysis and comparison with the Open Range Method. The preliminary results have shown that the forests managed using the Periodic Block System have maintained their biological diversity. This is not true of forests managed using the Open Range Method. It is anticipated that when completely analyzed and documented, the selection system as practised in the periodic blocks will prove to be a useful system for sustainable management of tropical forests with potential global applications.
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | biblioteca |
| Published: |
Oxford (RU)
1992
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| Subjects: | MANEJO FORESTAL, ESTUDIOS DE CASOS PRACTICOS, SISTEMAS SILVICULTURALES, TRINIDAD Y TOBAGO, |
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| Summary: | The tropical forests of the world are under pressure from squatters and the practice of slash and burn agriculture. Forest managers are forced to struggle against intense competition for the forestry land base. In Trinidad, despite this intense competition, large stands of natural forests have been managed under the polycyclic selection system referred to locally as the Periodic Block System. Using this system, the natural forests have been harvested sustainably ensuring a continuous supply of timber for the local market, whilst maintaining the integrity of the forest ecosystem. The chief method used is the silvicultural selection and harvesting of stems within a defined area of 150-300 ha using a 30-year cutting cycle. Some 10.000 ha of the evergreen seasonal Mora (Mora excelsa Benth.) forests are harvested using this method. Blocks which were harvested 30 years ago are now being re-harvested. These appear to be ecologically well balanced in terms of the species composition, diameter distribution, stand structure, regeneration of important species and volume production. By comparison, another selection method, the Open Range Method, is more widely used. In this method the chief control are girth limits on selected species. However, lack of adequate control in operating this method has lead to over-exploitation of the forests. As a result, forests managed under the Open Range Method appear to be in an ecologically poorer condition than those managed by the Periodic Block System. An inventory of the periodic blocks has been undertaken to enable analysis and comparison with the Open Range Method. The preliminary results have shown that the forests managed using the Periodic Block System have maintained their biological diversity. This is not true of forests managed using the Open Range Method. It is anticipated that when completely analyzed and documented, the selection system as practised in the periodic blocks will prove to be a useful system for sustainable management of tropical forests with potential global applications. |
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