9.

Silvicultural consideration on the planting project in the natural production forest

Introduction
Silvicultural characteristic of Indonesias production natural forest: Felling limit diameter production forest > 50 cm, Limited Production Forest > 60 cm. Veneer raw material, medium wood hardness, mainly dipterocarpaceae tree species. No motivation to the management of residual stands, weak control from the government. Land conflict with local community and stand robbery happen, one half of concession number are default. Wood production capacity of the production natural forest decreases, because it was exploited more than its growth capacity.

Since yr 1997 the Ministry of Forestry aware on the importance of retaining of low land production natural forests, through minimum planting, line planting system. In the time being line planting is relevant to Indonesian situation: plantation is accepted as companys asset, improving motivation of the concession holder, opportunity of tree breeding. Intensification of stand management in the natural forests: not caused by lack of natural regeneration but to improve area security, and tree breeding to improve wood production capacity ad to conserve mediate strip in form natural forest. It is necessary to recognize forest areas, which one for line planting, clear cutting and planting, selective tending.

Silvicultural comment to the well practiced line planting system at PT SBK Central Kalimantan
Selective logging to make sunlight in the forest stand brighter, is not clean. Many large trees (d>40 cm) are standing in the forest. Bad for the future growth space of the plantation. It is caused by the transport difficulties of hard wood species.

Establishment of planting line: straightly, clean, width 3 m (in PT SBK, perfectly).

Opening felling for planting line: gap width 5-10 m, smaller cut, through away (in PT SBK perfect).

S. platyclados age 1 yr: d = 3 cm, h = 3 m

Perfect tending, no climber at the trees, whereas climber is always there.

S. leprosula age 2 yr: d = 4 cm, h = 3 m. Planting line is enlarged to 5 m

S. leprosula age 5 yr: d = 14 cm.

Planting line enlarged to 10 m (PT SBK)

Highly growth of plant diameter should be retained. Removal of impeder trees should be continuously done. The next liberation should be with poisoning. Strip width already 10 m, not necessarily to be enlarged because the plantation is high enough and not to be overcome by weed.

Technical suggestions
Success indicator: diameter increment of red meranti species > 3 cm/yr while the young age (d<50 cm). Effective method: selective crown thinning (selective tending): select the crop trees, poison the impeders. Questions: (1) optimum density of crop trees? (2) criterias of crop trees? (3) criterias of impeders?

Setting of crop trees density

Crop trees should selected because the increment of the stand should be concentrated into the best trees of the stand. Investment should be effectively used because of long rotation. Crop trees density depended on the crown size in adult stage. Meranti trees d 50 cm, crown width 10 m, density CT 100 trees/ha.

G (basal area) of the virgin forest 35 m2/ha, fresh logged-over forest 20 m2/ha, at the end of felling cycle stand reaches 25 m2/ha. CT density d = 50 cm, 127 trees/ha. From two methods of assessment of optimum CT density, optimum density ranged 100-127 trees/ha with average spacing 8-10 m each other.

Which trees should be tended?

Trees will be harvested with d 40 cm, smaller trees will be still tended for the next harvest/rotation. The next harvested trees could originated from planted trees and also from in between strip (nat. regeneration). Therefore CT criterias in selective tending: (1) largest diameter at its location, (2) healthy stem and crown, (3) spacing (just average) 8-10 m or 100-127 trees/ha. CT are not only meranti species? All trees with d 40 cm in the future 20 yrs, marketable?

How to improve increment of the CTs

CT will be easier to be recognized if the crown released from pressure and shading, moreover if the stem painted with blue color.

Environment of CT should be free from competition. Environment element in natural forest which can be changed by forester is competition. Fast, effective, cheap and save treatment to kill the impeder tree is with poisoning.
Applied arboricide is not allowed to pollute environment, soluble in water, effective to trees but save for human and animal -> organic material. Already proofed: salt isopropil amin gliphosate. Tree poisoning: solution gliphosate 5% in water, in plastic bottle volume 500 ml, put into sap wood through wound made by ax. Impeder tree will die in 34 months. The increment of CT will increased since the same year. Killing of trees with girdling is not recommended because of: long time to die, expensive, during first yr only 50% die, loss of increment potency reaches 50%.

Use of thinnings wood is not possible

The rest large trees are trees left by opening felling: if the woods felled by thinning operation, damage of plantation will not avoidable. Therefore, all large and healthy trees left in the forest should be selected, marked, and tended as crop trees although the trees are not plantation.

Cost experience
NO ACTIVITIES 1 2 3 4 Penyiapan jalur tanam scr manual lebar 3 m Tebang, cincang, singkir ph penaung jalur Penanaman Pemeliharaan awal ACHIEVEMENT HA/GROUP/DAY 0,4 1,1 2,2 1,7 DIRECT COST (RP/HA) 968.550 141.450 219,026 1.618.005

Pengadaan bibit
JUMLAH BIAYA OPERASIONAL LANGSUNG

316.595
2.947.031

EXCLUDING: machines depressiation, infrastructure, overhead cost, stand tending cost, and harvesting cost. Without harvest cost, establishment cost will not less than Rp 5 mill./ha.

Gift from nature: in between strip consist more and larger young merantis than those of planting line-> other source of crop trees? (PT SBK)

In between strip: natural forest stand with original biodiversity -> should be it conserved here? (PT SBK)

Area allocation for TPTII

Spacing of planting line 20 m. Planting line 3 m. Mediate strip 17 m. Area comparison: 3:17 = 1500 m2 : 8500 m2 each ha.

Land use in line planting system: riverside, steep slope, not allocated for planting line -> conserved forest in the production forest (PT SBK)

Assessment of rotation to produce large logs of meranti wood

PT SBK assesses rotation of 25 yrs, based on average diameter increment of old meranti plantation of 1,8 cm/yr. Average diameter increment cant used for estimation of rotation, but diameter increment of the dominant trees (mean diameter of the largest 100 trees/ha).

The dominant trees from 200 trees/ha planted meranti will emergent but may be not too many, but the needed number of 100-127 trees/ha crop trees will be fulfilled also by the trees in mediate strip. Therefore, the mediate strip should be refined and liberated/thinned, because the mediate strip is also production forest not conserved forest area.
With optimum tending to the crop trees, diameter increment of the crop trees can reach 2-3 cm/yr, that rotation of plantation can be targetted to 20 yrs.

Estimation of rotation based on diameter and increment

Plot in the 5 yrs old planted Shorea leprosula. D of 5 yrs S. lepro dominant trees 14 cm, increment 3 cm/yr. To be 50 cm, it should grow (50-14) = 36 cm. This can be reached by 36/3 = 12 yrs more. Rotation = 5+12 = 17 yrs. D of selected crop trees (mixed tree species) in the mediate strip is 24 cm. Average increment estimated 2 cm/yr. To reach 50 cm need grow of (50-24) = 26 cm. This can be reached in (26/2) = 13 yrs. Rotation = 5+13 = 18 yrs more. Combination between planted and nat reg. rotation is 18 to 20 yrs.

Yield estimation

If minimum crop trees density at the end of rotation 100 trees/ha, d = 50 cm, bole length 25 m, f = 0,65: V = 100 x (0,25 x x 0,50) m2 x 25 m x 0,65 = 319 m3/ha Commercial volume increment = 319/20 = 15,95 m3/ha.th. If there are 30 concessions with meranti plantation: annual area of 1,000 ha/yr, then since 21th yr harvest of meranti wood = 30,000 ha/th x 319 m3/ha = 9,570,000 m3/yr SUSTAINABLE!

Plantation prospects

In an optimum environment (sunlight, water, nutrient, space), increment will be higher reached by superior genetic resources which are produced by tree breeding experiments. Volume increment can be improved 50-100% from those recent capacity.

Superior genetic resources will be easier developed in plantation program.

It is important to discover: which species, family in species, and which clone should be developed in the intensified silviculture. Superior genetic source need shorter rotation, smaller business risk, faster capital pay back period.

20 species of diperocarpaceae compared in PT SBK for species trial: future local selection can be done, which tree species are the best to be cultivated in the natural forest.

An example: collaboration experiment among ITTO, concession, university

Merantibubur (S. parvifolia), one of fast growing meranti species easily grow its diameter 3 cm/yr, so long its crown doesnt shaded (PT SBK).

Stand density in the plantation of PT SBK Central Kalimantan

Inventory result in PT SBK: seedlings 21.563 stem/ha, saplings 2.900 stem/ha, poles > 80 stem/ha -> That means the forest stand doesnt need to be enriched. Management intensification is necessary just for strengthening of company right on the forest stand.

The number of the residual trees

STAND PLANTED-0 YR 1 YR DIAMETER (CM) INTERVAL 40-49 27 20 50-59 9 13 60 9 5 TOTAL TREES D 40 45 38

2 YR
3 YR 4 YR 5 YR PRIMARY FOR.

34
35 19 23 26

13
14 11 11 10

9
12 11 3 12

56
61 41 37 48

There are 37-61 trees/ha left in plantation area -> two kinds of company loss: the old trees make no increment, the old trees stop the growth of the younger trees through its shading.
silviculture: it is important not to leave any old trees in the forest before planting program

Basal area of the stand in the plantation areas

TEGAKAN TPTJ-0THN D 20-39 CM 12,55 D 40 CM 14,76 TOTAL 20 CM 27,31

TPTJ-1THN TPTJ-2THN TPTJ-3THN TPTJ-4THN TPTJ-5THN HTPRIMER

11,40 12,77 10,59 10,68 12,57 11,48

12,33 18,86 22,96 16,53 11,22 16,73

23,73 31,63 33,55 27,21 23,79 28,21

G = 23-33 m2/ha, as dense as the climax forest, too dense for plantation. According to research result in East Kalimantan and in Sabah, the highest increment of the young trees was reached if G < 15 m2/ha, not too much shading -> red column (d 40 cm) should be removed/utilized.

Left wood volume (d>40 cm)

Average basal area of large trees left in the stand (d > 40 cm) = 16 m2/ha. Assumed its bole length 25 m, f = 0,65 -> volume = G.h.f = 260 m3/ha. The volume of the residual stand is too large that in the future will hamper the growth of plantation.

Conclusion

Establishment of meranti plantation in the natural production forest is necessary to improve productivity, controllability, motivation, acceptability to the company asset. Application of intensified silviculture is important to save the rest of natural forest against robbery and conversion. According to data and experience, plantation of meranti tree species can improve productivity and save. Utilization of the thinnings wood after the existing of plantation is not possible, because it will destroy planted merantis. Through the intensified silvicultural program, opportunity of using of superior genetic source through tree breeding is easier to be implemented.