SUMMARY
The world's tropical forests, which circle the globe, are interestingly diverse. Ranging from the steamy jungles of the rain forests to the dry forests and savannas, they provide habitat for millions of species of plants and animals. Once covering some 15.3 billion acres (6.2 billion ha), these tropical forests have been reduced through cutting and clearing by 210 million acres (85 million ha) between 1985 and 1990. All types of tropical forests are defined and their products and benefits to the environment are presented and discussed. Modern forest practices are shown as a means of halting forest destruction while still providing valuable forest products and protecting and preserving the habitats of many endangered species of plants and wildlife. The Luquillo Experimental Forest is presented as a possible model to exemplify forestry practices and research that could manage and ultimately protect the tropical forests throughout the world.
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In the past, timber harvest in the Tropics has seldom been followed by regeneration. Conversion to agriculture is often permanent or results in soil erosion. Timber harvest contracts have usually been short term and have provided little or no incentive for timber companies to replant. So little reforestation has been done in the Tropics that many people believe these forests cannot be restored. However, there are many examples of successful reforestation in India, Indonesia, and the Caribbean.In the Tropics, as elsewhere, forestry is a mixture of modern innovations and ancient techniques borrowed from local tradition. Plantation forestry is common. Forest reserves have been established for timber harvest, wildlife habitat, scenery, outdoor recreation, or watershed protection. And in the Tropics, agroforestry-tree growing combined with agricultural cropping-is much more common than elsewhere.
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Plantation Forestry
In the Tropics, trees are
often planted and grown in plantations for wood production. Often, many species
must be tried to determine which will grow best (fig. 10). Plantations must
also be supported by major investments in forest management and research. Forest
nurseries must be established, and planting techniques and cultural practices
(spacing and thinning, pruning, fertilization, insect and disease control, and
genetic improvement) must be developed.Extensive pine plantations
have been established in the moist Tropics, mainly in South Africa and Australia.
Species most often planted include Caribbean pine (Pinus caribaea), ocote pine
(P. oocarpa), slash pine (P. elliottii), and benguet pine (P. kesiya). Pines
are popular plantation trees because they are generally fast growing, have good
survival rates, and are adapted to a wide variety of environments, including
degraded forest sites.Eucalypts, including species
such as Eucalyptus grandis, E. deglupta, E. tereticornis, E. globulus, and E.
camaldulensis are favored for the same reasons. Eucalypts are commonly grown
for pulp, fuel, and lumber. Other species commonly planted include teak (Tectona
grandis), Honduras mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla), melina (Gmelina arborea)
beefwood (Casuarina equisetifolia), and Mexican cypress (Cupressus lusitanica).
Forest Reserves
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There
are many reasons for establishing forest reserves in the Tropics. They can restore
watersheds and wildlife habitat, improve scenic beauty and opportunities for
outdoor recreation, and produce wood and other products for local use and export.
Many forest products contribute to the sustenance and income of local people:
wildlife and fish, firewood, rubber, fruits and nuts, rattan, medicinal herbs,
floral greenery, and charcoal.Perhaps the most famous
of these reserves is the 5,600 square mile (14,500 k squared) Serengeti National
Park in Tanzania. With its vast herds of grazing ungulates (hoofed animals)
and predators, including several endangered species, the Serengeti is a showcase
of a savanna ecosystem that has long been protected and managed for wildlife
and other natural resources (fig. 11). Although plagued with poachers, the Serengeti
promotes the cause of wildlife conservation to the many thousands of "ecotourists"
who pay to experience nature each year.Another type of forest reserve
is the "extractive" reserve, which is dedicated to the production
of useful products. Large reserves of this type have been established recently
in Brazil. Local residents use them for tapping rubber, for gathering fruits
and nuts, for hunting, and for harvesting wood on a sustained yield basis. Such
uses provide a sustainable income while maintaining the ecological integrity
of the forest.
Agroforestry
The practice growing of
trees in combination with agricultural crops is fairly common in the Tropics.
It is possible to grow food crops year around in many forested areas, and rural
poor depend on this source of food as nowhere else on Earth.
Taungya System
Various systems have been
developed for combining forestry with agriculture. "Taungya" is a
Burmese word meaning cultivated hill plot. This system of agroforestry was developed
in Europe during the Middle Ages and probably indepenently in a number of places
in the Tropics. After existing forest or ground cover is removed by burning,
trees are planted along with agricultural crops. Both are cultivated until the
tree canopy closes. Then the area is left to grow trees, and another site is
located for combined forestry agriculture.
Shade Cropping
An overstory of trees is
often used to provide shade for agricultural crops. A common practice is to
grow tree species such as guaba Inga vera) over coffee. In Puerto Rico, many
forests developed where coffee was once grown in this manner.
Support Crops
Trees can be planted to
provide support (and sometimes shade) for vine crops. Vines such as pepper and
vanilla need support.
Alley Cropping
Nitrogen-fixing trees are
planted in hedges in widely-space parallel rows along the contour of slopes.
Food crops are grown in the "alley" between the rows. The trees add
nitrogen and organic matter, protect the soil from erosion, and provide wood
and animal forage.
Living Fences
Green fenceposts that will
root and sprout often are planted in a closely spaced row. When they sprout,
they create a "living fence" that provides shade and forage for cattle.
Windbreaks
5Trees are often planted
as windbreaks for agricultural crops, farms, or homesites. Such plantings can
eventually contribute wood products as well as shelter. Food trees such as citrus,
rubber, and mango can also provide fuel, lumber, and other wood products when
they have outlived their original usefulness.
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