TRAINING VISIT REPORT ON SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF PLANTATION FORESTS " pptx

Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development TRAINING VISIT REPORT ON SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF PLANTATION FORESTS Australia, 18 March – 6 April 2007 Vu Tan Phuong1, Research Centre fo

Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development

TRAINING VISIT REPORT ON

SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF PLANTATION FORESTS

Australia, 18 March – 6 April 2007

Vu Tan Phuong1, Research Centre for Forest Ecology and Environment (RCFEE), Hanoi

Le Anh Tuan, Research Centre for Tree Breeding and Improvement, Hanoi

Pham Xuan Dinh, Centre for Forest Research and Production, Dong Ha, Central Vietnam

SUMMARY

This report is an output of the training visit in Australia under the ongoing project “Sustainable and profitable development of acacia plantations for sawlog production in Vietnam” and it refers to

solving problems for forest research and development in Western Australia It is seen that three (3) major problems challenging forest development and requiring for the research implementation in Western Australia are soil salinilization, rapid decline of native timber production and water deficit

To solve such problems, a number of researches (strategic and applied research) is developed and implemented with strong involvement of multi-sciences, particularly strong linkage of soil sciences, silviculture and genetics and close cooperation of management organizations and private forest

companies The research program has produced good knowledge and understanding on soil fertility management and plantation water use and the research results are effectively used for forest plantation management and development

INTRODUCTION

The training visit was conducted in Australia from 18 March to 6 April 2007 as a part of the ongoing CARD VIE 032/05 project “Sustainable and profitable development of acacia plantations for sawlog production in Vietnam” implemented by Centre for Environment and Life Sciences (CSIRO) through joint venture of ENSIS and Forest Science Institute of Vietnam (FSIV) The objectives of the training visit are i) to know how the problems regarding plantations development are defined, ii) to understand research development and involvement of multidiscipline sciences to solve the problems, and ii) to know how the results are utilized by the concerned agencies/companies

1 Detailed contact: RCFEE Add.: Dong Ngac – Tu Liem – Hanoi, Vietnam Tel.: +844 755 0801; Fax.: +844 838 9434; Email: phuong.vt@rcfee.org.vn; www.rcfee.org.vn

To achieve these objectives, a number of scientific research results and papers related to research programs on soil nutrient, silvicultural measures and genetics as the base for sustainable plantation development were presented and discussed during the course of the training In addition, a field visit

to several experiment sites and intensive discussion were also held for better understanding on

approach and methods of solving the defined problems (see appendices for itinerary and list of person met)

This report was prepared to summarize the main findings on researches development and utilization of research results to underpin sustainable forestry development in Australia, particularly in planted forests in Western Australia

OVERVIEW OF FORESTS AND FORESTRY OPERATION IN AUSTRALIA

Australian forests cover an area of about 164 million hectare, accounting for 21 percent of its

continent Of this total forests area, the native forests area is about 163 million hectare and planted forests area is estimated at 1.6 million hectare About 99 percent of native forests area is broadleaf and most of native forest areas are dominated by eucalyptus species, followed by acacia species and then melaleuca species and the native forests are mainly designated for nature conservation In contrast, about 60 percent of plantation areas are established with exotic tree species for production of hard and soft wood (Bureau of Rural Sciences 2004)

The major tree species for hardwood

plantation is Eucalyptus globulus,

estimating at 21 percent of its area,

followed by E grandis and E niten

Also the main tree species for softwood

plantation is pinus radiata, accounting

for about 49 percent of plantation area

and then P elliottii, P pinaster, P

caribaea, etc

Plantation area developed quickly since

1950, particularly in recent years through

private investment Although planted

forests area occupies only about 1

percent of total Australian’s forest area

but it provides about 70 percent of the

sawnwood produced in Australia

Fig.1: Forest types of Australia

As data in 2002, the value of primary forest production was $1.3 billion and value of wood production contributed 1 percent of GDP to economy or $5.6 billion The value of turnover in forest product industries was $15 billion Since 1990s a total amount of $6.5 billion has been put into the forest sector by the domestic and foreign investment that created employment for 70,000 – 80,000 people (Bureau of Rural Science 2004)

INDENTIFICATION OF PROBLEMS RELATED TO FOREST DEVELOPMENT

State government research agencies in previous decades found that there are several existing

problems/limitations for forest development, particularly plantation establishment and/or sustainable land uses These include:

● Soil salinization is seriously incurred in area of Southern Western Australia It is recognized

that the cause for this is widespread clearing of deep-rooted native vegetation and replacement with shallow-rooted annual crops, leading to “leakage” of water through the profile and rising saline water tables According to statistical data, about 20 million ha was cleared and found to have existing or potential salinity problems (John McGrath 2007) This problem has caused death of trees in plantations and there is the potential for serious expanding of salinity risk by

2050 (see Fig.2) Beside this, other factors limiting forestry development in Western Australia are infertile soils (mainly sandy soils) and unfavourable climate conditions, for example low rainfall and high evaporation

Fig 2 Current and forecast areas of high risk of dryland salinity in Western Australia (figure

provided by Dr John McGrath)

● Rapid decline of native timber production was found to be considerable threats to industry

due to over-harvesting and change of forest status from productive to reserved According to the forecast, looming deficit of structural timber may happen in the coming years A deficit of about 200,000 m3 of timber or 500,000 m3 of sawnwood is estimated by the year of 2030

because of strong population growth resulting in high demand for housing

● Water competition between plantations and farmland is becoming an urgent concern as

rapid expansion of plantation establishment to fulfill increasing timber demand Therefore, it

is strongly asked for measures for sustainability of plantation productivity while ensuring water availability, particularly in dryland of Western Australia

DEVELOPING RESEARCH TO ADDRESS THE IDENTIFED PROBLEM

To solve such mentioned urgently problems for forestry development and sustainable land uses, a number of researches directly addressed the problems has been developed A model of joint research

is formed by active involvement of SCIRO/Ensis, state government organizations and private forest companies, particularly the close cooperation and link between concerned multi-disciplinary sciences

In this context, it is recognized that there is a good strategic and applied-multi disciplinary research involved scientists to focus researches on soil fertility dynamic, silviculture and genetics for

forestry/land uses These are most important and provide reliable knowledge and understanding on soils, silviculture and genetics for better forestry development The followings summarize researches developed to underpin the plantation management

● Long-term strategic research development:

Understanding on soil nutrient and water is known to be the key for the successful

development of plantation To understand the change in soil properties and soil nutrient, a long-term research program was developed by CSIRO and started in 1990s The objective of this research program is to understand soil nutrients under planted forests (mainly eucalypts and pines) A network of 30 paired sites representative for a wide range of site productivity is established to observe the changes of soil nutrient and impacts of land uses on soil nutrient The major nutrient parameters for research are total nutrients, available nutrients, N, P, soil carbon, etc In addition to that a network of harvest residue management experiments is also set up to examine the impacts on soil fertility and productivity

This research program has been implemented by involvement of multi-disciplinary scientists

in close collaboration with government agencies and industry The program has so far been completed for the second rotation and being continued in the third rotation The knowledge and understanding gained through the research program are used i) to understand key drivers for sustainability and productivity, ii) capture knowledge into model to support decision makers

With regard to water issue, fast expansion of mono-culture plantations of exotic tree species

(mainly E globulus) in south western of Australia in ex-pasture land areas has raised concerns

about negative impacts of plantation on water and soil fertility Also there has been the

evidence for water deficit due to drought deaths of the plantations To understand this, the research on plantation water use is carried according to water gradient Five (5) research sites are laid out in selected areas of southern Western Australia, representing for different climate conditions (low rainfall and high evaporation; high rainfall and low evaporation; and low rainfall and low evaporation)

The theory “water balance” is applied to examine water amount used by plantations with

different stocking density It is assumed in the research experiment that silviculture can

optimize returns and manage the risk (water deficit) The research has monitored a number

of parameters on plant physiology (LAI – Leaf Area Index, sapflow etc) for determining plantation water use The research experiments on plantation water use are conducted focusing

on three (3) stocking densities (300, 600 and 1200 stems per hectare) throughout 5 research sites

All research results on soil nutrients and water are captured for modeling CABALA model is one of the examples and has become a most effective tool for forestry development and management

● Applied research development:

As mentioned above, a large area in West Australia is being affected by salinity, causing low crop productivity and in some cases land become not arable The cause for such problem is the increase of watertable following extensive vegetation clearing which brings up the salts to surface layer of the soils From this point of view, the applied research is being conducted to control salinity by tree planting, reducing “leakage” of water through the soil profile To solve

such problem, an applied research program is developed using tree planting as the measure

for controlling the watertable and thereby salinity is controlled This research is a good model

of combining breeding and silviculture techniques

Breeding of Acacia saligna is being implemented at two trial sites including one

provenance-progeny trial on a farmer’s farmland (Mr Matt Edmonds) The farm is located at Bolgart, about 200 km north-east of Perth, where annual rainfall is about 400 mm and the climate is

too dry for E globulus The trial tests a total of about 400 open-pollinated families of A saligna collected.from many provenances across the natural range of the species On Mr

Edmonds farm, some species of eucalypt and melaleuca have also been introduced to plant in the salinity affected areas to see how these species react to such salty environments

Acacia saligna progeny trial on Mr Matt Edmonds farm at Bolgart, Western Australia

The trial is a replicated trial with 5-tree line plots of the different families Very major

differences between families and provenances were obvious at age 1 year after planting

A model of controlling salinity through tree planting (see photo below) is carried out in pasture land (Mallee site, about 15 km west of Wongan Hills on the Piawanning Road) Two species of mallee eucalypts are selected for planting A planting strip of 6 tree rows is

established along the contourlines In addition to the salinity control, other commercial values

of these species are material for oil production, panel wood and energy

Beside efforts made by the scientists, a close cooperation of government and private companies can be considered the importance for the success It must be noted that most research sites are set up in the plantations of the private companies and the funding support also given to the research

implementation by the companies under certain agreement

Planting mallee eucalypt species E kochii in strip to control salinity in pasture land

SCIENTIFIC RESULTS TO DATE AND RESEARCH RESULTS UPTAKE BY

TARGET USERS

Through the researches addressing the defined problems for forestry plantations and land uses, the followings are seen as the invaluable results:

● Good knowledge and understanding on soil nutrient and impacts of plantations/land uses on soil nutrients The key findings are: i) small changes in soil fertility under different land use

management (plantation forestry compared to agriculture), ii) no major changes in soil carbon and total nitrogen and phosphate, iii) harvest residue management (slash management) give significant impacts on growth in low fertility sites and no influence on the growth in higher red earth soils Retention of residue contributes additional amount of nitrogen mineralized in the soils

● Water deficit can be managed through silviculture measures by reducing stocking density of plantations and/or proper thinning while sustaining the productivity The important research

results of water use for E globulus plantation found that the same productivity for plantation

with a density of 600 trees/ha and plantation with 1200 trees/ha

● Salinity control can be managed by tree crop establishment and with species selection and breeding to yield commercial products so that tree plantations are profitability for farmers

Tree species selection process for dryland salinity is in progress and has initial results Acacia saligna yielding fodder and biomass for fibreboard and energy, and mallee eucalypts which

yield eucalyptus oil, biomass and energyt from coppice harvests are promising for dryland salinity A model of strip planting with mallee eucalypts in crop land is has been shown to control salinity while enabling growing of crops such as wheat to continue

Regarding the research result uptake, it is seen that the results have been effectively captured by development of modeling and applied by management body for decision making and planning and forest companies in practical way The way of using research results is as below:

● Formulation of CABALA model (CArbon Balance and Allocation) by integrating

understanding of carbon, nitrogen and water cycle to support silviculture decision

● The Forest Products Commission, the management agency taking responsibility for forest management in Western Australia, utilizes the research results for industry development plan and catchment scale planning (by species based on land capability, climate conditions etc);

● The benefits for the research partners (private forest companies) are the application of

CABALA model and consultation advices as well as the best practice for harvest residue management for the plantation development

SITUATION OF SOLVING/AMELIORATING THE PROBLEM

Although good understanding and findings gained through the researches have contributed to solve the mentioned problems for forestry development in Western Australia, but there still exit

limitation/constraints for further research The major limitations are:

● Researches undertook for one rotation and therefore there may be a restriction for the gained knowledge and understanding of soils and plantation water uses for sustainability of forests plantations and water;

● Silvicuture measure for reduction of plantation water use can be seen as immediate solutions However, tree breeding, for purpose of reducing plantation water uses while satisfying wood quality and yield, is just in progress and would take time The harmonization of timber

production and water availability needs to be put into consideration

● Salinity management is, to some extent, focusing on salinity control for the unaffected and/or potentially affected areas rather than affected areas A model of strip planting to control

watertable is so far on small scale Therefore, it would be required for further measures to remedy large affected areas and/or scale up strip planting model For there to be a large scale impact, the tree plantings must yield commercial products so that farmers can earn sufficient income to invest in large areas of plantings

LESSONS LEARNED

● Good development of strategic and applied research program which addresses the problems related to sustainable planted forests and water use Also a good research team and strong involvement of multi-sciences as well as close cooperation between researchers, land

management agencies and industry companies are required to solve the research problems

● Knowledge and understanding derived from the research are invaluable to develop modeling supportive for decision making and planning as well as forest development

● A close collaboration of soil sciences, silviculture and genetics is a key for successful planted forests development and better forestry

ACKNOWLEGMENT

We would like to express our sincere thanks and appreciation to Dr.Ha Huy Thinh, Director of

Research Centre for Tree breeding and Improvement for giving acceptance and opportunity to

participate the training course We also thank a lot Dr Chris Harwood for all convenient arrangements and kindness Our deepest thanks to Dr Sadanandan Nambiar, Dr Chis Beadle, Dr Daniel Mendham,

Dr John McGrath, Dr John Bartle Dr Philip Smethurst and other resource people for useful

presentation and assistance during the training course

APPENDIX 1 TRAINING PARTICIPANTS AND TIMETABLE

PARTICIPANTS:

All are attached to the Forest Science Institute of Vietnam

Mr Vu Tan Phuong (Acting Director, Research Centre for Forest Ecology and Environment, Hanoi) (28th-31st March only)

Mr Dang Thinh Trieu (Researcher, Research Division for Silviculture, Hanoi)

Mr Le Anh Tuan (Researcher, Research Centre for Forest Tree Improvement, Hanoi)

Mr Vu Dinh Huong (Researcher, Sub-institute of Forest Science, Ho Chi Minh City)

Mr Pham Xuan Dinh (Researcher, Centre for Forest Research and Production, Dong Ha, Central Vietnam)

CARD Project VIE 032/05

Visit Itinerary, Western Australia

Sunday March 18

Arrive Perth Rest day

Monday March 19

CSIRO Centre for Environment and Life Sciences (CELS), Floreat Introduction to CELS, CSIRO and Ensis Discussion – Research approach, case study of Drought Risk project

Discussion – case study of 2nd and 3rd rotation management research Discussion – integration into decision support tools

Tuesday March 20 – Thursday March 22

CELS Forest industry development - the Mt Gambier experience – presentation by Dr

Nambiar Depart for field tour to E globulus plantation forestry research sites, returning

Thursday 22/3/2007 at around 6 pm

Friday March 23

Forest Products Commission, Rivervale Presentation on the Strategic Tree Farming Initiative, John McGrath, FPC

Saturday March 24

Free day

Sunday March 25

Day trip to Rottnest Island (hosted by Chris Harwood)

Monday March 26

Discussions, report writing - Floreat site

Tuesday March 27

Field trip with John Bartle to discuss development of Acacia saligna industry, visit to progeny

trial at Bolgart, and mallee eucalypts at Wongan Hills, North East of Perth

Wednesday March 28

Depart Perth for Hobart

Arrive 2115 in Hobart from Perth via DJ292/DJ378

Thursday 29 th March

0845 Welcome by Site Leader, Dr Philip Smethurst (Conference Room)

0900 Safety induction (in Conference Room) (Craig Baillie)

0910 Tour of the CSIRO-ensis Hobart Laboratory (CB) (Three 15-minute presentations across

range of topics)

1000 Morning coffee/tea

1030 Producing an industry in Tasmania based on solid wood from eucalypt plantations - growing,

protecting, defining and sustaining the resource (CB)

1245 Lunch

Session on Wood Quality

1330 Wood coring (behind CSIRO-ensis laboratory) (Des Stackpole)

1400 Wood Quality laboratory - processing wood cores (Linda Ballard)

1500 Afternoon coffee/tea

1515 Walk to Central Science Laboratory

1530 Near infra-red spectroscopy at Central Science Laboratory (Linda Ballard)

1700 Return to Wrest Point

1930 Welcome dinner hosted by CSIRO-ensis

Friday 30 th March

0730 Pick up from Wrest Point (CB)

0745 Breakfast

0900 Presentations based on E globulus to Veracel (see Veracel program in attached Appendix To

be held in Conference Room)

1245 Drive to Pittwater for barbeque lunch

1345 The Pittwater experimental site:

Canopy

1 Background to research (Chris Beadle)

2 Experimental design and management of treatments (Dale Worledge/Stephen Paterson)

3 Understanding root development and water uptake (Tony O’Grady)

4 Competition between trees in the stand (Tony O’Grady)

Plantation

5 Wood formation (Geoff Downes)

6 Physiological responses to defoliation (Audrey Quentin)

7 Spectral responses to stress (Karen Barry)

8 Soil sampling (Malcolm Hall) (The processing of these samples will form part of the demonstration in the Analytical Laboratory on Wednesday 4th April)

1630 Return to Wrest Point

Saturday 31 st March

0800 Pick up from Wrest Point (CH, CB)

Breakfast hosted by CB (62 Colville Street), then visit Salamanca Market, Sullivan’s Cove, Tasmanian Museum

1230 Lunch

(Note: Mr Phuong returned to Vietnam on Saturday 31 March so as to attend an important meeting)

Sunday 1 st April

0800 Pick up from Wrest Point (CH, CB)

1 Visit to the Southern Forests This will include:

2 Airwalk

3 Native forest management (The Warra)

4 Old-growth forest

5 Pruned and thinned eucalypt plantations

1700 Return to Hobart

Monday 2 nd April

0900 Southern Midlands of Tasmania Tree decline and reestablishment/reinvigoration of native

species (CB)