Some biological characteristics of a species of lithocarpus fissus for large timber production in doan hung district phu tho province

ABSTRACT This study was conducted to provide some biological characteristics of a species of Lithocarpus fissus as the basis for timber production in Doan Hung district, Phu Tho province

Besides my supervisor, I would like to thank the board of directors and the officers of the Central Northern Center of Forest Sciences for their insightful comments, enthusiasm and encouragement, but also for supporting me on doing field work and accommodation during

my field trip Without their precious support it would not be possible to conduct this thesis

Last but not least, my sincere thanks also go to my family: my grandmothers, my uncles, my sister and my brother for supporting me spiritually throughout writing this thesis and my life in general

ABSTRACT

This study was conducted to provide some biological characteristics of a species of

Lithocarpus fissus as the basis for timber production in Doan Hung district, Phu Tho province

Several methods were used to collect and analyze data, namely field work, and data analysis

The basic data analysis indicated that Lithocarpus fissus species played an important role in

species composition with pretty high results of important value (IV%) in all of the plots This species had the very impressive potential of regeneration; which contained more than 90% of the good quality trees; and most of the regenerated trees were from seeds However; they have placed a restriction on growth due to the nutrient place competition Therefore, it is necessary

to provide several suitable effects for the development of Lithocarpus fissus species Mixed

plantation model, in general, had more advantages than pure (single – species) plantation model From analyzed results, the study provided some recommendations as well as suitable

suggestions for Lithocarpus fissus species in order to develop effectively and sustainably

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

ABSTRACT

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLE

LIST OF FIGURE AND PICTURE

ACRONYMS

1 INTRODUCTION 1

2 LITERATURE REVIEW 3

2.1 Over the world 3

2.1.1 Scientific name, classification 3

2.1.2 Morphological characteristics 3

2.1.3 Ecological characteristics 4

2.2 In Vietnam 4

2.2.1 Scientific name, classification 5

2.2.2 Morphological characteristics 5

2.2.3 Ecological characteristics and distribution 5

2.3 Reviews of the studies 6

2.4 Natural and socio – economic conditions of the study area 6

2.4.1 Natural conditions 6

2.4.2 The assessment of advantages and disadvantages 9

3 GOAL, OBJECTIVES, AND METHODS OF THE STUDY 10

3.1 Goal 10

3.2 Specific objectives 10

3.3 Methodology 10

3.3.1 Fieldwork 10

3.3.2 Data analysis 11

4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 14

4.1 Some biological characteristics of a species of Lithocarpus fissus 14

4.1.1 Morphological characteristics 14

4.1.2 The community structure analysis 15

4.1.3 Natural regeneration 21

4.2 Assessing the plantation models in Doan Hung district, Phu Tho province 29

5 DISCUSSION 32

5.1 Review of the mature trees 32

5.2 Reviews of the naturally regenerated trees 32

5.3 Review of the plantation models 33

6 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 35

6.1 Conclusion 35

6.2 Shortcomings 36

6.3 Recommendations 36 REFERENCES

APPENDIX

LIST OF TABLE

Table 3.1: The species composition of the mature trees in Doan Hung district, Phu Tho

province 16

Table 3.2: The species composition‟s formula of the mature trees in the study area 18

Table 3.3: The distribution of the plants based on the trees' height 19

Table 3.4: The density of naturally regenerated trees 22

Table 3.5: The species composition index of naturally regenerated trees 23

Table 3.6: The species composition formula of the naturally regenerated trees in the study area 25

Table 3.7: The quality and the origin of the naturally regenerated trees in the study area 26

Table 3.8: The distribution of naturally regenerated trees based on the tree‟s height 27

Table 3.9: The growth of Lithocarpus fissus in 10 – year - old mixed plantation model 29

Table 3.10: The growth of Lithocarpus fissus in 15 – year - old single species plantation model 30

LIST OF FIGURE AND PICTURE

Figure 3.1: The distribution of the plants based on the tree‟s height 20

Figure 3.2: The distribution of Lithocarpus fissus species based on the tree‟s height 21

Figure 3.3: The distribution of naturally regenerated trees based on the tree‟s height 28

Figure 3.4: The distribution of Lithocarpus fissus regenerated trees based on the tree‟s height 29

Picture 3.1: Trunk of Lithocarpus fissus species 14

Picture 3.2: Flower of Lithocarpus fissus (source: http://www.fpcn.net/) 14

Picture 3.3: Leaf of Lithocarpus fissus species 15

Picture 3.4: Cupule and seed of Lithocarpus fissus species (source: the Central Northern Center of Forest Sciences) 15

ACRONYMS

MARD: Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development MONRE: Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment MAI: mean annual increment

Ht: total height

Hb: bole height

D13: diameter at breast height

̅̅̅̅̅: mean of the diameter at breast height

̅̅̅: mean of the total height

1 INTRODUCTION

Forest plays an important role in human life It provides not only various products but also the values of the ecological environment In recent years, because of several disturbances, such as over-exploitation, forestland transition, urbanization and weak management, the forest resources have been dropped in both quality and quantity In 1945, the total forest area of Vietnam was about 14.3 million hectares with 43% of forest cover, and the primary forest which had good quality was the capital component By 1990, the total forest area massive plunged to 9.3 million hectares with 28.4% of forest cover; the forest quality was very low Due to the protection and afforestation of society, in 2010, the total forest area increased to 13.95 million hectares which include 10.4 million hectares of the primary forest and 3.08 million hectares of the plantation; the forest cover rose to 39.5% However, the forest quality was dramatically meaningless and the sequestration is insignificant Moreover, the components of the forest were mostly fast growing wooding trees with low economic value, which could not satisfy the need of production in recent and in the future (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, 2011)

Located in northern Vietnam, Phu Tho province is delimited by the provinces of Tuyen Quang and Yen Bai in the north, Son La and Hoa Binh in the west, Ha Noi to the south, and Ha Giang and Vinh Phuc to the east According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), 2015, the province has an area of 353,294.93 hectares, including 64,097 hectares of natural forest, 121,703 hectares of plantation and the forest cover is 50.6% Although the forestry land is quite large, the forest quality is still low, mostly contain small timber species Facing to this situation, the problem is that how to develop the forest tree species in sustainable ways

Over 40 years of studying and experiment the native species for afforestation in various regions, the planters have gained a wide range of positive results but also restrictions The

main achievement was choosing 50 to 52 native species for large timber production as well as smaller timber and non – timber forest products (the decision number 16/2005 of MARD) About 28 species which contain 11 large timber species were studied in a systematic way and

50 species were planted for producing timber Nearly 22 large timber species were planted in

a thousand hectare, however, only 18 species had The main problems were that the group of planning trees was various types, and the spearheaded species were not focused Mostly, the species were determined based on experience, and they did not have the studies which provided orientation for the development In order to improve the given problems, it is necessary to study in a systematic way focusing on several spearheaded species Many native species have been included in the list of native tree species for reforestation, which was introduced by MARD However, most of them have not been studied about biological characteristics

Lithocarpus fissus is known as native and useful species which has wide distribution

Their wood is very large and stiff, can be used to build house, create housewares or make agricultural tools Containing many advantages such as fast growth, high resistance ability,

and the ability of greatly natural regeneration is good, Lithocarpus fissus is potential species

to develop forest resources and enhance the economy of the country (Nguyen, 1999)

Although, there were several studies about Lithocarpus fissus, no study among them

related to the biological characteristics in Doan Hung district, Phu Tho province Therefore,

the topic: “Some biological characteristics of a species of Lithocarpus fissus for large

timber production in Doan Hung district, Phu Tho province” was chosen as the topic of

the student graduation thesis

2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Over the world

2.1.1 Scientific name, classification

The scientific name of studying species is Lithocarpus fissuss This is large timber tree which belongs to Fagaceae family Besides, this species also has other scientific names: Quercus fissa Champ ex Benth, Pasania fissa (Champ ex Benth.) Oerst, and Castanopsis fissa (Champ ex Benth.) Rehd & Wils

According to Bentham and Hooker (1862 – 1883), Fagaceae is not considered as an independent taxon, the genus of Fagaceae are put on Cupuliferae However, there are many other opinions which regard Fagaceae as an independent family including 7 – 9 genus and

divide it to 2 -5 subfamily such as the systems of Milchior (1964), Menisky (1984), Takhtajan A.L (1987), Soepadmo (1972) In 1996, Takhtajan A.L presented other classification system

which similar to opinions of Kupriantova (1962), putting Nothofagus genus out of Fagaceae

In 2008, some botanists arranged Nothofagus genus into Nothofagaceae family (Judd, 2008)

2.1.2 Morphological characteristics

Huang Chengjiu et al (1999) describe Lithocarpus fissuss species as follows:

“Trees; bud scales, shoot apexes, and young leaf blades abaxially yellowish brown puberulent and covered with rust-colored, small, lamellate, slightly adnate, waxy scalelike trichomes Branchlets red - purple, prominently angular Leaves spirally arranged, yellowish brown to gray; petiole 1–2.5 cm; leaf blade oblong to obovate - elliptic, very variable in sizes, often 15–25 × 5–9 cm, thickly papery, base cuneate, margin from base to middle undulate and crenate, apex acute, acuminate, or rounded; midvein raised adaxially; secondary veins 20 – 28

on each side of midvein or rarely fewer Infructescence 8–18 cm; rachis glabrous Cupule 1–1.5 cm in diameter, irregularly 2- or 3(or 4)-valved with valves often curled, covered with dark reddish brown mealy waxy scalelike trichomes, apex slightly cuspidate, wall 0.5–1 mm

thick; bracts scalelike, triangular to squarish, imbricate when young but mostly united and in ring ribs with age Nut globose to elliptic, 1.3–1.8 × 1.1–1.6 cm, apically brown-red tomentose; scar basal, 4–7 mm in diameter”

2.1.3 Ecological characteristics

There are about 900 species that belong to Fagaceae family over the world, mostly

distributed in the temperate zone of Northern Hemisphere, subtropical region, and tropical

region The most distributed zone of Fagaceae is the Asia especially Vietnam which contain

216 species The Africa and the Mediterranean are two places that contain the least species of

Fagaceae family - 2 species (Khamleck, 2004)

According to Paul C F Tam and D A Griffiths (1993), Lithocarpus fissuss species is

distributed in high elevation (from 700m to 1700m) This species usually grow in evergreen forests which have moist soil conditions, a deep soil layer, heavy loam, soil which have pH from 4.5 to 5 The lower limit temperature of this species is -5oC, they also can live in the area that has annual precipitation range from 1000 mm to 2000 mm The best locations for

Lithocarpus fissuss to grow are ridge areas with thick soil layer The young trees can adapt to

shade tolerant The mature trees, however, require fully light for their growth The trees have

a high capacity of regeneration by bud and growing fast For example, the 23 years old tree in the secondary forest can have the height of 22 m and the diameter of 300 cm In plantation

forest, their diameter can be 15 cm after 15 years Lithocarpus fissuss species grow slower

after the period of 30 years old They provide seeds after 7 – 8 years old, about 50 kg of seeds each year in the best period The seeds can be processed in 24 hours with the temperature of

80oC They will germinate after 4 weeks

2.2 In Vietnam

In Vietnam, the studies of Lithocarpus fissus species are still limitation The authors

just focus on biological characteristics, distribution and several studies about planting

techniques There are also some topics about selecting seeds and propagation, which can be reviewed as follows:

2.2.1 Scientific name, classification

According to Chan LM, Huyen LT (2000), the scientific name of this species is

Castanopsis cerebrina, belong to Fagaceae family There are about 7 genus with 600 species

over the world Vietnam consists of 5 genus with about 120 species However, the scientific

name of this specie is Lithocarpus fissuss It is the most commonly scientific used name in

Petiole 1 – 2 cm long, slightly tomentose Male catkins 4 – 9 cm long, in branched panicles, usually terminal Perianth puberulous Anthers small, filament slender Pistillode small, styles

3, divergent Female inflorescences 5 – 11 cm long Cupule cup-shaped, 1.8 – 2.5 cm long,

1.6 – 2.2 cm diam., enclosing about 1/2 the seed, densely hairy inside, slightly tomentose outside, scales acute, flat, arranged into many irregular bands, pedicel 4 – 5 mm long, solitary

Nut narrowly conical, 2 – 2.5 by 1.4 –1.8 cm, tomentose, apex sometimes 3-angled”

2.2.3 Ecological characteristics and distribution

The study of Hoang et al (2004) showed that Lithocarpus fissus species distribute

naturally in China (Southeast Yunnan), Indochina, the North of Thailand, Louang Namtha

province of Laos They also grow naturally in many provinces of Vietnam such as Ha Tinh, Nghe An, Thanh Hoa, Yen Bai, Tuyen Quang, Quang Ninh, Ha Bac and Ha Tay Those are light-demanding trees which grow on low hills or on the forest edge, altitude below 400m Their natural regeneration is good and their germination rate is very high, also in the nursery

The flowering times of Lithocarpus fissuss species are from February to April, October, and

November Their fruiting times are March to June, October to December

2.3 Reviews of the studies

There are limited studies relating to Lithocarpus fissuss species in the world, which

mostly focused on classification, describing the morphological characteristics, and several biological characteristics Those studies indicated that this species has economic values, which are advised to grow widely in the countries

In Vietnam, until now, the studies about Lithocarpus fissuss species have focused on

the classification, describing the morphological characteristics, distribution However, some biological characteristic such as species composition and the distribution based on tree‟s

height have not been interested Therefore, the topic “Some biological characteristics of a

species of Lithocarpus fissus for large timber production in Doan Hung district, Phu Tho

province” is very necessary

2.4 Natural and socio – economic conditions of the study area

2.4.1 Natural conditions

2.4.1.1 Geographical location

Doan Hung is a rural district of Phu Tho province in the Northeast region of Vietnam According to data analysis from electronic communication website of Doan Hung district, it has an area of 302.4 km2, including 27 communes and 1 town

2.4.1.2 Topography

As reported by the Central Northern Center of Forest Sciences, Doan Hung has the diverse topography which is divided by deep gorges and dense streams For instance, there are two main types of topography as follows:

- Type of Low Mountain: distributed in the central of the district, the topography in here is quite low and less steep The average high is 350 m while the average slope is 20o

- Type of hill: primarily distributed in the district, including separated hills or connected hills The average slope is 15o This type of topography is favorable for planting industrial plants, fruit trees and long – term industrial plants Besides, there are small valleys between the hills which can be used to grow rice or short – term trees

In general, both types of topography are suitable for afforestation and planning long – term industrial trees

2.4.1.4 Climate, hydrology

 Climate

According to the monitoring data of the weather station in Phu Tho province, Doan Hung district has characteristics of tropical monsoon climate There are two seasons in a year: winter which is very dry and long, summer which is hot, moist and has a lot of rains

- Temperature

The annual average temperature is 23.1oC The dry season is from November to April

of the next year, December is the coldest month The hot season starts in the month of May and ends in October The average temperature during this season is 28oC while their maximum temperature is 41oC

- Precipitation

The annual average precipitation is 1878 mm, rainfall mostly occurs in July, August, September of which August has the highest amount of precipitation (322 mm on average), January has the lowest amount of rainfall (31 mm on average) The annual average humidity

is 85%, maximum in March (92%), minimum in December (77%)

- Wind:

The northeast monsoon occurs from October to March of the next year The wind breeze and usually bring drizzling rains and cold weather The southeast monsoon appears from April to September; it breezes and carries a lot of vapor causing rainfalls

In general, the climate of Doan Hung district is favorable for growing Lithocarpus fissus species However, because of the topography characteristics and the annual rainfall

regime, the cyclones, and the hail usually occurs affecting to plants

2.4.1.5 Flora

As the central region of forestry in the northern, located between two forestry productions areas - northwest and northeast, Doan Hung district contained 780 plant species

of 477 genus which belong to 120 families There were many valuable wooding tree species

such as Erythrophloeum fordii, Dipterocarpus retusus, Amoors gigantea, Ormosia, M faveolata, some species of Fagaceae family and some species of bamboo Some herbs species

occurred in here such as Gynochthodes officinalis, Homalomena occulta… Many species of Arecaceae presented like Elaeis guineensis, Calamus armarus Lour

Because of exploitation and the tradition of shifting cultivation, most of the rest are poor secondary forests, forest restoration after cultivation A lot of rare native species are in danger of extinction

Thanks to the efforts of the authorities and research agencies, in recent years, Doan Hung district has recovered significant forest areas by regeneration solution, rehabilitation, and afforestation Currently, many stands which belong to IIIa1, IIIa2, IIa, IIb forests are protected

According to the assessment of specialized agencies, the natural resilience in the study area has dramatic potential if the natural regeneration could be combined with the artificial regeneration and the suitable silvicultural techniques

2.4.2 The assessment of advantages and disadvantages

2.4.2.1 Advantages

- This is the area where has many researching activities, experiment, science and technology transfer in the forestry sector lead to receiving many investments from the government

- The conditions of climate, topography, the soil in the study area are favorable for

developing Lithocarpus fissus species

- The area of forestry land is large, generally, has good soil quality; the soil still has characteristics of forestry land; many areas have thick soil layer and high humus convenient for the development of forestry production in the district

2.4.2.2.Disadvantages

- Some remote communes have steep terrain lead to the difficulty of construction, management, and protection, as well as the implementation of forestry production activities in the study area

- The climate of the district has some disadvantages such as frost, the wind, dry months which affect to forestry production activities

3 GOAL, OBJECTIVES, AND METHODS OF THE STUDY

3.1 Goal

To provide some biological and ecological characteristics of a species of Lithocarpus fissus as the basic for large timber production in Doan Hung district, Phu Tho province

3.2 Specific objectives

- To determine the biological and ecological characteristics of a species of Lithocarpus fissus

- To compare the different plantation models in study area

- To propose some suggestions to develop the species for large timber production

3.3 Methodology

3.3.1 Fieldwork

3.3.1.1 Method for morphological characteristics study

The morphological characteristics of a species of Lithocarpus fissus are described directly

through the representative objectives The results are then compared to the data sources

3.3.1.2 Species composition and regeneration study method

At the primary forest which has relatively concentrated distribution of Lithocarpus fissus species, set up three particular plots (the plots must be representative of site condition, slope direction, slope, Lithocarpus fissus density) Each plot has an area of 2500 m2 (50 m in length and 50 m in width) In sample plots, collect the following data:

- For the mature trees (D1.3 > 6 cm): in the plots, classify the name of species, investigate the growth indicators (diameter at breast height: D1.3 – cm, total height: Ht – m, crown diameter: Dcr – m, under canopy height: Hb – m), forest density, trees quality (good, average, bad) The tool for measuring diameter is tape measure and for collecting height data

is Blume - Leiss

- For the regenerated trees (D1.3 < 6 cm): in each sample plots, establish 5 square plots (5 m x 5 m), 4 sub-plots in 4 corners and 1 sub-plot in the center Identify the name of

sub-species, trees density, total height, trees quality (good, average, bad), the origination of regenerated trees (seed, bud) The total heights of trees are measured by tape measure

For the plantation forest, set up three plots (each plot has an area of 1000 m2 – 40 m x

25 m) for mix plantation and the same for single species plantation Repeat all of measuring steps as primary forest

3.3.2 Data analysis

 The mean annual increment (MAI):

According to West (2009), MAI is average rate of production (of wood, biomass, basal area, etc.) to any particular age of a stand

40m

25m

Figure 2: The plot sample of the plantation forest

Y(t): yield at time t

t: the age of species at a measuring time

 The coefficient of variation

The coefficient of variation was calculated using Forkman‟s method (2009)

γ =

γ: coefficient of variation

: Standard deviation

µ: mean of investigated factor

 The quality of species:

N% = x 100

N%: the percentage of trees based on quality level

n: number of trees based on quality level

N: total number of investigated trees

 The density of species:

N/ha =

N: density of species per one hectare

n: number of trees in the plot (for mature trees) or the sub – plot for (regeneration trees)

Splot: the area of plot or the total area of all sub – plots in the plot (m2)

 The species composition

- For the tree stratum

The composition proportion of tree species is calculated by method of Vu (1984) IV% =

IV%: the composition proportion (important value) of the species

N%: density of tree in the plot

G%: % by total basal area of such species in the forest community

According to Thai (1978), the species which have IV > 5% are significant ecological species in the community The species which take part in species composition must have higher important value than the average important value of all species in the community A group which has less than 10 species and its important value is more than or equal to 40% can

be considered as a dominant group, and the community would be determined based on those species

- For the regeneration

Ki = x 10

Ki: the species composition coefficient of a species of i

Ni: the number of a species of i

N: the total number of investigated trees

4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

4.1 Some biological characteristics of a species of Lithocarpus fissus

4.1.1 Morphological characteristics

The investigated results in Doan Hung district, Phu Tho province illustrates some morphological characteristics of study species as follows:

Lithocarpus fissus is medium – sized

timber species; the length varies around 17

– 23 m; the diameter can reach to 80 cm

Their stumps have small buttress Their

trunk is straight; young branches are

covered with black – brown hairs The

bark has light gray color; 3 – 5 mm thick

Flower unisexual, monoecious Male

catkins 4 – 8 cm long Female

inflorescences 5 – 10 cm long Anthers

small, filament slender

Picture 3.1: Trunk of Lithocarpus fissus species

Picture 3.2: Flower of Lithocarpus fissus (source:

http://www.fpcn.net/)

Leaves simple, oblanceolate, and alternate

Leaf blade is 12 – 18 cm long, 4 – 8 cm

wide; margin serrate for 3/4 of the length

towards the top; apex acuminate; base

cuneate; petiole is 1.5 – 2 cm long,

tomentose The colors between two blades

are dramatically different; the upper blade

is green while the below side is covered

with dark – brown hairs

Cupule is cup – shaped; 1.7 – 1.8 cm in

diameter, embracing 1/2 – 2/3 the seed;

hairy inside; tomentose outside There are

some unevenly distributed scales in the

cupule The nut is conical – shaped; 2.5 –

3 cm long; 1.5 – 1.8 cm in diameter; easy

to be detached from cupule

4.1.2 The community structure analysis

The community structure is silvicultural characteristics of a stand including species composition, forest structure, distribution of tree based on diameter or height and some other important characteristics They are the basis for assessing the bio – ecological stability of

Picture 3.4: Cupule and seed of Lithocarpus fissus species (source: the Central Northern

Center of Forest Sciences)

Picture 3.3: Leaf of Lithocarpus

fissus species

stands; and from that could provide some suitable solutions to enhance productivity as well as promote the forest sustainable development The study only assessed species composition and forest structure

4.1.2.1 Species composition

Species composition is an important indicator, which refers to the contribution of each plant species in the forming of the plant community Based on this indicator, people can understand the forest sustainability level, the forest stability, and the forest biodiversity The species diversity illustrates the sustainability and the ability to resistant to the adverse conditions of the environment in order to maintain the balance of forest ecosystems The more complex species composition is, the more sustainable and balanced the forest gets In order to illustrate the percentage of participation of species in the community, the study determined the species composition by IV% (Important Value) method Species composition is generally expressed as a percent so that all species components add up to 100%.The more IV% value species has, the more important in the community species is The study results of species

composition in natural forest which has Lithocarpus fissus was described in tables 3.1 and 3.2:

Table 3.1: The species composition of the mature trees in Doan Hung district, Phu Tho

province

Plot No Specific name

Number

of trees per plot

∑N i (%)

IV (%)