Timber Resources in Southern China

Transcription

1 Timber Resources in Southern China A Review of Forestry Statistics for Hainan, Guangxi and Western Guangdong Provinces Working Paper No. 38 Christian Cossalter

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3 Timber Resources in Southern China A Review of Forestry Statistics for Hainan, Guangxi and Western Guangdong Provinces Christian Cossalter

4 This document has been produced with the financial assistance of European Community through Asia Pro Eco Programme. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and can therefore in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Commission. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policy of CIFOR AUTHOR CONTACT Christian Cossalter is an Associate Scientist with the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), and is currently based in China. He can be contacted at: 2006 by Center for International Forestry Research All rights reserved Photos by Christian Cossalter Design & Lay-out by Ahmad Yusuf Center for International Forestry Research Mailing address: P.O. Box 6596 JKPWB, Jakarta 10065, Indonesia Tel.: +62 (251) ; Fax: +62 (251) Web site:

5 Contents 1. Introduction 1 2. Overview of the Natural Environment 1 3. Demographic Context 1 Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region 1 Hainan Province 2 Western Guangdong 2 4. Main -use Types 3 Forestry land 3 Other land uses 3 5. Provincial Forest Inventory System 3 The Case of Guangxi 4 6. Sources of Forestry Data and Definitions 4 7. Forest Resources Structure and Distribution 5 Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region 5 Hainan Province 6 Western Guangdong 9 8. Forest Resources and Tenure 11

6 List of Tables Table 1. Main Uses in Guangxi, Western Guangdong and Hainan 3 Table 2. Structure and Distribution of Forestry in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous 7 Table 3. Distribution of Forestry by Main Types of Use 8 Table 4. Structure and Distribution of Forestry in Hainan Prefecture 10 Table 5. Distribution of Forestry by Main Types of Use 11 Table 6. Structure and Distribution of Forestry in Western Guangdong Province 12 Table 7. Guangxi s Modes of Tenure per Type of Forest Use 13 Appendix A: List of Figures Figure 1: Distribution of forestry land by type in Hainan Province, Guangdong Province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region 14 Figure 2: Distribution of forestry land by type in Hainan Province, western Guangdong Province (4 prefectures) and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region 14 Figure 3: Area per age class for commercial forests and forests for environmental services in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region 15 Figure 4: Standing volume per age class for commercial forests and forests for environmental services in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region 15 Figure 5: Distribution of forest area per main function and mode of tenure in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region 16 Figure 6: Distribution of forestry land by type and mode of tenure in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region 16 Figure 7: Area of forest stands by category of use and mode of tenure in Hainan Province 17 Figure 8: Distribution of forestry land per main types and modes of tenure in Hainan Province 17 Figure 9: Area per age class for production forest in Hainan Province 18 Figure 10: Volume per age class for production forest in Hainan Province 18 Figure 11: Distribution of timber and shelterbelt forest by main tree type and mode of tenure in Hainan Province 19 Figure 12: Forest stands under collective tenure and state ownership by main category of use in Hainan Province 19

7 Timber Resources in Southern China 1 1. Introduction This paper analyses and summarizes official Forestry Bureau data in the three most southern provinces of China: Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region; Hainan Province and the western portion of Guangdong Province. It gives an overview of the forest inventory systems in place and summarizes available data on management category, species and geographic distribution. 2. Overview of the natural environment The region under study covers the most southern land of China. It includes the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the four most western Prefectures of Guangdong province and Hainan province. The total area is 310,695 square kilometers of which Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region alones accounts for 76 percent. Western Guangdong and Hainan account respectively for 13 percent and 11 percent of the total land area. The region has a subtropical monsoonal climate with abundant rains, hot temperatures and high air humidity from June to August. Average monthly temperature from January to March can be below 10 degree Celsius in the non-coastal areas where short periods of frost occur every winter. Amount of rain is low in winter. Annual average temperatures in the most northern parts of Guangxi, in the vicinity of the 24 parallel and above, are in the range of 16 to18 degrees Celsius and annual mean precipitations range between 1,500 and 1,900 mm. The southern part of Guangxi, Western Guangdong and Hainan have annual mean temperatures in the range of 21 to 24 degree Celsius and annual mean precipitation ranging between 1,500 and 2800 mm. Every year coastal areas of Guangdong and especially Leizhou Peninsula and the eastern coast of Hainan are stricken by typhoons causing floods and substantial wind damages to agricultural crops and plantations. Guangxi has approximately 85% of its total land area in the form of hills or low mountains. Topography in coastal areas of the three provinces consists of plains and gently undulating tablelands. To a large extent forest soils of southern China have low fertility. Nutrient deficiencies and occurrence of soil with hard pans or infertile sandy structure is particularly common in coastal areas. The existing eucalypt plantations in coastal areas occur mainly on latosol developed from sea sediments. These soils have poor water-retaining capacity and low fertility. As a result growth yields of plantations are low. 3. Demographic context Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region In 2000, Guangxi had a total population of million of which ethnic population accounted for 36.8 percent, making Guangxi one of only four provinces (or autonomous regions) in China with an ethnic population of more than 10 million. Ethnic minorities tend to live in the hilly west and northwestern while most of Guangxi s population lives in the southern and southeastern regions. Most Han people live in the northeastern and southeastern plain areas. The most dominant ethnic group in Guangxi is the Zhuang, but there are over 48 additional ethnic groups living in the region.

8 2 Working Paper No. 38 Christian Cossalter In 2000, average population density over the entire province was 190 persons per square kilometer. Per capita land holding in the most densely populated southern and southeastern regions was small. A CIFOR survey carried out in March 2005 in seven villages of Pu Bei and Bo Bai, two south eastern counties, indicated that amount of arable land per capita was generally low with substantial variation among villages. Range of variation for cumulated area of rice paddy and dry agricultural land was to ha per capita while the availability of waste hilly land (under no form of cultivation) per capita varied from 0,12 to 0.72 ha. Hainan Province Hainan was historically part of Guangdong Province. In 1944, it became Hainan Special Administrative Region with 16 counties containing the South China Sea Islands. In 1984, it became the Hainan Administrative Region, with a People s Government, and finally as a province separate from Guangdong four years later. Hainan Province consists of the 2 regional cities of Haikou and Sanya, 4 counties; 7 countylevel cities and 6 ethnic minority autonomous counties (all populated by the Li minority, and some by the Miao) In 2001, Hainan s population was 7,695,000, of which agricultural population accounted for 73.7 percent. Average population density over the entire province was 218 persons per square kilometer. Average land per capita over the entire province was 0.47 ha. With agriculture being, by far, the main island s activity and source of taxes, Hainan provincial administration is not yet a financially viable entity, and still requires budget inputs from the Central Government. Tourism is being strongly promoted and is viewed as one of Hainan s best assets for new sources of revenues. To this purpose the province has invested in a high quality road network. Until recently, industry was quasi non-existent. The pulp mill that Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) is now operating in Yangpu, on the west coast of the island was the first large industrial investment approved by the State Council at the end of Western Guangdong The Western part of Guangdong province consists of four Prefectures, namely Jiangmen, Yangjiang, Maoming and Zhanjiang with a total population of million in The average population density over the four prefectures was 234 persons per square kilometer. Zhanjiang alone had 4.08 million habitants and a population density reaching 351 persons per square kilometer. In rural areas of Zhanjiang availability per capita of arable land and waste hilly land (under no form of cultivation) was respectively ha and ha. Priorities of the 10th Five-Year Plan ( ) in rural areas of the three provinces included: Increasing rice production and promoting intensive agriculture. This involves Improvement on three key sectors: drainage of agricultural land; quality of seedlings; and technical knowledge of farmers. Developing infrastructures of most remote villages. This involves constructing or upgrading access roads, expanding electricity and TV coverage, providing health care facility such as clinics, access to drinking water and toilets Strengthening farmer associations Promoting education and especially upgrading education standard in primary schools and high schools

9 Timber Resources in Southern China 3 4. Main land-use types The breakdown per main land type within the three provinces is as follows: Table 1 : Main Uses in Guangxi, Western Guangdong and Hainan Main Use types Guangxi Western Guangdong Hainan Forestry land 57.45% 43.15% 55.40% Farming land 29.66% Degraded & Waste lands 7.87% Inland water 1.85% Urban land & industrial land 3.17% 56.85% 44.60% Total % % % Forestry land devoted to Forestry is the most common land use in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous region and Hainan province, while other forms of land use dominate in the western part of Guangdong province. Zhanjiang, the most economically developed Prefectures of Western Guandong, counts 21.3% of forested land which is the lowest forest cover ratio for the entire region. s which have been traditionally allocated to forestry in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and western Guangdong tend to concentrate in the northern hilly areas while in Hainan it occurs mainly in the hills and mountains at the center of the island. Other land uses Farming land in Guangxi totals slightly over 7 million hectares or approximately 30 percent of the total land area. In coastal Guangxi and Western Guangdong primary agricultural products are: rice, sugarcane, fruit trees, cassava, peanuts, pineapple and watermelon. Hainan s total land area is 3,535,400 ha of which per cent is used for agriculture, forestry and stockbreeding activities. Most farm land in Hainan can be planted with 2-3 crop rotations each year. The main food crops with the largest area and the highest production value are paddy rice, dry rice (on hills and slopes), wheat, sweet potato, tapioca, taro, corn, jowar, millet, and bean. The main economic crops includes: sugarcane, hemp, peanut, gingili and tea. Fruit crops include pineapple, litchi, longan, banana, mango, orange, watermelon, peach, rambutan and firedrake fruit. Additional high economic value tropical plants include rubber, coconut, oil palm, pinang, coffee, pepper, sisal, citronella, cashew and cocoa. 5. Provincial Forest Inventory Systems In China, Provincial Forestry Departments are implementing forest inventories often referred to as second level inventories. The National Forest Inventory which is being coordinated by the State Forestry Administration (SFA) provides first level forest inventory data for the entire country. Provincial forest inventories are being organized for planning and management purposes. The data that they generate are being used to assess forest growth and propose an annual logging quota (annual allowable cut) to the State Forestry Administration at the beginning of each five-year Plan. For this purpose data are aggregated at county levels.

10 4 Working Paper No. 38 Christian Cossalter China s forest resources fall under two broad land ownership categories: State-owned land and collectively-owned land. State-owned forest lands are being managed through a network of State-owned forest farms. These State-owned forest farms have different status depending on the hierarchical level of the government body which manages them (County, Prefecture, Province, Central Government Ministry or Agency). For instance, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous region has 151 State-owned forest farms whose cumulated area and standing wood volume represent respectively 9% and 12% of the provincial totals. Guangxi has also approximately 10,000 village collective forest farms and in the order of 20,000 family-run forest farms. The three provinces have a Forest Monitoring Center which organizes/coordinates forest inventory activities and manages forest inventory data. They also design the overall inventory technical package, train field staff and processes inventory data Provincial Forest Bureaus contributes to operational costs incurred by forest inventory operations while County Forestry Bureaus (County F.B.) support most of the operation costs. The three provinces started to implement their own forest inventories on a regular basis some fifteen to twenty years ago. Provincial forest inventories are repeated at a five-year interval, in State-owned forest farms and generally at a ten-year interval in areas under other types of land tenure. Still many county forestry bureaus lack the resource and capacity to maintain adequate forest resources database. There is no national standard for second grade forest inventories. Therefore, their design and operational procedures vary among provinces. What follows describes the system which is currently being implemented in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, The case of Guangxi All data are collected through ground survey using a temporary sample plot system. Second level forest inventories go systematically through all forest stands with an area above 0.1 hectares (1.5 mu). Stand boundaries are measured, geo-referenced and mapped - at the scale 1: 10,000 - on maps produced by the National Geophysical Information Center. Since 2000, the Forest Survey & Design Institute digitizes stand boundaries on scanned versions of maps produced by the National Geophysical Information Center. Depending on locations, these maps have 5 or 10 m elevation contour lines, Digitizing stand boundaries is being done in 11 out of the 14 prefectures of Guangxi. In Hechi, Guilin and Liuzhou prefectures, the Central-South Institute of Forest Inventory managed by SFA is testing an alternative approach based on remote sensing technology (sat 7 images). Guangxi Forest Survey & Design Institute expects a complete switch to remote sensing technology by 2010, for the entire province. 6. Sources of Forestry Data and Definitions All data related to forest resources which are reported in this paper are official Provincial Forestry Bureau data. A forest stand is a population of forest trees (conifers and broadleaves) of which the area is larger than 0.1 hectares and where tree canopies cover at least 20% of the land area. In China, forest stands refer to a broad range of natural as well as artificial ecosystems with natural forest habitat at the one end and mono-specific, intensively-managed plantations at the other end.

11 Timber Resources in Southern China 5 Forested land includes forest stands, economic forest (essentially tree orchards) and bamboo groves. In other words forested lands can be a natural forest where conifers and broadleaved trees are mixed, a plantation made of a single tree species, a tree orchard or a bamboo grove. Main assigned function of a forest stand can be commercial production or environmental services. Commercial forests are forest stands under commercial management with timber being the main commercial product. Forests for environmental services are forest stands managed for biodiversity conservation, watershed protection, or other environmental functions. The forest land category where forest trees have canopy coverage below 20% is called Sparsely-stocked forest stand. The category called Unstocked forest land includes areas which have been harvested and not yet replanted, areas where land preparation prior afforestation is being carried out, areas covered with young natural regeneration and areas which have been accidentally burnt. In the following sections we have calculated the percentage of forested land by dividing the area of forested land by the total land area. 7. Forest Resources Structure and Distribution Tables 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 summarize Provincial Forest Inventory data which indicate how forest resources are structured and distributed within the three provinces. Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous region This section presents a disaggregated status of Guangxi forest resources data at Prefecture level (14 in total) and for the network of 15 State-owned forest farms under the direct authority of Guangxi Forestry Bureau. 8 prefectures and the State-owned forest farms managed by G.F.B have over 40 percent forested lands. These are namely: Wuzhou, Hezhou, Guilin, Yulin and Liuzhou in the Eastern and North-East regions, Quinzhou and Fangchenggang on the coast, and Baise in the West. Masson pine (Pinus massoniana), Slash pine (Pinus elliottii) and Chinese fir (Cunnighamii lanceolata) are important elements of the overall forest cover in the Eastern and North-East regions. Chinese fir covers also important areas in the North and the West. Yunnan pine (Pinus yunnanensis) is a common species in Baise prefecture. Eucalyptus dominates the forest cover in the two coastal prefectures of Quinzhou and Fangchenggang. On the other hand, Behai and Chongzuo two coastal prefectures have relatively low (below 25 percent) forest cover. As far as land use is concerned, Guangxi s forestry land is divided up into two categories: forestry land for environmental services and forestry land under commercial management. Both types contain forested land, sparsely wooded land, shrub land, land recently afforested or covered with nurseries and un-stocked forest land. There is approximately 35 per cent more forestry land under commercial management than forestry land for environmental services In all prefectures, except Fangchenggang and Chongzuo, at least 80 percent of the area of forestry land under commercial management is made of forested land. In Fangchenggang and Chongzuo, the two coastal Prefectures with lower forested land cover, shrubs alone accounts for respectively 21.2 percent and 21 percent of the total forestry land area under commercial management.

12 6 Working Paper No. 38 Christian Cossalter The sub-set of forested land which consists of forest stands (either natural or planted, singlespecies stands or mixed stands) account for 70.8% of the forestry land under commercial management while they cover only 48.4% of the forestry land devoted to environmental services. This makes that Guangxi province has twice more area of natural forests and forest plantations under commercial management that for environmental services. Table 3 gives further data, at prefecture level, on the distribution between forestry land under commercial management and forestry land for environmental services. It shows that forestry land under commercial management tends to concentrate in the East, South-East and Northern fringe of Guangxi s province. All together, approximately 60 percent of the provincial territory holds substantial areas of forestry land under commercial management. Behai and Yulin prefectures in the South - with the exception of Bobai and Rongxian counties - have relatively modest areas of forestry land under commercial management. This is also the case for the Central-West region and particularly Laibin prefecture, the northern half of Nanning prefecture, the Southern half of Hechi prefecture, the southern half of Baise prefecture and the northern half of Chongzuo prefecture. Hainan Province Data on Hainan forest resources are given for 19 territorial entities (Cities of Haikou and Sanya, 7 county-level cities, 4 counties and 6 ethnic minority autonomous counties) and two networks of State farms under provincial administration. These are namely the forest farms under Hainan Forestry Bureau (H.F.B) and the farms under the Reclamation and Cultivation Bureau (L.R&CB). This latter network which is referred as Hainan Nongken is of primary importance for the provincial agricultural development and Hainan economy as a whole. Hainan Nongken was created in 1952 to acquire land, establish and manage a network of forest farms with rubber trees as the primary objective. Hainan Nongken currently manages 853,000 ha of land which accounts for 24 percent of Hainan total land area. Rubber plantations alone cover 246,000 ha. Windbreaks and forest plantations cover 81,000 ha. Approximately 150,000 ha are scrubland, low productivity secondary forests and mangrove. Hainan Nongken sustains one Hainan s inhabitant out of seven. Like in the other southern China provinces forested lands of Hainan consist of forest stands, economic forests and bamboo grove. Forest stands are divided up into four categories, namely: timber forest, shelterbelts, fuelwood forest and forest for special uses, especially environment protection. Hainan forest resources display several specific aspects as compared to the forest resources in the two neighboring mainland provinces. A first specificity of Hainan forested lands is that areas of shelterbelts account for nearly two third of the entire forest stand area. Shelterbelt plantations occur essentially in coastal areas where agricultural crop require protection against strong winds and typhoons. At the provincial level, the area of shelterbelt plantations is more than double in size than the area managed for timber production. The second specificity of Hainan forested lands is that the area of economic forests is also larger than the area of timber forest. In terms of species composition, the timber forest is dominated by eucalypt plantations. Statistics of the 2002 Provincial forest inventory indicate that eucalypt plantations account for approximately 60 per cent of the total timber forest area. Eucalypt is now expanding much more than any other tree species since its planting is strongly promoted by APP-Hainan and H.F.B. Eucalypt roundwood is by far the most appropriate raw material for the newly established Yanpu pulp mill. Areas of casuarinas, pines and natural broadleaved forests under timber production are relatively modest as they range respectively somewhere between 11 and 14 percent of the total area of timber forest.

13 Timber Resources in Southern China 7 Table 2: Structure and Distribution of Forestry in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Unit: Hectares Forestry Total Area Total Forestry Total Forested Forest stands Forested Economic Forests Bamboo Groves Sparsely Wooded Shrub Recently Afforested or Replanted Guangxi Zhuang Aut. R. 23,645,849 13,584,824 10,138,968 8,326,450 1,557, ,124 60,957 2,689, ,228 1, , % Nanning Prefecture 2,110, , , ,186 95,162 14,535 5, ,788 6, , % Chongzuo Prefecture 1,631, , , ,483 64,191 2,639 6, ,404 4, , % Beihai Prefecture 357,102 95,837 78,802 68,427 8,765 1, ,638 1, , % Qinzhou Prefecture 1,021, , , , ,798 6,410 3,736 17,722 1, , % Fangchenggang Prefecture 600, , , ,879 65,873 1,074 2,827 75,147 1, , % Yulin Prefecture 1,232, , , , ,279 13,888 3,412 38,679 5, , % Guigang Prefecture 1,061, , , ,282 58,726 6,071 1,879 39,438 5, , % Liuzhou Prefecture 1,810,670 1,147, , , ,961 36,361 6, ,699 20, , % Laibin Prefecture 1,302, , , ,061 48,562 10,352 4, ,781 4, , % Wuzhou Prefecture 1,251, , , , ,699 12,747 4,300 35,530 19, , % Hezhou Prefecture 1,150, , , ,238 74,639 18,306 1,679 94,813 13, , % Guilin Prefecture 2,739,532 1,885,430 1,567,315 1,321, ,564 91,606 6, ,635 3, , % Hechi Prefecture 3,350,146 1,850,505 1,021, , ,976 8,645 7, ,223 10, , % Baise Prefecture 3,545,701 2,117,614 1,582,950 1,237, ,511 26,868 4, ,803 17, , % Nursery without Tree Cover % of Forested Forest Farms under Provincial Forestry Bureau 481, , , ,009 24,689 4,015 1,405 42,945 14, , %

14 8 Working Paper No. 38 Christian Cossalter Table 3: Distribution of forestry land by main types of land use in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Unit: hectare Forestry under Commercial Management (1) Forestry for Environmental services (1) Total Collective Others Total Collective Total for the province 7,806,684 7,100, ,555 44,319 5,778,140 5,214, ,057 84,726 Nanning 545, ,695 26,640 4, , ,920 12,789 7,016 Chongzuo 377, ,502 37,003 2, , ,946 16,036 1,849 Beihai 62,375 56,555 3,895 1,925 33,462 28,098 2,487 2,877 Qinzhou 393, ,386 19, , ,142 4,336 7 Fangchenggang 239, ,396 24,319 1, ,966 84,465 42,429 5,071 Yulin 477, ,213 13,526 4, , ,282 19,052 2,126 Guigang 310, ,293 15, , ,568 13,652 1,286 Liuzhou 722, ,872 35,329 4, , ,017 28,723 3,386 Laibin 258, ,954 32,436 1, , ,768 29,626 2,519 Wuzhou 617, ,422 13, , ,878 6, Hezhou 481, ,100 26, , ,508 28,568 9,318 Guilin 1,023, ,868 45,500 1, , ,076 67,823 30,490 Hechi 863, ,282 66, , ,086 16,064 10,468 Baise 1,194,368 1,103,840 72,898 17, , ,447 72,848 7,951 Guangxi Forest Farms 239,625 9, ,734 1, ,010 2, , Data source: 1999 Guangxi Forest Inventory Stateowned Stateowned Others 1/ Includes: Forest Stands, Sparsely-Stocked Forest Stands, Shrub, Recently Afforested, Occupied by Nurseries and Un-Stocked Forest.

15 Timber Resources in Southern China 9 The most important contribution of natural broadleaved forests is in forests for special purposes (approximately 96 percent of the total area of this category), shelterbelt (90 percent of the total area of this category) and fuelwood forest (80 percent of the total area of this category). All together, natural broadleaved forest remains the most important forest type as it covers slightly more than two third of the total area of Hainan forest stands. Eucalypts came second in the 2002 Provincial forest inventory statistics with a share of approximately 20 percent. Areas of pines accounted for less than 5 per cent of the total area of forest stands but pines are present in a large portion of Hainan territory, especially in non coastal areas. Casuarinas are present in all coastal areas with more frequent occurrence in the north and west coast. Four administrative units located in the central and southern part of the island, namely Qiongzhong county, Wuzhisan city, Baisha county and Sanya city have relatively high forest cover for southern China with areas of forested land accounting for nearly two third of the total land area or even more. In Wanning county and Baoting county which are also located in the southern part of the island, the coverage of forested land is slightly over fifty percent of the total land area. Coverage of forested land is also high in the network of State-owned farms with respectively 78.4 percent for farms under H.F.B and 50 percent for farms of the Nongken network. All together these seven units account for approximately 52 percent of Hainan total land area. In these forest-rich cities and counties of the central and southern mountainous areas of Hainan, natural broadleaved forests are over dominating the forest cover with shares ranging between 80 and 95 percent. Masson pine (Pinus massoniana), Slash pine (Pinus elliottii) and Chinese fir (Cunnighamii lanceolata) are also part of the landscape. Western Guangdong Data on Western Guangdong forest resources are given for 4 Prefectures, namely Zhanjiang, Maoming, Yangjiang and Jiangmen and the network of 9 State farms under the Leizhou Forestry Bureau. Forested land cover in Maoming, Yangjiang Prefectures and the farms under Leizhou Forestry Bureau is close to the Guangxi and Hainan averages with values over 40 percent of the total land area. Forested land cover in Zhanjiang Prefecture is only % of the total land area, which is one of the lowest forest cover value for the entire region. When comparing Western Guangdong to Hainan Province and the coastal Prefectures of Guangxi, one striking difference is the relatively low weight of economic forests in Western Guangdong. There is also relatively less shrub vegetation in Western Guangdong compared to the neighboring provinces. Forested land in Western Guangdong is to a very large extent made of forest stands. Leizhou Forestry Bureau has the highest rate with 97 percent of its forested land in the form in forest stands. In Jiangmen, Yangjiang and Zhanjiang, forest stands account for respectively 92.3 percent, 92.2 percent and 87.1 percent of the forested land. Maoming is the only Prefecture with substantial areas of economic forest (21.9 percent of the forested land) while forest stands cover 76.6 percent of the forest land. One other characteristic of Western Guangdong is a forestry landscape largely dominated by forestry land under commercial management. Forests managed for commercial purposes cover an area 2.3 times larger than the cumulated area of forestry land devoted to environmental services and the area of mangroves. Here again Leizhou Forestry Bureau leads the table with 99 percent of its land under commercial forest management. In 2003, total growing stocks in all types of forested land of western Guangdong amounted to 36.2 million m³ with the following breakdown: 7.55 million m³ in Zhangjiang Prefecture,

16 10 Working Paper No. 38 Christian Cossalter Table 4: Structure and Distribution of Forestry in Hainan Province Unit: hectare Total Area Total Forestry Total Forested Forest Stands Forested Economic Forests Forestry Bamboo Groves Sparsely Wooded Shrub Recently Afforested or Replanted Nursery without Tree Cover % of Forested Hainan Province 3,390,769 1,879,669 1,564,255 1,066, ,287 4,939 18, ,214 47, , % Forest Farms under Hainan F. B. 244, , , ,910 5, ,872 15,659 10, , % Nongken (LR&CB) 823, , , , , , ,203 11, , % Haikou City 19,784 2,320 2,255 2, % Sanya City 113,632 74,597 72,136 64,705 7, , % Wuzhishan City 99,542 76,141 74,961 67,756 6, % Qiongshan City 174,564 62,483 46,139 21,866 23, , , % Wenchang City 210,611 74,794 72,736 53,929 18, , % Qionghai City 120,669 47,149 44,762 19,016 25, , % Wanning County 135,180 76,172 71,634 47,832 23, , % Anding County 86,311 18,752 16,866 10,558 6, , % Tunchang County 73,887 30,682 28,643 19,834 8, , % Chengmei County 131,983 54,946 41,451 32,155 9, ,320 1, , % Lingou County 99,526 27,626 24,740 19,681 5, , % Danzhou City 218,215 94,296 79,323 57,362 21, , % Dongfang County 157,199 72,058 48,060 39,588 8, ,753 1, % Ledong County 168,164 81,166 65,226 56,240 8, ,657 5, % Qiongzhong County 134, , ,780 96,142 8, ,838 2, % Baoting County 60,337 41,809 30,497 24,165 6, , % Lingshui County 71,008 30,120 21,516 13,838 7, , % Baisha County 142, ,984 96,125 86,311 9, ,059 4,163 2, % Changjiang County 104,597 32,418 19,203 14,148 5, , %

17 Timber Resources in Southern China million m³ in Leizhou Forestry Bureau, 10.9 million m³ in Maoming Prefecture, 8.29 million m³ in Yangjiang prefecture and 8.04 million m³ in Jiangmen Prefecture. It was mentioned earlier that forest stands dominate forested lands in western Guangdong,. Forest stands are divided up into timber forest (78.7 percent of the total standing stock of forest stands), forests for special use and protection forests (21.1 percent of the total standing stock) and fuel wood forest (0.2 percent of the total standing stock). According to the 2003 Forest inventory figures for timber forests, Slash pine (Pinus elliottii) was the dominant species with a standing volume of 9.01 million m³, accounting for 35.2% of. Eucalypts came second with 7.26 million m³, representing 28.4% of the total timber stock. With a standing volume of 3.26 million m³, masson s pine (Pinus massoniana), accounted for 13.8% of the total timber stock. Casuarinas and acacias accounted respectively for 1.7% and 0.5% with 434,100 m³ and 136,100 m³. The cumulated standing stock of other varieties amounted to 5.47 million m³, accounting for 21.4% of the total timber stock. Table 5: Distribution of forestry land by main types of land use in Western Guangdong Unit: hectare Forestry Forestry Total under for Commercial Environmental Mangroves Management Services Total for Western Guangdong 1,723,515 1,202, ,443 9,196 Zhanjiang 236, ,659 61,638 7,777 Maoming 576, , , Yangjiang 424, , , Jiangmen 442, , , Leizhou Forestry Bureau 44,261 43, Forest Resources and Tenure Guangxi s forestry land is to a very large extent on collectively-owned land, whatever the type of forest cover, the type of forestry land and whatever, the forest function - i.e. environmental services or commercial use. Figure 6 shows for example that, at the province level in Guangxi, 89.3 percent of the total area of forest stands, and 93.3 percent of the total area of economic forests are under collective tenure. Provincial forestry statistics indicate a similar distribution pattern for the forestry land under commercial management and the forestry land for environmental services. Table 7 shows that the proportion of land under State tenure and collective remains the same whatever the forest function is. Forest resource distribution in western Guangdong follows a similar pattern with approximately 80 percent of the forestry land area under collective tenure and the remaining 20 percent distributed into farms managed either by local government, provincial government or in the case of Leizhou Forestry Bureau by the central government. Pattern of ownership on forestry land is rather different in Hainan Province. The forestry land is predominantly managed by the State sector. Bamboo grove, timber forest and fuelwood forests are the only types of forestry land where areas under collective tenures are larger than areas managed by State agencies. However, these 3 forestry land categories accounts for only 16.3 percent of the total forestry land area

18 12 Working Paper No. 38 Christian Cossalter Table 6: Structure and Distribution of Forestry in Western Guangdong Province Unit: hectare Total Area Total Forestry Total Forested Forested Forestry Sparsely Wooded Shrub Recently Afforested or Re- Planted without Tree Cover Other Forestry s incl. Mangroves % of Forested Forest Stands Economic Forests Bamboo Groves Western 4,032,900 1,740,715 1,412,504 1/ 1,213,957 1/ 178,516 1/ 20,032 1/ 17,584 1/ 113,147 1/ 78,224 1/ 92,672 1/ 9,383 1/ 36.13% 1/ Guangdong Zhanjiang 1,070, , , ,739 25, ,103 9,151 13, % Leizhou Forestry 49,500 44,261 29,590 28, ,772 7, % Bureau Zhanjiang Farm Bureau 123,100 17,200 Maoming 1,080, , , , ,251 7,609 8,393 14,242 23,140 18, % Yangjiang 756, , , ,008 22,096 4,150 6,278 48,288 14,290 16, % Jiangmen 954, , , ,166 17,728 7,492 2,121 49,514 24,871 36, % 1/ Excluding Zhanjiang Farm B

19 Timber Resources in Southern China 13 Hainan owes its specificity to the existence of the Reclamation and Cultivation Bureau (LR&CB), also known as Hainan Nongken. This government agency alone manages 853,000 ha of land which accounts for 24 percent of Hainan total land area. Figure 8 shows that, at the Province level in Hainan, 64.2 percent of the total area of economic forests and 60.6 percent of the total area of forest stands are under State management. Forest stands are divided up into timber forest, shelterbelts, fuelwood forest and forest for special uses / environment protection. Areas of shelterbelts account for nearly two third of the entire forest stand area and 70.5 percent of these shelterbelts are under State management. Similarly State agencies also manage 99.3 percent of the area of forest for special uses / environment protection. On the contrary, respectively 94.6 percent and 73.1percent of the area of fuelwood forest and timber forest are under collective tenure. Table 7: Guangxi s modes of tenure per type of forest use Unit: hectare Forestry under Commercial Management Forestry for Environmental Services Collectively-owned land 90.96% 90.24% State-owned land 8.47% 8.29% with other types of ownership 0.57% 1.47% Data source: 1999 Guangxi Forest Inventory

20 14 Working Paper No. 38 Christian Cossalter Figure 1: Distribution of forestry land by type in Hainan Province, Guangdong Province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region ares 9,000,000 8,000,000 7,000,000 6,000,000 5,000,000 4,000,000 Hainan Guangdong Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region 3,000,000 2,000,000 1,000,000 0 Forest stands Economic Forests Bamboo Groves Sparsely Wooded Shrub Others Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Guangdong Hainan Figure 2: Distribution of forestry land by type in Hainan Province, western Guangdong Province (4 prefectures) and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region 9,000,000 8,000,000 7,000,000 6,000,000 5,000,000 4,000,000 3,000,000 2,000,000 1,000,000 0 Forest stands Econom ic Forests Bam boo Groves Sparsely Wooded Shrub Others Hainan Western Guangdong (4Prefectures) Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Guangxi Zhuang AutonomousRegion Western Guangdong (4 Prefectures) Hainan

21 Timber Resources in Southern China 15 Figure 3: Area per age class for commercial forests and forests for environmental services in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Hectares 2,000,000 1,800,000 1,600,000 1,400,000 1,200,000 1,000, , ,000 Forests for Environmental Services Commercial Forests 400, ,000 0 Young Middle-age Near-mature Mature Over-mature Commercial Forests Forests for Environmental Services Figure 4: Standing volume per age class for commercial forests and forests for environmental services in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region 3 (in m ) 70,000,000 60,000,000 50,000,000 40,000,000 30,000,000 20,000,000 Forests for Environmental Services Commercial Forests 10,000,000 0 Young Middle-ageNear-mature Mature Over-mature Commercial Forests Forests for Environmental Services

22 16 Working Paper No. 38 Christian Cossalter Figure 5: Distribution of forest area per main function and mode of tenure in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Hectares 8,000,000 7,000,000 6,000,000 5,000,000 4,000,000 3,000,000 Others State-owned Collective 2,000,000 1,000,000 Collective 0 State-owned Forestry under Commercial Management Forestry for Environmental services Others Figure 6: Distribution of forestry land by type and mode of tenure in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Hectares 8,000,000 7,000,000 6,000,000 5,000,000 4,000,000 Other types of tenure State-Owned Under Collective tenure 3,000,000 2,000,000 1,000,000 0 Under Collective tenure Forest stands Economic Forests Bamboo Groves Sparsely Wooded Shrub Others State-Owned Other types of tenure

23 Timber Resources in Southern China 17 Figure 7: Area of forest stands by category of use and mode of tenure in Hainan Province Hectares 250, ,000 Fuelwood Forest Forest for Special Uses 150,000 Timber Forest 100,000 Shelterbelt Forest 50,000 Shelterbelt Forest 0 1 2a 1. Forest Under collective tenure 2. State-Own Forest: a. Hainan Forestry Bureau and Hainan Agricultural Bureau 2b 2c 2d 2e 2f Timber Forest Forest for Special Uses Fuelwood Forest b. Nongken ( Reclamation & Cult ivation Bureau) c. City and County Administrations d. Farms Managed by Overseas Chinese e. Conservation Areas f. Other types of State-Owned Forests Figure 8: Distribution of forestry land per main types and modes of tenure in Hainan Province Hectares 700, , , ,000 Others Shrub Sparsely Wooded 300,000 Bamboo Groves 200,000 Economic Forests 100,000 Forest stands 0 Forest stands Economic Forests Bamboo Groves Sparsely Wooded Shrub Others State Owned Under collective tenure

24 18 Working Paper No. 38 Christian Cossalter Figure 9: Area per age class for production forest in Hainan Province Hectares 80,000 70,000 60,000 50,000 State Owned 40,000 Collective Owned 30,000 20,000 10,000 0 Young Growth Half-Mature Forest Near-Mature Forest Mature Forest Over-Mature Forest Collective Owned State Owned Figure 10: Volume per age class for production forest in Hainan Province (in m3) 4,000,000 3,500,000 3,000,000 2,500,000 2,000,000 1,500,000 State Owned Collective Owned 1,000, ,000 0 Young Growth Half-Mature Forest Near-Mature Forest Mature Forest Over-Mature Forest Collective Owned State Owned

25 Timber Resources in Southern China 19 Figure 11: Distribution of timber and shelterbelt forest by main tree type and mode of tenure in Hainan Province Hectares Pine 500,000 Eucalypt Chinese fir 400,000 Casuarina 300,000 Broadleaved 200, ,000 Timber Timber (State-Owned) (Collective Tenu re) Shelterbelt (State-Owned) 0 Shelterbelt (Collective Tenure) Figure 12: Forest stands under collective tenure and state ownership by main category of use in Hainan Province Hectares 250, ,000 Fuelwood Forest Forest for Special Uses 150,000 Timber Forest 100,000 Shelterbelt Forest 50,000 Shelterbelt Forest 0 1 2a 1. Forest Under collective tenure 2. State-Own Forest: a. Hainan Forestry Bureau and Hainan Agricultural Bureau 2b 2c 2d 2e 2f Timber Forest Forest for Special Uses Fuelwood Forest b. Nongken ( Reclamation & Cult ivation Bureau) c. City and County Administrations d. Farms Managed by Overseas Chinese e. Conservation Areas f. Other types of State-Owned Forests

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