COUNTRY STUDIES DRAFT PROJECT REPORT REHABILITATION OF LOGGED-OVER FORESTS IN ASIA/PACIFIC REGION ANNEX I. INDIA PREPARED FOR ITTO

Transcription

1 DRAFT PROJECT REPORT REHABILITATION OF LOGGED-OVER FORESTS IN ASIA/PACIFIC REGION COUNTRY STUDIES ANNEX I. INDIA PREPARED FOR ITTO BY JAPAN OVERSEAS FORESTRY CONSULTANTS ASSOCIATION (JOFCA)

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5 DRAFT PROJECT REPORT REHABILITATION OF LOGGED-OVER FORESTS IN ASIA/PACIFIC REGION COUNTRY STUDIES ANNEX I. INDIA PREPARED BY KANAYO KARAMCHANDANI

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7 Contents Page INTRODUCTION 1. THE INDIAN FORESTS SCENE An overview Legal status of forests TROPICAL FOREST TYPES Natural forests Wet evergreen forests Semi-evergreen forests..... o....., Moist deciduous forests Dry deciduous forests 2.6 Tropical thorn forests... MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS 3.1 Classification of systems o' Selection system... 0 Clearfelling and shelterwood systems Coppice systems... ' Plantation forestry... CONSTRAINTS OF MANAGEMENT Wood shortages Grazing Forest fires Shifting cultivation Encroachment 4.6 Diversions of forest lands i -

8 5. LOGGED-OVER FORESTS Status and extent FAO Study , Reassessment Criteria and classification 6. REHABILITATION METHODS Enrichment planting methods 6.2 Plantation establishment methods Teak plantations Shorea robusta (Sal) plantations Eucalyptus plantation Afforestation methods RESEARCH SUPPORT Technical changes, Institutional changes 7.3 Gaps in research... LITERATURE CITED I Recorded and actual forest area by density classes 11 Tropical forest cover by different forest types III IV Natural regeneration status by States Recommended list of species for rehabilitation of logged-over tropical forests - ii -

9 ABBREVIATION cm cm deg gm ha Kgm Km m 2 m3 m M mm % CSO FAO FD FDC FRI8C FSI GOI ICFRE IUCN JOFCA KFRI NCA UNEP UT Cen t imetre Square Centimetre Degree gram hectare Ki logram Kilometre metre square metre cubic metre million milimetre percentage Central Statistical Organization Food and Agriculture Organization Forest Department Forest Development Corporation Forest Research Institute 8 Colleges Forest Survey of India Government of India Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources Japan Overseas Forestry Consultants Association Kerala Forest Research Institute National Commission on Agriculture United Nations Environmental Programme Union Territory

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11 INTRODUCTION Large areas of tropical forests on India have been logged without adequate control and subsequent silvicultural treatment. Such loggedover forests, cannot be expected to produce timber of marketable quality in any commercial quantity in the subsequent cutting cycle. In fact, their productive capacity already stands seriously impaired. Further expanding human population and possible excessive withdrawals can only cause irreversible damage of the entire eco-system - as can already be witnessed in some areas that have been converted into open and degraded scrub lands. The total area of such logged-over, productive, closed, broad leaved forests in the country was estimated at some 4 M ha in 1980 (FAO/UNEP, 1981). The largest portion was reportedly confined to the moist deciduous forest type-groups in the north eastern states of the country and along the Western Ghats. About 200,000 ha covered the sal and teak forests. Some of the logged-over forests have been worked over repeatedly and some of them countinue to be exploited for unauthorized cutting of timber and fuelwood by the local resident communities. Their legal status is generally confined to the "protected" forests or "unclassed" forests and in the absence of any periodic inventories or regular monitoring they cover a lot of grey areas of undetermined status and extent. This study is expected to provide a clearer assessment of the actual situation of the logged-over tropical forests of India on the basis of the information collected and compiled from past and present literature and reviews of on-going researches. The major objectives of the study are to: 1. Determine the present status and extent of the logged-over tropical forest by type groups. 2. Review the on-going and past researches rehabilitation methods of such forests. directed towards 3. Evolve a suitable classification of various types of logged-over forests. 4. Identify gaps and suggest researches for promoting rehabilitation measures and 5. Provide a reference base on which the study was conducted. For the purpose of this study, 'logged-over' forests will be taken to mean all forests not required for higher economic use due to their being logged without adequate control normally provided by a suitable management and/or working plan prescriptions or subsequent silvicultural treatment. In other words they are all scientifically unmanaged forests. Rehabilitation would be taken to mean treatment, silvicultural or otherwise, undertaken to stimulate the development of valuable timber producing capacity of the logged-over forests

12 The study involved the data collection phase and visits to the Forest Research Institute and Forest Survey of India at Dehra Dun. The Forest Survey of India has been undertaking detailed studies, mapping and monitoring of the forest resources of the country. This report leans heavily on the data base provided by the F.S.I. and the detailed study carried out earlier under the FAO/UNEP Tropical Forest Resources Assessment Project and particularly the FAO compilation "Forest Resources of Tropical Asia-1g81". The author wishes to express his grateful thanks to the personnel of the various State/UT Forest Departments, Forest Research Institutes, Forest Survey of India, FAO, Ford Foundation and the World Bank in India who have, through discussion and advice, contributed to the successful compilation of this study. Thanks is also due to Lata Venkatraman, Ismail Jabbar and Jaya Krishnamurti for their dedicated assistance in bringing out the final report in its present form

13 1. THE INDIAN FOREST SCENE 1.1 An overview Separated from the rest of Asia by the Himalayas in the north, India lies as a triangular shaped peninsula, tapering into the Indian ocean in the south with a distinctive physical character of its own. Geographically it covers an area of M ha with a land frontier of 15,200 Km and a coast line of 6,100 Km. The mainland extends from 8 deg. N to 37 deg. N with the Tropic of Cancer running almost halfway, and from 68 deg. E to 97 deg. E - measuring 3414 Km between latitudes, and 2933 Km between extreme longitudes. It is the second most populous and the seventh largest country in the world. (Population in 1987 was estimated as over 783 M.) India is a federal country consisting of 22 States and 9 centrally administered Union Territories (UTs). Each of the States has its own government and the UTs, though centrally controlled, have separate administration of their own and for the purpose of this study, can be considered equivalent to the states. Constitutionally, land is a state subject and forests a concurrent subject. The officially recorded forest area in the country as of 1987 is M ha constituting about 22.8% of the total geographic area. The actual forest cover, as determined by the Forest Survey of India (FSI) from satellite imagery and supplemented by ground truth data, for the period works out to only M ha - about 19.52% of the country's geographic area. Out of this only M ha is of adequate crown density of 40% and above. The effective forest cover is therefore limited to 10.99% and the rest M ha (8.41%) is open forest with a crown density of less than 40% but above 10%. The balance of M ha (0.12%) constitutes mangrove forests. 40% crown density is adopted as the dividing line between "closed" and "open" forest for the reason that at this density, the distance between two crowns equals the mean radius of the tree crown (FSI, 1987). The classification of forests on the basis of crown density adopted by the FAO on the other hand stipulates 80% as dense, 10-40% as open, 2-10% as sparse and less than 2% as absent. Based on the FSI density classification, the details of the recorded forest area by States/UTs and actual forest covered area are shown in Annex I. There is very great variation in altitude in the country. The lowest location is nearly equal to the mean sea level and the highest is 7817 metres above it. The altitude results not only in pronounced differentiation in vegetation but also in forestry operations and management practices M ha (66.4%) of forest-cover is located at elevations of less than 600 metres, M ha (25.7%) at elevations ranging from metres. Over the elevation of 4000 metres, the occurrence of forests is negligible

14 1.2 Legal status of forests Most of the recorded forest lands viz M ha (88.65%) are under public ownership. These lands are controlled and managed by various departments of the State/UT governments with the Forest Departments exercising control over 90% of the public forests. The rest, 8.53 M ha (11.35%) fall under the ownership of corporate bodies such as municipalities, cantonments, village communities, corporations and private individuals. Most of the corporate forests are located in Uttar Pradesh and Meghalaya and private forests in Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra. Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. Only the forests publicly owned through the Forest Departments have a well defined legal status. Though the terminology varies somewhat in different States/UTs three main legal classes are recognized. (1) Reserved forests, (2) Protected forests and (3) Unclassed forests. All reserved forests are properly demarcated and duly gazetted under the Indian Forest Act 1927, after the abolition of all proprietary rights. They constitute the most important forests and receive the highest degree of State/UT control. Protected forests on the other hand, although notified under the Indian Forest Act 1927, or under other laws in force and demarcated or not, permit exercise of all notified rights by local village communities unless specifically prohibited by notification. In essence therefore the main difference between the reserve forests and the protected forests is that in reserve forests everything is prohibited that is not specifically permitted and in the protected forests every thing is permitted which is not specifically prohibited. The rest of all publicly owned forests, collectively classified as unclassed forests do not have a clearly defined legal status and await the gradual process of being constituted into either reserved or protected forests. The distribution of recorded forest lands (whether covered with forest or not) as of 1987 is M ha (53.45%) under reserved forests, M ha (28.90%) under protected forests and M ha (17.65%) under unclassed forests (FSI, 1987). It is not easy to compare the status of forests in the country, even in terms of their extent and legal status, at any two points of time since Independence. The reason is that majority of lands, recorded as forests specially those which formed part of ex-princely states or exproprietary units,were neither surveyed nor demarcated. In many cases, they had come to own their legal status as forests, not by specific notifications but by omnibus declarations in which all unoccupied government lands were declared as "Protected forests". Their extent was indicated on the basis of estimates made from the revenue records. And these estimates were often not very reliable. The situation was that many of the lands declared as protected forests by virtue of these omnibus declarations existed in small scattered patches and in many instances without any tree growth. Though the process of survey and demarcation and the proper notification of such forests lands started as early as in , even to date nearly 14 M ha of lands, legally classed as forests, remain unsurveyed and undemarcated. Their location is not shown in the maps and their extent is not known. This situation specially prevails in Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, hill districts of Uttar Pradesh and ex-rewastate of Madhya - 4 -

15 Pradesh. The total area recorded as forest in was M ha. Over the years the figure for recorded forest area continuously rose and touched the figure of M ha in The continuous rise in the recorded forest area was on account of unoccupied government lands being declared as forests by omnibus declarations in various State/VTs. Though, M ha of forest lands were officially diverted to nonforest use between the years 1951 to 1980, this diversion is not reflected in the official figures of the forest area quoted in successive years. The explanation is that at any point of time during the period 1951 to 1980, the area which was added to the legal category of forests was more than the forest area diverted to non-forest use. A unique situation exists in the northeastern States of the country. Most of the forest lands in these States are "unclassed" forest i.e. with no specific legal status, or are under private ownership. As much as 91.5% forest in Meghalaya, 63.4% in Manipur and 75.05% in Arunachal Pradesh are unclassed. In Nagaland, as much as 88.35% of forest are under private ownership. No scientific management has therefore been possible in these states to any significant extent. Within the framework of the above classification, certain areas have been earmarked for specific preservation of flora, fauna and natural ecosystem. This has been done through creation of 60 national parks (central legislation) and 257 wildlife sanctuaries (state legislation). Besides forests have also been earmarked under 15 Tiger Reserves in 12 states during the period covering an area of 2.5 M ha. Within the core areas of these reserves no forestry activities are to be carried out. Altogether an area of 13 M ha of the forests are now exclusively devoted to the preservation of wildlife and conservation of nature. This represents 17.29% of the recorded forest area and 3.95% of the total geographic area of the country

16 2. TROPICAL FOREST TYPES 2.1 Natural forests Natural forests, i.e. forests which are formed by primary succession and have continuously stayed wooded, undisturbed by man or his livestock, do not exist in India, except for some patches in the Alpine region. They all ceased to exist by the middle of the nineteenth century. All the semi-evergreen, deciduous, sub-temperate and thorn forests and most of the temperate forests are of secondary origin. They have all been cleared or disturbed by man at one point of time or other, either for shifting cultivation or otherwise. Only the degree of disturbance has varied. Wherever this disturbance has been limited the crop has not been very much affected. The present forests of the country may therefore at best be considered as semi-natural in character. True rain forest of the ever wet-evergreen type of the Amazonia 8 Southeast Asia do not exist in India. Even the forests of Andaman Island are only evergreen and not rain forests. For the purpose of this study however, all semi-natural forests will be considered and referred to as natural forest. The wide variation in the climatic, edaphic and physiographic features have structured them into a broad spectrum of vegetation types with distinctive floristic characteristics. They have been broadly classified into four major groups by Champion and Seth (1968) corresponding to four temperaturebased climatic zones as under: Major Forest Groups of India Forest Group Temperature conditions related to zone occupied by the group. Mean annual temperature Mean January temperature Winter Tropical Over 24 C Over 18 C None-no frost. 11 Subtropical Definite but not severe; frost rare. III Temperate Pronounced, with frost 8 some snow. IV Alpine Under 7 C Severe, with much snow. The above four groups were divided into 16 type groups on the basis of rainfall and chief morphological features of the vegetation. These type groups were further divided into sub-groups, and finally 221 ecologically stable vegetation types were identified. The authors defined a forest type as a "unit of vegetation which possesses (broad) characteristics in physiognomy and structure, sufficiently pronounced to - 6 -

17 permit its differentiation from other such units". Despite the drawbacks of the type classification by Champion and Seth it still constitutes the most acceptable one so far and continues to be used exclusively in the forest management planning all over the country. The tropical forests of the broad leaved types fall in seven type groups and occupy about 52 M ha out of the total M ha (81%) of covered forest. Area under different type groups is as under: Tree Covered Area Under Tropical Forest Groups Major Groups Tropical Forest 1. Moist tropical forest 2. Dry tropical forest Type group i Wet evergreen ii Semi-evergreen iii Moist deciduous iv Littoral and Swamp v Dry deciduous vi Thorn forest vii Dry evergreen Area (in 1000 ha) Area under tropical forest Percentage of tree covered area There are hardly any examples of tropical climax grasslands, though grassland is common enough as a secondary seral stage and it may even be a stable preclimax under the influence of fire and grazing. The typical climax savannah type of other Asian countries is also apparently absent but savannah as a degradation stage is fairly frequent. Further the above main type groups except the fourth and the last can be subdivided into southern and northern forms, the difference being less obvious, the drier the type. The difference is to some extent in form but largely floristic. The dry evergreen forest is restricted to the southeast of peninsula. Distribution of the seven type groups by States/UTs is provided in Annex 11. Since the present study is confined to tropical forests, a brief description of the main types of forests, their management systems and operative constraints would provide a better appreciation and lead to an indicative classification of the logged-over forests and rehabilitation techniques to be adopted for each category. 2.2 Wet evergreen forests Tropical wet evergreen forests are distributed throughout the tropical portion of the country in the high rainfall zone (exceeding 2500 mm per annum) except on precipitous slopes and very rapidly draining soils. They are most extensive along the Western Ghats, in Andaman & Nicobar Island and in the northeastern States. Distribution by States/UTs is as shown in Annex 11. In structure and physiognomy, - 7 -

18 there is little difference between forests in the different regions. Trees are generally arranged in tiers with dominants in the top canopy attaining a height of over 40 m. They are characterized by the presence of a large number of species. Gregariousness is usually not prominent and associations of a single dominant species are exceptional. Smooth bark, large buttresses, cauliflory, etc. are some of the notable features of the trees. On account of the multi tiered arrangement, light availability near the ground level is poor permitting little or sparse undergrowth. Depterocarpus are very characteristics though not an essential constituent;they are more numerous and varied in the southeast. The most widely distributed genera are Dipterocarpus and Hopea. Other typical components are Guttiferae (notably Calophyllum, Mesua, Poeciloneuron), Anacardiaceae, Sapotaceae, Meliaceae, Artocarpus, Syzygium, Eleocarpus etc. Dipterocarpus are absent in the northeast whereas bamboos are more usually present. Canes and palms along with tree ferns are also present. Both in the Western Ghats as well as in the southeast, the evergreen forest is found on gneiss or granite though it extends over metamorphic rocks, shales and even limestones. The topography is undulating and the soil highly leached. There is little accumulation of organic matter except locally in the flats. 2.3 Semi-evergreen forests Semi-evergreen forest occur in the transitional zone between evergreen and moist deciduous forests where the annual precipitation varies from 2000 to 2500 mm. Like the evergreen forests they also have a multistoreyed structure. The top canopy comprises of a mixture of deciduous and evergreen species while the understorey is almost entirely constituted by evergreens. Buttressed stems are frequent; the main canopy is dense and attains a height of m. This type occurs throughout the moister parts of southern tropics although it does not occupy large areas (Annex 11.) It exists in the Andamans and the Western Ghats, just north of Bombay, near Goa and south of Cochin. It has developed in the moderately heavy to heavy rainfall areas of north eastern region extending down the east coast of the peninsula to Puri in Orissa. This type generally occurs on low hills and flat plateaus. In the top canopy Hopea, Syzygium, Cinnamomum, Artocarpus and Magnoliaceae commonly contribute to evergreen species whereas Terminalia species (I. myriocarpa, I. tomentosa, I. citrina), Tetrameles and Stereospermum are common among the deciduous species. Dipterocarpus also occur frequently. Shorea robusta only retains its footing with burning and other dessicating factors. Among bamboos, Bambusa arundinacea, ~. polymorpha, Dendrocalamus hamiltonii, Melocanna bambusoides are common. The ground flora is very poor and largely made of Rubiaceae and Acanthraceae. 2.4 Moist deciduous forests This is the most extensive and widely distributed type (Annex 11) and plays the most prominent role in the production of wood and other products. Moist deciduous forests occur in regions where the rainfall is in the range of 1500 mm to 2000 mm. They are largely closed forests - 8 -

19 30-35 m or more in height, with top canopy comprising mostly of deciduous species, while understorey is usually formed by evergreen species. Three sub-groups, namely (1) Andaman moist deciduous, (2) South Indian moist deciduous and (3) North Indian moist deciduous, have been identified. Within each category several climax and seral forms are distinguished. In Andamans, the underlying rock is chiefly hard sandstone with bands of shale and conglomerate had the soil is sandy or clayey loam. The principal species are Pterocarpus dalbergioides, Terminalia bialata, I. manii, I. procera, Canarium enphyllum, Bombax insigne, Lagerstroemia hypoleuca, Chukrasia velutina, and many others (Teak plantations are being raised by clearfelling these forests). In the southern moist deciduous forest, teak (Tectona grandis) is the most important species because of its economic value and excellent development wherever the soil permits. In the teak bearing areas, its other associates are Terminalia, Pterocarpus and Lagerstomia species, Adina cardifolia occurs frequently though tending to indicate drier conditions, and Dalbergia latifolia is characteristic; Xylia, Schleichera and Careya are common in the second storey and bamboos, Bambusa arundinacea and Dendrocalamus strictus only appear on relatively dry sites. In the non-teak bearing areas, a variety of moist and occasionally evergreen species occur in mixture. Terminalias are common almost everywhere. Just as Tectona grandis is ecologically the most important species of the southern moist deciduous forest, so is Shorea robusta characteristic of the northern form. On the basis of presence or adsence of sal (Shorea robusta), the northern moist deciduous forests too are divided into sal forests and mixed forests. The former is characterized by the gregarious occurrence of sal, which sometimes accounts for about 80 percent of the canopy, which is m high. This is mainly due to its resistance to fire, coppicing power and adaptability to various conditions of soil and site. The associated species are similar to those of moist teak forest. An important feature of sal is its semi-evergreen habit with a deciduous period of 5-15 days at the beginning of the hot period. This type occurs throughout northern India except in the dry northwest and much of the overwet northeast. Composition of the mixed type is very similar to the sal forests except that sal is scarce or totally absent. Although floristically, the moist deciduous forests are less diverse than and inferior to evergreen forests, they are extremely valuable commercially. Almost all species are utilized either as timber or as firewood. They also form the most important source of sawlogs. 2.5 Dry deciduous forests Next only to the moist deciduous forests, the dry deciduous forests cover the largest area and are most important in meeting the fuel wood and small timber needs of the local communities. They occur in the rainfall zone of mm occasionally going down to 850 mm with a long dry season extend~ng over six months with little or no rain. These forests are found in the Deccan plateau, the Narmada and Tapti valleys - 9 -

20 and extend to the Gangetic plains. Typically these contain fewer species than the moist deciduous type and almost all species are deciduous. Two subgroups, the southern and northern are recognized under this type. The southern subtype is divided into two broad categories according as teak is present or absent. The characteristic species of the teak bearing type is Tectona grandis and its typical associates Anogeissus latifolia and Terminalia species. In the non-teak bearing forests, the principal genera are again Anogeissus and Terminalias associated with Diospyros, Boswellia and Stercula. Many species are common with the cooler northern forests and moist deciduous type because of their general adaptability and wide distribution. The most common bamboo is Dendrocalamus strictus. The northern sub-groups are also subdivided into sal bearing forests and mixed forests depending upon the presence or absence of sal (Shorea robusta). Sal is of low quality and height rarely higher than 18 m and the canopy is irregular. Badly shaped boles and hollow stems are prevalent. Its chief associates are Anogeissus latifolia, Buchanania lanzan, Terminalia tomentosa, Embilica officinalis and Lannea coromandalica. In the mixed type, species composition is essentially the same except that sal is absent. Bamboo mayor may not occur. Sal remains leafless for several weeks. Most of these forests are subject to severe biotic pressures particularly fire and grazing. Their productivity is low and the removal far exceeds this, resulting in progressive degradation. Firewood is probably the most important product from these forests. In addition, large quantity of bamboo is also obtained. Other valuable species include Santalum album (sandal wood), Pterocarpus santalinus (Red Sander) and Diospyros melanoxylon (Tendu leaf tree). 2.6 Tropical thorn forests This type represents the driest type of vegetation in the arid and semi-arid zones of the country. The rainfall ranges between mm going down to as low as 100 mm. This type in the south occurs on a wide range of geological formations and rocks on flat ground or on low undulating hills and plateaux. The genus Acacia, with a number of species and several other allied genera is characteristic of this type. Fleshy Euphorbias are generally present and form a conspicuous constituent of the vegetation. Capparis is common and Opuntia has become naturalized over wide tracts. In the north, this type is met with on flat alluvial or aelian soils but is also extends over low hilly country, ravineland and patches of highly saline soil and blown sand occur over considerable area. Thorny Mimoseae occur through out with a number of species of which Prosopis cineraria is perhaps the most common. Acacias are widespread and Capparis decidria is one of the most conspicuous trees

21 3. MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS 3.1 Classification of systems Forests produce a variety of goods and services, singly or in combination, depending upon the type and intensity of management to which they are subjected. Forest management involves the organized application of a particular silvicultural procedure to regulate and control yield and to ensure restocking of logged-over areas for achieving predetermined objectives. Management thus becomes an interaction between the forest types represented by their characteristics, accessibility, synecology andantecology of species and the societal needs. As indicated earlier percent of total forest area is constituted as reserved forest where most of the proprietary rights have been settled abolished. Protected forests account for about percent. These are subject to dual control and considerable exercise of rights and privileges. The balance percent are unclassed forests. Management is effective only in the case of reserve forest which are worked systematically on the basis of regular working plans. Although no separate figures are available for tropical forests alone it is estimated that about 69 percent of these are now covered by working plans (FSI 1987). This includes some of the protected forests also. In the initial stages, regulating the otherwise uncontrolled felling was the main objective of the working plans and apart from isolated efforts, very little attention was paid to regeneration. Working plans usually cover all forests of a forest division and areas identified for a specific set of treatment under a given silvicultural system are included in a working circle. Areas not taken up for treatment during the duration of a working plan, normally extending over a period of years, are retained under an unallotted working circle. A silvicultural system is basically "a method by which crops constituting a forest are tended, harvested and replaced by new crops resulting is production of woods of predetermined form". The three major components of any silvicultural system applied to natural forests are (1) harvesting or logging of existing tree growth, (2) regeneration of logged-over areas and (3) tending the regeneration until maturity to fulfill the objectives. The regeneration of a crop could be either natural or man-made. Also in natural regeneration if the species possess the power to coppice, the choice to obtain the regeneration by seed or coppice is available. The form in which a crop may be grown could be either regular - that is even-aged or irregular that is uneven-aged. Based on the above criteria of regeneration and development of the future crop. the various silvicultural systems adopted in the Indian tropical forest may be classified as under: (1) High Forest Systems. 1) Selection system 2) Clearfelling and shelterwood systems

22 (2) Coppice Systems. 1) Simple coppice systems 2) Coppice with standards or reserves. Adoption of a silvicultural system involves the application of certain inputs at the stages of harvesting, regeneration and tending, leading to generation of specific goods and services. Changes may however be brought about in the system in response to societal or floristic characteristics; changing priorities of government may also influence the management system and result in mid-term modification of the same. It needs to be stated that for a large country like India, its diversity of vegetation and complexity of socio-economic conditions have resulted in the evolution of a wide spectrum of management systems. Also what is actually practiced seldom fits into the prescribed norms and often represents a compromise between various conflicting considerations. No reliable data is available in respect of the areas under different silvicultural systems for each forest type and for the country as a whole but in most of the States/UTs selection or selectioncum-improvement system for the high forest and coppice with standards systems, augmented by artificial regeneration, continue to be the most important management systems. Salient components of the various systems are discussed below. 3.2 Selection System This is the most widely adopted silvicultural system for the tropical forests of India. It aims at maintaining the irregular nature of the crop with trees of all species and all age classes growing on the same unit of land. It involves the selective felling of exploitable trees from a specified forest area at periodic intervals and as a rule, only those trees are selected for felling as have attained a certain age as indicated by their diameter. Low proportion of valuable species, lack of information on end uses of all mixed species, poor accessibility and need for environmental protection are amongst some of the conditions determining its adoption. To facilitate felling and to monitor regeneration, the concept of felling cycle has been evolved. A felling cycle is an administratively convenient period which is a fraction of the rotation age. The forest is divided into as many parts as the number of years in a felling cycle and in a year felling and regenerations operation are confined to one part called a coupe. The determining of the felling cycle also takes into consideration the time taken for pre-exploitation class to reach the exploitation class, condition of the crop, and the proportion of the mature and over-mature trees. When there is a preponderance of harvestable trees, a shorter cycle is preferred to enable their removal. Yield is regulated by the volume and the exploitable girth, by the nature of demand, the species and the size class distribution. Selection system has been in vogue in most of the evergreen forests of Western Ghats right from the beginning of this century. Extraction was initially limited to species suitable for railroad sleepers (e. g. Hopea parviflora, Mesua nagassarium)and shipmasts (notably Calophyllum

23 spp.). Failure of regeneration and slump is demand during the two world wars led to its temporary suspension. At present almost all the evergreen forests of Western Ghats and Assam region are under selection system primarily for supply of veneer logs and railroad sleepers. Intensity of management is closely linked to the demands of the plywood industry. Logging is carried out either by industries to whom the annual quota of timber is allotted or by the Forest Department which usually gets the work done through the agency of contractors. System of giving long-term leases is no longer in vogue. Similarly in case of moist deciduous forests, till the change over to clear felling and artificial regeneration took place in the 1950's, selection system continued to be the main system applied to both teak and sal forests. Systems of concentrated felling were introduced in some of these forests during the first quarter of the century primarily, in response to the increased demand for construction timber, railroad sleepers, etc. This was however restricted to easily accessible areas where natural regeneration could be relied upon for restocking. In due course of time improved accessibility enabled the extension of those systems and selective felling was restricted to less accessible areas. Need to ensure the protection of steep slopes, coupled with technoeconomic constraints in undertaking intensive working, have led to the continuation of the system in many areas. Selective felling with sufficiently long felling cycles on moderate slopes, seldom causes any soil erosion if the felling rules are strictly followed. However in practice such prescriptions are not always implemented. Logging contractors are primarily interested in profit maximization, resulting in the neglect of silvicultural prescriptions. Surface runoff and soil erosion tend to be very high during and after harvesting. The problems get aggravated when logging operations are extended to two or three years due to sequential working by different agencies/industries. Selective felling does help to enhance wood supply in the short run. Feasibility of long term sustained supply of wood and other products depends on the intensity of exploitation and success of regeneration. Very few forests have been worked continuously over a number of cycles adhering to the same prescriptions. Between successive cycles, yields have been maintained by (i) reducing the felling cycle, (ii) reducing the girth limits and (iii) removing additional species not extracted during the previous cycle. In the absence of regeneration, selective fellings at short intervals have led to serious degradation, affecting wood production in the long run (Nair 1985). The selection system is a natural system of management. The system does not change the character of a forest. The disturbance to the soil conditions is the least, as the selective fellings create only very small openings in the canopy. The system however does not ensure quick regeneration. Regeneration is supposed to take place continuously and all over the area. Under Indian conditions it has been found difficult to ensure fire protection and closure to grazing. Consequently the future productivity or sustainability of yield has been rendered most doubtful. None the less, this system has worked satisfactorily for managing forests valued for their diversity or required more for their

24 environmental services than productive functions. 3.3 Clearfelling and Shelterwood Systems Attaining of normal forests has always been one of the major management planks of Indian Forestry. Since it is easier to realize normalcy with even-aged stands, all well stocked good quality forests have been managed under systems that could lead to the formation of even-aged stands. In high forest, the two systems that have been adopted for formation of even-aged stands are "clearfelling" and "shelterwood or uniform" systems. The difference between the two lies in the fact that whereas in the clearfelling, all overwood scheduled for final harvesting and regeneration is removed in one operation, in the uniform system it is removed in stages consistent with the progress of regeneration. System of clearfelling is applied when regeneration in the form of advance growth is already present or is expected to come up naturally or is proposed to be achieved artificially after the logging operations. Clearfelling system provides stands of annual age gradations while uniform system results in stands of periodic age gradations. The common factor is both the systems is that regeneration is attempted in a specified part and not all over the forests. Uniform system has been adopted in the valuable evergreen and moist deciduous tropical forests with a preponderance of high value species like teak and sal. It has worked extremely well in the teak forests of central India and sal forests of Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Bihar. These forests form a climax vegetation and their natural regeneration is no problem. Application of this system involves the creation of uniform openings in successive fellings and is usually followed where regeneration is satisfactory. A true uniform system where successive fellings are carried out over a number of years and regeneration is gradually nurtured is no longer practiced. In fact, the uniform system that is practiced in the country is closer to the clearfelling system in almost all respects. In sal forests, worked under this system there is a complete reliance on natural regeneration. When it is already abundant, the overwood is completely removed in one operation (e. g. Saranda). In teak forest, there is much less dependence on natural regeneration (Dubey, 1967). Wherever it occurs, it is retained as advance growth; where it doesn't overwood is clearfelled in one operation, and stump planting undertaken artificially. High investment necessary for artificial regeneration compel reductions in rotations. In the evergreen and moist deciduous forests of Andaman Islands, selection system was practiced until the 1950's due to limitation of demand to only three species namely, Pterocarpus marsupium, Dipterocarpus ~. and Terminalia manii. with the growth of plywood industry, enhanced utilization of secondary species and improved accessibility, a modified shelterwood system, officially described as "Andaman canopy lifting system" came to be introduced for both the evergreen and moist deciduous forests. This system, though classified as a shelterwood (uniform) system is closer in effect to selection system than to uniform system. The basic

25 feature of the system is that immediate shade over regeneration is removed initially by making openings in the lowermost canopy. As the regeneration progresses, openings in the middle canopy are made and finally when it is completely established, the top canopy is opened, the extent of opening depending on the amount of regeneration obtained. Satisfactory natural regeneration of both Dipterocarpus and other species has been obtained mainly due to the fact that Andaman forests are still relatively free of the severe biotic pressures prevalent on the mainland. The uniform system has been a failure in the management of moist sal forests of UP and West Bengal. Since it is expected to yield even-aged and more or less pure stands, it is suited to those species that are gregarious in nature and tend to grow in even-aged stands naturally. The other condition for the success of the uniform system is that regeneration should be no problem. Good natural regeneration is associated with the species of a climax vegetation only. Even-aged and pure stands on the other hand are related to seral stages or to a climax obtained from secondary succession. As a consequence under Indian conditions "if natural regeneration has to be relied upon, uniform system can be successfully applied only to those climax vegetation types which have resulted from a secondary succession" (Lal, 1989). Sal forests of Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, teak forests of Madhya Pradesh and Maharastra are all climaxes resulting from secondary successions set in by logging of the original forests in the past, either for shifting cultivation or otherwise. Uniform system has been applied with success to teak in localities where it does not form a climax only because it can be artificially regenerated with ease and certainty even if natural regeneration fails. Clearfelling, as a system of management of natural forests has been used in India only in limited instances viz. sal forests of eastern Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Assam and teak forests of Kerala. In these instances clearfelling was resorted to obtain regeneration through artificial means as attempts to induce natural regeneration had failed. Apart from these instances, clearfelling of forests has been largely resorted to in India not to seek regeneration of.existing species, but to convert natural crops of low value, mixed species into plantations of other higher economic value species - which in most cases has been teak. This practice has became more extensive in pursuance of the recommendation of the National Commission of Agriculture (NCA) in 1976 and the establishment of the Forest Development Corporations (FDC's) in nearly all the major States/UTs. 3.4 Coppice systems Simple coppice system with. its variants has been the most widely applied system in the management of dry deciduous forests and plantation crops in the country. Coppice systems also rely on natural regeneration - but whereas in other systems it is primarily of seed origin in coppice systems it depends on shoots emerging from the cut stands. Its adoption is therefore possible only in case of species which are good coppicers. Fortunately a large number of valuable tropical species in India like teak and sal are good coppicers. With increasing age however, the

26 coppicing capacity declines and this necessitates the adoption of shorter rotations. In fact this factor combined with the ease with which regeneration can be obtained at a low level of investment makes it the most appropriate system for the production of firewood and small timber. In simple coppice, the annual coupe is clearfelled and regeneration obtained from coppice shoots. This system is being followed in the dry deciduous forests of Tamil Nadu which are worked primarily for production of firewood. Yield is regulated by area. Felling operations are completed before the commencement of the growing season and the area is closed to grazing and protected from fire. Usually no weeding is required. Cleaning operations involving removal of excess coppice shoots, climber cutting is generally carried out. Simple coppice system is also followed in case of eucalypt plantations throughout the country. Rotations vary from 8 to 15 years - occasionally going down to 6 years. Usually the second and third cycle crops are of coppice origin. After the third cycle, the entire area is replanted. In Nilgris, Eucalyptus globulus is replanted after four rotations. During the second rotation yields are higher by 6-10 percent while during the third and fourth, yields are less by 9 percent and 20 percent respectively (Jayaraman, 1974). Coppice-with-standard is a mixture of coppice and high forest systems. It involves the retention of a fixed number of overwood trees mostly of seedling origin providing an uneven-aged upper canopy with the even-aged coppice crop forming the lower canopy; A forest worked under this system thus has two tiers, an upper one consisting of the standards, usually producing timber and a lower one primarily aimed at producing firewood and small timber. The two types of resultant crops are worked on different rotations - that for standards being 2 to 3 times more than that for the coppice crop. As compared to simple coppice, the advantages of the coppice - withstandards are that vegetation cover over soil is never totally removed, and with standards serving as seed bearers, regeneration from seeds is obtained simultaneously with that from coppice. The yield is regulated by area. Rotation varies from years with the number of standards of 10 to 25 cms diameter retained, not exceeding 50 per ha, depending on the quality of soil and intensity of biotic interferences. Some of the forests worked under this system viz. in Dhalbhum Division, Bihar, provide for meeting the traditional needs of the tribal communities by setting aside a part of the annual coupe. Residual material is sold in open auctions or worked through the agency of ~he for st development corporations. Yields per hectare vary from 10m to 25m 3 depending on the condition of the crop which itself is dependent on biotic pressures. In most cases declining trends in yield are noticed between successive rotations (Nair 1985). In order to provide a greater flexibility a more useful system was evolved in the thirties in the then Central Provinces known as coppicewith-reserves. In coppice-with-standard system, the standards retained are generally of species used as timber and are uniformly distributed. In the coppice-with-reserves system, the trees which are not coppiced

27 (termed as reserve trees) and are allowed to form a high forest crop may not be uniformly distributed and may be reserved for reasons other than obtaining large size timber viz. prevention of site deterioration, retention of well grown young tree crops, and trees yielding products to meet the needs of local population. Reservation thus involves the exclusion of specified areas, species and trees above a prescribed diameter from felling. The system has been extensively applied in the low quality irregular forests of teak, sal and mixed species in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. In States like Orissa too the coppice-with-standards is being replaced by coppice-with-reserves to improve the condition of the crop and prevent soil degradation (Mahapatra 1980). In theory both these systems are quite suitable for the dry deciduous forests of the country, but in practice they are unable to meet the growing demands of firewood and timber. Areas close to habitations particularly suffer from illicit cuttings which in turn undermine the productivity of the systems. An added drawback has been the absence of regeneration from seed which is essential for the perpetuity of the forests. Attention gets focussed on coppice regeneration only. Specific provisions need to be made for obtaining seedling regeneration and monitoring the same. 3.5 Plantation forestry Plantation forestry in India is an offshoot of the clearfelling system and was resorted to with the main objective of changing the crop composition in favour of commercially and industrially more valuable species. Restocking of felled areas was generally accomplished by artificial regeneration of the desired species. One of the earliest efforts was made at Nilambur in Kerala in 1842 in the case of teak mainly with the object of replenishing large sized teak required for ship building by the British Navy. Success achieved at Nilambur led to raising teak plantations in other parts of the country. Trials were initiated with other species too - both exotics as well as indigenous species. Successful plantations of eucalypts (Eucalyptus globulus) and wattle (Acacia) species were raised in the Nilgiri hills in Rehabilitation of sand dunes was started in Puri division in Dalbergia sisso and Acacia catechu were planted in the dry tracts of Punjab with irrigation in the early part of the century. Such efforts did not however cover any extensive areas. They received a boost with the introduction of the taungya system whereby agricultural crops were raised in between planted trees for a period of 2 to 5 years till the crown cover closed up and did not permit the agricultural crop to grow any longer. This system first introduced in Burma was adopted in Bengal for sal plantation in 1911 and for teak in It was extended to Uttar Pradesh in 1923 for sal plantation and thereafter became popular in other parts of the country under the generic term of agri-silviculture. Even then it was by no means an extensive activity and remained confined to planting of specific sites. This is confirmed by the fact that in 1950, after almost half a century, the extent of such plantation in the country was only ha mostly in Uttar Pradesh, Bengal and in the Nilgiris (FRI, 1961)

28 The second half of the century has however been characterized by a rapid growth of plantation forestry. In 1947 the country became independent and planned economic development started in A rapid increase in the price of timber and firewood, made clearfelling of mixed forest of low density and low value an attractive and profitable proposition. Costs of plantations however remained stable especially where Taungya System could be depended upon. Establishment of plantations of quick growing species integrated with wood-based industries became one of the major prescriptions for forestry development. Demand and supply studies indicated a growing shortage of industrial wood, particularly pulp wood. In one of the reports of the FAO to GOI (Von Mon Roy, 1960) the main recommendations were (i) planting 1.5 M ha of fast growing species in 10 years and (ii) improving the accessibility of hill forests to permit better exploitation. All this led to a high priority being accorded to plantation establishment and a number of schemes - plantation of fast growing species, match wood species, pulp wood species etc. - were initiated under the five year plans, often with complete or partial financial support of the central government. A further expansion of plantation forestry took place in 1980s as a result of the implementation of the recommendations of the National Commission on Agriculture (GOI, 1972, 1976). By then, the plantation techniques had been standardized for different species and site conditions and the NCA reilterated the need for large scale plantation programme linked to woodbased industries through the establishment of FDC's on one hand and raising of short-rotation fast growing species for augmenting fuel wood and small timber production through social forestry programmes on the other. In pursuance of the NCA recommendations, FDC's were set-up in most States (17, as of 1987) and many of these corporations initiated large scale plantations involving clearfelling of natural forests. Sal, teak and eucalypts became the major species raised by the FDC's. In due course a large number of other tropical species also came to be planted either as pure or as mixed crops. The area planted/afforested till the end of the Sixth Five Year Plan ( ) is indicated below: Period Area (in 1000 ha) (First Plan) (Second Plan) (Third Plan) (Annual Plans) (Fourth Plan) (Fifth Plan) (Annual Plan) (Sixth Plan) 4650 Total area of man-made forests up to 1985 is estimated at 8,206 M ha. Reliable data is not available either on the various categories of plantations or on the areas by forest types covered under the programme. It is however inclusive of the social forestry plantations launched in 1980's with the major objective of creating fuelwood, fodder and small timber resources to meet the requirements of the local people. Such plantations, generally located near the village habitations have been raised not only on lands, notified as government forests but also on

29 community, panchayat, institutional and private lands under various modules differently designated as strip plantations, community woodlots, agroforestry, farm-forestry, rehabilitation of degraded forests and wastelands, coastal and desert afforestation etc. A large number of these programmes are being implemented with external financial assistance from World Bank, USAID, SIDA, CIDA, DANIDA and ODA. GOI assistance is also made available to the States under various centrally sponsored schemes. During the Sixth Plan ( ) 0.68 M ha were planted with external assistance, 1.90 M ha under the GOI sponsored schemes and 1.30 M ha from the State resources - all under the social forestry programme, out of the total of 4.65 M ha raised country wide (World Bank ),

30 4. CONSTRAINTS OF MANAGEMENT 4.1 Wood shortages Over the years, the population of the country has been increasing rapidly. It rose from 361 M in 1951 to 685 M in 1981 while the per capita forest decreased from 0.20 ha in 1951 to 0.11 ha in Two major products on which the country depends overwhelmingly on forests are firewood and timber. The Working Group on Energy Policy appointed by the Planning Commission in 1979 stated that percentage share of firewood in per capita consumption in the household sector was 68.5% in rural areas, and 45.5% in urban areas. This report of the working Group also indicated that fuelwood consumption in the year was M tonnes. As against this consumption the recorded production of firewood from forests was of the order of about 19 M tonnes. The data collected in the 20th Round of National Sample Survey indicated that about 30 M tonnes of firewood has been obtained from private lands and gardens and from trees around the houses. Even so, the production of 49 M tonnes out of M tonnes representing 36.81% of fuelwood actually consumed could be accounted for. The Report did not explain the wide gap between production and consumption - of the order of 84 M tonnes. Past records show that this is an annual phenomenon since the independence of the country. It is accepted that most of the firewood which is in the form of dead and dry wood is extracted from forests on headloads by the villagers living in and around the forests not only for their own consumption but also for trade. And this extraction of firewood and consequently the production goes unrecorded. But even allowing for this unrecorded production, the total production from forests which would be within silviculturally permissible limits would not exceed 40 M m 3 or 28 M tonnes. The gap between demand and production is met through pilferage from managed and unmanaged forests, which over the years has led to their continuous depletion. The inventories made by the FSI and the Report of the 28th Round of CSO reveal that per capita consumption of firewood in rural areas of various States/UTs varies from tonnes in Punjab to 0.8 tonnes in Arunachal Pradesh. In urban areas per capita consumption is lowest in Haryana with a figure of tonnes and highest in Andhra Pradesh with a figure of 0.8 tonnes CFSI, 1987). On the basis of these figures and projected population growth, firewood consumption in 1987 is estimated at 134 M tonnes in rural areas and 23 M tonnes in the urban parts of the country. The total works out to 157 M tonnes equivalent to 233 M m 3 The production of firewood from forests, estimated by the FSI on the basis of the inventories made by it, is only 40 M m 3 Thus as of now, there is a gap of 195 m 3 in demand and production of firewood. Needless to say that this imbalance between demand and production of firewood is one single cause that has trapped the country into a vicious circle and led not only to a dent into the growing stock but a continuous loss of increment

31 Based on similar inventories made by the FSI, the demand for timber (wood other than firewood) works out to over 27 M m 3 This is by no means an excessive level of timber consumption - but considering that the current permissible cut of timber from forests is only about 12 M m 3., the gap in the order of 15 M m 3 has in some instances, resulted in the increased official felling of timber from managed forests in excess of silviculturally permissible limits, let alone the unauthorized fellings by private individuals. The combined effect of the shortages of firewood and timber has had and continues to have the most devastating effect on the productive capacity of logged-over forests in the country with adverse consequences on their environmental stability. 4.2 Grazing It is indeed a sad commentary on the Indian situation that with M ha (3% of land area) allocated as permanent pastures and grazing lands, regularly managed pastures are virtually non-existent. These lands are neither demarcated nor placed under any system of proper management. In fact, excessive and continuous grazing has degraded them to a level where their productivity is negligible. As a result the forests have to bear the brunt of the full grazing incidence. Incredible as it may seem, at any natural enquiry into the grazing situation, it is only the issue of forest grazing that is looked into and proper management and rehabilitation of non-forest grazing totally ignored. This constitutes an uncalled for demand on forest land resources. The livestock population in the country has increased from 292 M in 1951 to 369 M in The cattle population has also grown from 199 M in 1951 to 242 M in The number of animals that grazed in forests rose from 35 M in to 60 M in (FSI 1987). As of it is estimated that the total number has risen to over 90 M animals. Excessive and unrestricted grazing has degraded forest soils and hampered natural regeneration as well as the ultimate productivity of the forests. The National Forest Policy, enunciated in 1952, recognized that all grazing in forests, particularly unlimited of uncontrolled grazing, was incompatible with scientific forestry, and clearly stipulated that "grazing should be regulated as regards the time and place as also the number of cattle admitted". It is unfortunate that these stipulations were never observed. On the contrary, whatever regulations, adhoc and arbitary, that existed before Independence, gradually got dissipated under local pressures. As an average for the country, the grazing incidence, was sought to be regulated at 1.6 ha per cow unit. In most States/UTs however the grazing continues to be unrestricted and freely exercised in almost all forests irrespective of the number of cattle vis-a-vis the carrying capacity of the forest. The FSI inventories indicate that all forest lands in Rajasthan are subject to grazing. In Uttar Pradesh grazing takes place over 83% of forest lands, in West Bengal over 87%, in Meghalaya over 85%, in Orissa over 70%, in Sikkim over 75% and in Nagaland over 53%

32 Excessive grazing and unauthorized removals of firewood for domestic energy are the two main factors most responsible for the rapid depletion of forests in the country and unless these are satisfactorily resolved, the associated problems will only get more aggravated. 4.3 Forest fires Occurrence of frequent fires is also a major cause of damage to the forests. Some fires are accidental, but a maj~rity of them are caused deliberately, while a few are acts of pure vandalism. Where willfully caused it is either to obtain new shoots of grass of leaves such as tendu CDiospyros melanoxylon) or to facilitate collection from the ground, of such forest produce as Mohwa (Madhuca indica) and sal (Shorea robusta) seed. Reports made by the various States/UTs to the Ministry of Environment & Forests in 1986, indicate that during the period of the VI Five Year Plan ( ), there were 17,852 cases of fire in the country resulting in burning of an areas of 5.72 M ha and causing a loss of over 7 million rupees. It is highly probable that all the fires were not reported and the information sent by the States/UTs pertained only to some of the major fires. The FSI data collected during the inventories shows that in almost all the State/UTs, more than 50% of the forest area is affected by annual fires. In the northeastern states it is as much as 99% (Manipur). In addition to physically harming the regeneration and burning out the bamboo (as in many parts of central India) both fire and grazing tend to make soils more compact and impervious and less fertile on account of destruction of organic matter. Seeds of some of the tropical species do not germinate in heavily burnt or excessively grazed soils. The result is reduction in the number of species. In areas regenerated under a clearfelling system it can mean total ruin. Continuous grazing & repeated fires eventually take their toll in converting many a forest vegetation into shrubs or worse still into grasslands (Nilgris Tamilnadu). 4.4 Shifting cultivation Shifting cultivation is a relic of the past which has persisted in some hilly forested and relatively inaccessible pockets of India. It involves clearfelling of the forest, burning the slash, raising a crop or two by dribbling or broadcasting the seed and then shifting to another forest site and repeating the process. The abandoned area is again cultivated in the same manner after a fallow period of 10 to 15 years (during which vegetation and soil fertility has had time to recoup). This practice has its roots in the very ethos of the tribal communities and even though settled agriculture is now being increasingly adopted, it still persists in some of the remote areas of the north eastern region. With the increase in the population and shortening of fallow periods to 3-5 years, it is increasingly being realized that the practice leads to soil erosion and destabilisation of the ecology of the region

33 Unfortunately, most of the area subject to shifting cultivation is not surveyed and basic information regarding its practice, exact location and extent, population dependent on it, etc. is very scanty. Various estimates have been made at different times. The Task Force on Shifting Cultivation in its report in 1983 estimated that shifting cultivation although practiced in 13 states of the country, is most extensive in northeastern hill States and Orissa. The Task Force estimated the forest area affected by shifting cultivation at 4.35 M ha and the number of families involved as M. The North-Eastern Council Secretariat, estimated in 1975, that the area under shifting cultivation in the seven states of the region was 2.7 M ha. FAO's estimate in 1980, based on interpretation of Landsat imagery shows the area to be 9.0 M ha. Of the three estimates, those made by the Task Force appear to be closest to the real state of affairs. 4.5 Encroachment Attempts to encroach on government forest lands for agriculture had become a regular phenomenon since Independence. With the growth of the population, the demands for more land for agriculture continued to grow. Land being a state subject, the state/ut governments officially diverted as many as M ha of forest lands for agriculture during the period (FSI, 1987). In addition many hectares of unoccupied nonforest government lands were also allocated for agriculture without any consideration of their suitability for the purpose. Even so, the encroachments on forest lands went on unabated. In fact many State Governments especially Madhya Predesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka 8 Gujarat kept regularising the unauthorized occupation of forest lands for cultivation from time to time before the enforcement of the Forest (Conservation) Act, This periodic regularization of authorized occupation only encouraged people to make further inroads into the government forest lands. Encroachments on government forest lands are generally made by people who live in the vicinity of the forests, or forest dwellers as they are popularly called. Forest dwellers are mostly tribals. They prefer forest lands for two reasons: first, such lands are considered more fertile and productive and secondly, they are in the vicinity of their habitations. Not to own a piece of agricultural land is virtually a social stigma for the tribal. Owning land satisfies not only the tribal's economic but also his emotional needs and one would therefore not hesitate to get possession of such land in whatever manner one could. As of 1987, it is estimated that M ha of forest lands are still under encroachment in spite of frequent regularisation carried out between In 1981, the tribal population of the country was 51.7 M (FSI, 1987) belonging to about 250 communities. The tribal habitations are located either in the middle or in the close vicinity of forests. A report prepared by the Committee on Forest and Tribals in India in 1982 indicates that nearly 12% of the tribal population of the country is involved in shifting cultivation, 2% reside within the forest villages and about 95% subsist as encroachers of forest lands. Various local studies have estimated dependence of tribal economy on forests from 15 to 84%, depending on the community and the region. Overall estimate is

34 that 33% of the livelihood of the tribals is earned from forests and forest products. The symbiotic relationship between the tribals and forests is an inescapable reality but it can only survive as long as the pressure of the tribal population does not exceed the carrying capacity of the environment. This symbiosis is under considerable stress due to the growth of the tribal population. 4.6 Diversions of forest lands The production of services and goods from forests have considerably reduced since the fiftees on account of two reasons: first, depletion of forests owing to increasing biotic pressures, secondly official diversions of forest lands for non-forest purposes. During the period as many as M ha of forest lands were diverted to nonforest use as under: Purpose 1. Agriculture 2. River Valley Projects 3. Industries and townships 4. Transmission lines 8 roads 5. Miscellaneous Area(M ha) The rate of diversions in the thirty years from 1951 to 1980 works out to 140,000 ha per annum. The main reason for this massive diversion was that prior to October 1980, the power to divert forest land to other uses vested in the State Governments who made their decisions only with local or regional perspectives. A national perspective such as protection of watersheds was totally ignored. The GOI was thus forced to enact the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 prohibiting any diversion of forest lands without prior approval of the Central Government. The Act has yielded the expected results. The annual rate of diversion of forest lands has drastically fallen. Between October 1980 to February 1987 only 46,852 ha have been permitted to be diverted to non forest use and that too in most cases with a stipulation that compensatory plantations will be raised on non-forest lands equivalent in extent to the forest area being diverted. The annual rate of diversion works out at a little over 6,500 ha, a significant reduction from earlier 140,000 ha per year

35 5. LOGGED-OYER FORESTS 5.1 status and Extent As has been indicated earlier, of India's land area, M ha is designated in land revenue records as forest, mostly Government-owned. Increasing pressure of population and cattle have resulted in ever increasing depletion and degradation of much of the natural forest, so that only M ha of this M ha is actually tree covered. Of this tree covered area, M ha lies in the tropical zone with the rest M ha falling in the sub-tropical, temperate and alpine zones. The statup of the remaining treeless M ha remains rather uncertain. Deforestation has taken the shape of either outright clearing for agriculture and other non-forest uses or their slow and continuous decimation, often illegally for meeting the fodder, fuel and timber needs of the community and industry M ha have been officially deforested and diverted to non-forest use and 0.7 M ha are under unofficial 8 illegal occupation for agriculture. The rest lie as degraded tree-less scrub lands. 5.2 FAO Study No comprehensive study of the tropical logged-over forests for the entire country has been carried out in the past in any systematic manner. Each state undertakes its own studies and supplies the data to GOI for consolidation at the national level. The first serious attempt was made by the Forest Survey of India, in 1980 at the instance of the FAO for the compilation of a report, "Forest Resources of Tropical Asia, 1981". The classification adopted in the FAO study was not the usual followed in this country. As a result the corresponding area figures had to be derived by referring to various sources and from some special studies carried out for the purpose. Briefly the relevant data for the seven tropical types groups (deleting the areas of subtropical and temperate broad leaved forests) is presented below:

36 Area of Natural Tropical Broadleaved Forest (estimated at the end of 1980) CategorY Area M ha 1. Closed Forest A. Productive (1) Virgin (unmanaged) (2) Logged-over (unmanaged) (3) Logged-over (managed) Sub Total B. Unproductive (1) Due to physical reasons (2) Due to legal reasons Sub Total Total "closed" Open Forest (1) Open mixed broadleaved forest (2) Scrub formations Total "Open" Grand Total In this connection the following comments need to be noted: - closed forests correspond to stands without continuous grass cover, with trees whose crowns cover more than 30% of the area, generally multi-storeyed and which have not been cleared for agriculture in the past years. They are either managed or unmanaged forests and may have been logged over once or more. - the total area of the closed tropical broadleaved forest is estimated at M ha of which M ha are considered productive and M ha unproductive M ha of the productive class are considered as "virgin" forests which appears to be a misnomer. At the most they may be considered as

37 "relatively undisturbed" due to the limited population not totally virgin. They are essentially those forests covered under any management system. Some timber and removed by the villagers but this does not appreciably facies of these forests. pressure that are firewood affect but not is the M ha of the productive class are considered as forests which have been harvested or logged-over without any management control but not converted to any non-forestry use after the first clearing. They are all unmanaged forests not covered under any working plan. Being under heavy human pressure they have been gradually transformed into logged-over forests M ha correspond to forest covered by proper management plans and are exploited for timber and fuelwood under regular working plan prescriptions. They may not all be fully productive due to failure of regeneration and excessive biotic disturbances but on the whole are considered as in good shape. - in the unproductive class, M ha are considered as such only for topographic reasons and/or for poor stocking. Another M ha are held to be unproductive for legal reasons. Even if covered under working plans, no exploitation of timber is prescribed. They are generally allocated to "protection" or "unregulated" working circles of the management plan or for wildlife preservation or for bioaesthetic considerations. - mangrove forests are of special interest for These are estimated at 91,000 ha under the closed ha of mangroves of Kutch and Saurashtra physiognomically open scrublands. ecological reasons. category and 52,000 in Gujarat are - India also has some 1.44 M ha under bamboo forests of which M ha are considered as productive. They generally form an understorey. - in the open forest category are included M ha of mixed broadleaved forests formed by scattered tree growth interspersed with shrubby and grassy patches. The crown density varies from 10% to 30%. Most of these are considered to be underproductive. - an additional M ha of open forests are considered covered with scrub formation resulting from repeated clearing and burning of the original vegetation and which may be considered as unproductive. 5.3 Reassessment A simple classification of the tropical broadleaved forest for the purpose of this study would appear to be a sub-division of the type groups on the basis of their crown density and coverage under regular management systems. Based on the data available with the FSI, Dehra Dun, an assessment has recently been carried out and area distribution for each of the seven tropical forest type groups is presented below. This will be referred to henceforth as the present study to differentiate it from the earlier FAO study

38 Area of natural covered tropical forest by density class and management status (Estimated ) Tropical Forest Type group Total Forest Covered Area Area by crown density Density above 40% Density 10% to 40% Area by Management Managed (Working Plans) Un Managed 1. Wet evergreen 2. Semi-evergreen 3. Moist deciduous 4. Li ttoral & Swamp 5. Dry deciduous 6. Thorn forest 7. Dry evergreen Sub-total (1-7) %Total Other Subtropical temperate and Alpine types Grand total % Grand total A comparison of the two studies reveals considerable closeness while simultaneously indicating certain basic differences as under: - the total area of tropical forests under "tree cover" in both the studies is pretty close viz M ha in the FAO study and M ha under the present study. the area under closed forest is however M ha in the FAO study whereas the same is only M ha in the present study. There is an increase from M ha to M ha in the "open" category. This difference is explained by the fact that in the earlier FAO study a tree cover down to 30% crown density was taken as "close" whereas the present classification of the FSI considers a crown density up to 40% as the dividing line between closed and open forests. The resultant decrease in the closed category is counter balanced by the corresponding increase in the open category. It also indicates that roughly about 14 M ha of the tropical forests lie in the crown density range of 30% to 40%. - the shift from the closed to the open category is more pronounced in the dry deciduous forest zone where out of a total of M ha, only M ha have adequate crown density. Similarly in the thorn forest only 0.3 M ha out of M ha have crown cover of more than

39 40%. Considering the tropical forests by their management status, the study shows that whereas overall 86.44% ( M ha) are covered by regular working plans only 55.61% ( M ha) have a crown density of more than 40% and can therefore be considered as productive forests. The rest of 44.39% ( M ha) with crown density varying from 10% to 40% can at best be considered as partially productive. A detailed analysis shows that: within the type groups the semi-evergreen forests account for the largest coverage under management systems M ha out of M ha are under regular working plans viz % and yet only M ha are well stocked, while M ha have been reduced to a crown density below 40%. This is mainly due to their easy accessibility to people and a considerably higher degree of biotic interference. - For the wet-evergreen forests the situation is the opposite. With less area covered under working plans viz M ha (81%), M ha (98%) are well stocked. Only about M ha - not covered by management plans have a crown density of 10%-40%. On the whole these forests may be considered as well covered. - the situation in respect of the moist deciduous forest is identical to those of the semi-evergreen forests. With over M ha (90.71%) brought under regular working plans, only M ha (72.88%) are adequately covered. Thus with only 2.2 M ha not covered under any management system,6.422 M ha lie reduced to open condition indicating their being subjected, like the semi-evergreen type to excessive unauthorized and biotic interferences. - it is in the two categories of dry deciduous and thorn forests that the greatest damage has been done. For the dry deciduous with M ha (82.38%) covered by management plans only M ha (22.12%) have adequate crown coverage while the rest M ha (77.88%) have been reduced to open forests with varying degrees of degradation due to intensive human and bovine pressures. - similar is the situation in the thorn forest where M ha out of M ha covered under regular working plans, only M ha (18.198) have a closed crown and the rest of 1.00 M ha stand degraded to open forest with a majority falling in the lowest ranges of the density spectrum. Overall therefore, it would appear that if the criterion of logged over forest is confined only to the forests that have been harvested without adequate control and silvicultural treatment, the total area of logged-over tropical forest would cover M ha as against M ha estimated under the FAO (1981) study. If however both the categories of "unmanaged productive" forest of the FAO (1981) study viz. virgin unmanaged (4.266 M ha) and logged-over unmanaged (3.104 M ha) are taken together as unmanaged forests they almost correspond to M ha of the tropical forests not covered by the working plans of the present assessment (1989). This appears to be a reasonable conclusion considering that virgin forests are really not virgin in the true sense

40 but are thus designated to indicate that they being inaccessible are less liable to extensive damage as logged-over category of unmanaged forests. more remote compared to and the At this stage is would also be pertinent to note some significant changes that have taken place since the compilation of the FAO study in 1981 on the basis of area statistics available prior to (1) The FSI made an independent assessment of forest cover in the country by visual interpretation of Landsat imagery on 1:1 million scale for the period in This was supplemented by intensive ground truth verification and aerial photo interpretation. Reconciled estimates were available only in (2) The area devoted exclusively to the preservation of wildlife and conservation of nature, and therefore withdrawn from regular forest management had increased from M ha record~d in the FAO (1981) study to 13 M ha recorded in the FSI (1987) study. Data about the spread of this area by forest types is not available but is overlaps all categories of Indian forests - whether covered under tropical or non-tropical types and managed or unmanaged, open or closed. (3) There has been a tremendous increase in the plantation/afforestation activity in establishing man-made forests of economically valuable industrial species and raising social forests of fuelwood, fodder and small timber through fast-growing species for' meeting the needs of the local population. Social forestry programmes cover not only the degraded forest lands but also community and private wastelands. Exact break-up figures are not available but moist and dry deciduous forests, located in the close vicinity of human habitations subject to heavy biotic pressures. The above factors introduce a certain amount of uncertainty in determining the extent and present status of the logged-over forests in need of rehabilitation and their distribution by type-groups. Overall it would appear that if the criterion of logged-over forest is restricted only to the forests that have been exploited without adequate control or any silvicultural treatment and assuming that none of these stand diverted to reservation for legal reasons or social forestry purposes, the same would amount to M ha as against M ha estimated by the FAO, distributed by type-groups as under: Type Group Area in M ha 1. Wet evergreen Semi-evergreen Moist deciduous Li t toral & Swamp Dry deciduous Thorn forest Total

41 5.4 Criteria and classification In considering a suitable classification of logged-over forests the following criteria have been taken into consideration: (1) Crop density Density is a measure of the number of trees growing in a forest. It could be expressed either as basal area of the crop i. e. total cross-sectional area of the stems (at breast height) of trees per ha or as the number of trees per ha or as percent of the ground area covered by vertical projection of the tree crowns. In Indian usage, the term density always refers to crown density- and expresses the completeness of the leaf canopy in the form of either a percentage or a decimal coefficient. As already seen a 40% crown density has been adopted as the dividing line between dense (close) and open forests and 10% between open and degraded forests. (2) Regeneration status Regeneration in forestry means the renewal of a forest crop by natural or artificial means. Natural regeneration, whether from seedling or coppice stock is nature's way of ensuring the future productivity of cutover forests and therefore environmentally more desirable. However with the increase in population and consequent biotic pressures, dependence on natural regeneration has become problematic. In fact even in forests under regular management systems and proper silvicultural treatment, artificial regeneration has had to be resorted to in varying degrees depending on the success or failure of natural regeneration. Under Indian conditions increasing dependence on artificial regeneration by establishing man-made forests is becoming inescapable - except in case of evergreen and semi-evergreen forests of Andaman 8 Nicobar Islands where natural regeneration is still adequate. Regeneration surveys were carried out recently by the FSI in some of the representative localities of various States/UTs. These are presented in Annex Ill. These inventories show that excluding Andaman 8 Nicobar Islands natural regeneration is either absent or totally inadequate over 52.8% of the country's forest area. Although by no means comprehensive, it is indicative of the situation even in the best managed forests. (3) Composition of the existing vegetation: Logged-over forests, of whatever climax type/status, or stage of primary and secondary seres, are bound to be degraded to varying degrees through biotic influences, notably excessive grazing, lopping for fuel 8 fodder and unregulated felling for timber and poles. Such action, often selective, bears heavily on the "wanted" species and lightly on the unwanted ones. Regeneration is retarded and seedling stages exposed to elimination. The process is further influenced by the varying powers of resistance of individual species to their treatment enabling the toughest to

42 survive. Overgrazing and tree destruction being usually combined, most of the trees get eliminated leaving shrub formations of unpalatable (Adhatoda, Skimmia) or thorny (Carissa, Zizyphus) species. Based on the above, three groups/types of logged-over forests are recognized with their major characteristics as under: Characteristics 1. Semi-natural (closed) Forest 2. Secondary (open) Forest 3. Degraded (scrub) Forest Forest that still bears resemblance to the floristic design of the primary natural forest vegetation of its type group, with a crown density above 40% but inadequate natural/induced regeneration of valuable species and minimum signs of human disturbances. Forest resulting from the process of secondary succession with original vegetation modified, productive capacity and ecological stability impaired, crown density lowered to between 10%-40%, regeneration poor and subject to moderate biotic disturbances. Forest that has been totally transformed through excessive biotic abuse leading to loss of soil, growing stock, regeneration capacity and suffering degradation of site factors. Crown density below 10% and colonised by weeds and shrubs

43 6. REHABILITATION METHODS Logged-over forests are unmanaged forests - so designated as to differentiate them from the managed forests. The principal object of management is to safeguard the continued growth and productivity of a forest ensuring adequate regeneration of the future crop and tending the same to maturity. Being unmanaged, the logged-over forests have received no such treatment with the result that they are at various stages of retrogression depending on the locality factors and biotic interferences. However lying within the climatic zone representative of the type-group, they bear general characteristics and basic composition of the same. Before attempting to prescribe a rehabilitation programme for the logged-over forests, a review of the present status and procedures followed in respect of each of the type - groups worked under various management systems followed by specific silvicultural prescription would appear desirable and pertinent. Under true natural conditions, devoid of all human interventions at any stage of regeneration and/or growth, could have resulted in the forests getting restocked adequately provided the removals were limited to incremental growth and adequate time was provided for natural recovery. Necessary conditions for natural management to be successful are: (i) adequacy of natural regeneration (ii) absence of adverse biotic factors and (iii) stable removal of wood 8 other products limited to annual growth. In the tropical evergreen and wet-evergreen forests of Andaman 8 Nicobar Islands, natural regeneration is considered to be satisfactory (Annex Ill). Biotic factors are not serious. Current timber harvests are limited to unworked, near-virgin stands. Even with good regeneration, declines in yields in the second rotation are anticipated. Diversions of forest lands for non-forest purposes, particularly for cash crops like rubber and oilpalms continue. In the northeastern region, the rapid development of plywood industry has led to excessive exploitation of all accessible forests, natural regeneration is unsatisfactory and logged-over areas are being restocked artificially. In the Western Ghats region also natural regeneration is unsatisfactory; biotic influences are very serious and felling cycles have been shortened inhibiting any natural recoupment. Thus in all the three regions the pressures for industrial woods are intense, and although recent relaxations in timber imports have relieved the present pressures the future is uncertain. Reliance is increasingly on man-made forests. In the moist deciduous sal forests, natural regeneration constitutes the most cri"tical factor. In almost all the valley, plain and hill sal tracts (parts of Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Assam, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh), despite earnest efforts, regeneration continues to be problematic and artificial plantation is being resorted to, often involving replacement of sal with teak, eucalyptus etc. In the moist deciduous teak forests too, with the exceptions of a few areas like Chanda in Maharashtra and Hoshangabad in Madhya Pradesh, uncertainty of natural regeneration has led to near total adoption of artificial plantations, although these are reported to cause site deterioration by way of soil loss (Seth and Kaul, 1978). The latter is relatively inexpensive and simple when resorted to by stump planting

44 The conditions in the mixed deciduous forests, are no different. Carried by the lure of enhancing the proportion of so called valuable species, large tracts of these mixed forests are being converted to pure monocrop plantations by artificial means. Most of the dry deciduous and thorn forests are managed under various coppice systems. Production of firewood and small timber, primarily to meet the local demands is the main objective of management. Coppice regeneration is generally satisfactory - but most of these forests being subjected to severe biotic pressures, specially fire and grazing, are leading to their accelerated degradation. Illicit removals are also posing serious problems. Management of any kind is becoming impossible. Consequently most of these forests are being restocked artificially after clearfelling the existing inferior stands. A similar situation exists in the case of forests predominantly used for bamboo, salai (Boswelia serrata) sandal wood (Santalum album) etc. Especially when the same forests are utilized for producing more than one product, incompatibilities arise and operations intended to benefit one become detrimental to the other viz. burning of tendu (Diospyros melanoxylon) for increased production of leaves with adverse consequences on natural regeneration of a large number of species. Biotic pressures have affected the regeneration, growing stock and increments so seriously as to render any management system ineffective. Nor can any research be of much avail. Given the above scenario, the rehabilitation techniques for the logged-over forests can only follow those initiated in the regularly managed forests under identical conditions of site factors and crop composition. The density, vigour and composition of the vegetation in each type group at various levels of retrogression may vary from habitat to habitat, depending upon local variation of soil, profile depth, fertility status, steepness, drainage, wind exposure etc. but there could be a general common-ness about the whole region. It would be difficult and unrealistic to draw hard and fast lines about the exact composition of tree/ground cover shrub species or even to' assign an exact position to each category of logged-over forests in each typegroup. Rehabilitation techniques may be classified in three categories as under: broad (1) Enrichment planting methods (2) Plantation establishment methods (3) Afforestation methods. 6.1 Enrichment planting methods Enrichment planting, as the term implies, is basically a process of supplementing the natural regeneration where the same is considered inadequate or deficient in respect of seedlings and saplings of desired species. In involves direct sowing or plantation of nursery-raised seedlings in natural gaps or regularly placed lines as group plantations or strip plantations through the thinned out matrix of the original forest. The manner of planting and intensity of enrichment is

45 determined by extent and species distribution of the natural regeneration present and desired. The enrichment planting in the narrow sense is applied to stands requiring partial or diffused planting in areas having inadequate or unevenly distributed stocking of natural regeneration. The line planting on the other hand is applied to stands having poor stocking of natural regeneration and therefore requiring enrichment plantings over the whole area. Considering the high costs of enrichment plantation methods, it is generally resorted to in high forests that have been logged-over under selection system resulting in reduction of commercial species of high economic value. Selection felling of natural forests involving the harvesting of a few desirable marketable species and leaving behind a large number of less marketable species amounts to a thinning operation in favour of useless species. If natural regeneration in such forests fails, technically there is a strong and justifiable case for enrichment planting. Such plantations are reported to have been carried out successfully in the degraded high forests and high quality closed forests in Malaysia and Philippines (JOFCA 1989). Extensive enrichment plantings have been undertaken with Mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) in the secondary growth forest in Sri Lanka with great success. Enrichment plantings have also been carried out in other countries of the tropical zone but with variable results. This is inevitable given the great variability of soil and site conditions and specified requirements of different species. In most of the evergreen, semi-evergreen forests of Assam and north eastern region of the country worked under selection system there is a complete dependence on natural regeneration. Working plans prescribe gap planting as a standard practice, in areas deficient in natural regeneration. Nursery raised seedlings of Veteria indica, Dipterocarpus macrocarpus Dichopsis ellipticum, Artocarpus hirsuta, Dysoxylon malabaricum etc. are planted and tended over a three year period. In the moist deciduous forests of Assam, Shorea assamica and phoebe goalparensis have been successfully planted out in partially clearfelled strips called tunnels under shade (Ghosh, 1977). The technique of tunnel plantation consists of clearing climbers, creepers, bamboos and low shade bearing middle storey trees so that overhead light infiltrates to the forest floor. Strips 2 m wide spaced 4 m apart are cleared of all the shrubs and trees below 1 m girth so that a sort of a tunnel is formed through the forest. Pits are dug at a distance of 2 m and nursery seedlings about 1 m high are planted during rains with a ball of earth around the roots. Weedings are regularly carried out. Thereafter the overhead canopy is manipulated by a gradual clearing to admit more light which helps the plants to grow. Similarly in the tropical evergreen forests of Andaman Islands, worked under selection system, where natural regeneration fails to appear or is inadequate in quality and number, seed of marketable species are dibbled or broadcast in gaps on felling sites or on extraction paths. Acrocarpus fraxinifolius, Michelia champaca, Phoebe goalparensis, Evodia rocburgii, Artocarpus spp. have been successfully

46 used for enrichment planting in supplementing natural regeneration. In the case of open sal forests of Uttar Pradesh significant areas have been rehabilitated by sowing sal seed in strips after cultivation. Apart from these few cases, enrichment planting in India may be considered as of limited applicability, even in Andamans where conditions for such efforts are probably the best. The prescriptions laid down are seldom adhered to. Gap planting or strip planting actually undertaken covers only a very small portion of the area felled annually. Although the number of trees felled is small the damage to other standing trees is very high. Even if only 10 trees/ha are felled, the resultant opening of the canopy may be as much as 50%. Drastic changes in light and moisture conditions encourage the growth of weeds, specially primary colonisers, impeding the establishment and growth of regeneration (Rai, 1979). Thus although technically enrichment planting is possible and desirable, the institutional and financial considerations prevent its widespread adoption. 6.2 Plantation establishment methods Plantation. development methods involve the restocking of loggedover forests through artificial regeneration or re-forestation. Plantation activity in the country is almost a century old and plantations have com~ to be recognized as an essential part of Indian forestry. On an overall basis artificial plantations appear to have an economic advantage over natural forest management systems due to their ability to produce timber in uniform stands at higher rates of growth in desired locations. Plantations also offer a much greater latitude in the choice of species than natural reproduction does. In case of unproductive lands such as degraded forests and scrublands artificial plantations provide the only practical means of rehabilitating such lands. Extensive trials have been carried out with major indigenous timber species as well as promising exotics. Planting techniques and methodologies have been standardized and fairly well established for most of the important Indian species as also for a number of exotics that have come into prominence from time to time. The last three decades ( ) have seen a considerable increase in the introduction and establishment of plantations of the fast growing species (short rotation crops) both for industrial use as well as for meeting the urgent fuelwood and small timber needs of the local communities under various social forestry programmes. Although pure plantations of mono-species are considered to exert a negative influence on the ecosystem, most plantation projects use only a few species for the purpose of simple management (coppice/clearfelling systems) and uniform end product. However all species are not suitable for all sites and a careful site-species matching is required to be exercised. Some nutrient inputs are also necessary to ensure tree establishment. Tree growth is affected by natural conditions of soil, water, vegetation and climate as well as in influenced by several biotic factors. Tree growth also requires comparatively longer periods between planting and harvesting. In spite of various experiments on soil preparation and fertilization