Based on thorough bibliographic research of a highly controversial topic, this report, jointly sponsored by IUCN, UNEP and WWF, shows the potential of plantations, while also exposing problems which may arise if massive tree plantations proposed for the tropics are to be established. Major issues covered include; species selection, soil and water cycle effects, fires, pests and diseases, effects on biodiversity, carbon dioxide fixation, land tenure and social issues, and plantation economics. Some broad conclusions and guidelines to be considered when establishing large scale plantations in the tropics complete this study.

Global demand for forest products is increasing daily. This implies an incremental pressure on tropical and subtropical forests to supply wood products. Natural forests continue to supply wood, although their capacity is decreasing steadily. We are depending more and more on forest plantations to satisfy industrial needs for solid wood as well as pulpwood. Fortunately, the warm climates have an enormous potential to produce wood fiber when the production is based on applied science. By selecting the appropriate species for given sites and the use of the principles of silviculture and genetic improvement, tree plantations can often produce more than 50 m3/ha/year. Because of their capacity for rapid growth, the tropical and subtropical regions have a great advantage over the temperate regions. William Ladrach has dedicated more than 40 years to the research and management of forest plantations in various parts of the world, principally in Central and South America. This book, Applied Forest Management for Tropical and Subtropical Plantations, provides a guide to future forest production. It is a guide to applied forestry and covers subjects from viewpoints of the biological, ecological, economic and industrial sciences. This work is of great value to foresters, students, industrial managers, researchers and others who work in equatorial countries. It will have a strong and positive impact on the establishment of tree plantations during the coming decades.

Development of planted forests in tropical and subtropical countries is accelerating to satisfy the ever-growing global demand for wood products. It is expected that within 20 years half of all wood fibre in the world will be sourced from plantations, of which more than half are in the tropics and subtropics. As well as intensively managed industrial wood plantations, trees are increasingly being planted as part of farming systems - to control erosion and rehabilitate degraded lands and forests.Plantation Forestry in the Tropics provides an overview that sets plantation silviculture in the wider context of development processes and their social, environmental and ecological impacts. The structure and approach of previous editions have been retained but every chapter has been comprehensively revised and updated. Two new chapters, one on clonal forestry, the other on ecological restoration, have been added.

Tree species are indispensable to support human life. Due to their long life cycle and environmental sensitivity, breeding trees to suit day-to-day human needs is a formidable challenge. Whether they are edible or industrial crops, improving yield under optimal, sub-optimal and marginal areas calls for uni?ed efforts from the s- entistsaroundtheworld. Whiletheuniquenessofcoconutaskalpavriksha(Sanskr- meaning tree-of-life) marks its presence in every continent from Far East to South America, tree crops like cocoa, oil palm, rubber, apple, peach, grapes and walnut prove their environmental sensitivity towards tropical, sub-tropical and temperate climates. Desert climate is quintessential for date palm. Thus, from soft drinks to breweries to beverages to oil to tyres, the value addition offers a spectrum of pr- ucts to human kind, enriched with nutritional, environmental, ?nancial, social and trade related attributes. Taxonomically, tree crops do not con?ne to a few families, but spread across a section of genera, an attribute so unique that contributes immensely to genetic biodiversity even while cultivated at the commercial scale. Many of these species in?uence other ?ora to nurture in their vicinity, thus ensuring their integrity in p- serving the genetic biodiversity. While wheat, rice, maize, barley, soybean, cassava andbananamakeup themajorfoodstaples,manyfruittreespeciescontributegreatly tonutritionalenrichment inhumandiet. Theediblepartofthesespeciesisthesource of several nutrients that makes additives for the daily diet of humans, for example, vitamins, sugars, aromas and ?avour compounds, and raw material for food proce- ing industries. Tree crops face an array of agronomic and horticultural problems in propagation, yield, appearance, quality, diseases and pest control, abiotic stresses and poor shelf-life.

Plantation forests often have a negative image. They are typically assumed to be poor substitutes for natural forests, particularly in terms of biodiversity conservation, carbon storage, provision of clean drinking water and other non-timber goods and services. Often they are monocultures that do not appear to invite people for recreation and other direct uses. Yet as this book clearly shows, they can play a vital role in the provision of ecosystem services, when compared to agriculture and other forms of land use or when natural forests have been degraded. This is the first book to examine explicitly the non-timber goods and services provided by plantation forests, including soil, water and biodiversity conservation, as well as carbon sequestration and the provision of local livelihoods. The authors show that, if we require a higher provision of ecosystem goods and services from both temperate and tropical plantations, new approaches to their management are required. These include policies, methods for valuing the services, the practices of small landholders, landscape approaches to optimise delivery of goods and services, and technical issues about how to achieve suitable solutions at the scale of forest stands. While providing original theoretical insights, the book also gives guidance for plantation managers, policy-makers, conservation practitioners and community advocates, who seek to promote or strengthen the multiple-use of forest plantations for improved benefits for society. Published with CIFOR