INTENSIVE SILVICULTURAL

SYSTEM: COMPONENT
ACTIVITIES
TOPICS

1.Site Selection
2.Reforestation Planning/Plantation management planning
3.Forest Tree Seed Technology
4.Forest Nursery
5.Forest Plantation Establishment and Maintenance
6.Inputs and Outputs of Intensive Silvicultural System
SITE SELECTION

• The first activity in

regeneration/reproduction system is the
site selection.
• Successful growth of trees planted is
dependent on the site where it is
planted.
• Need to consider the soil conditions,
moisture availability, slope, aspect,
light availability.
 Plant Growth

Soil Site

Soil Elevati
Type Soil on Slope
Porosity

Soil pH
Soil Annual Aspect
Structure Rainfall/Climat s
Soil Bulk
Density e Type
Soil
Soil Composition
Acidity and Texture
 SITE SELECTION

• Climate (Temperature, rainfall, relative humidity and wind)

• Soil - depth of soil and its capacity to retain moisture, texture,
structure, parent material, pH, degree of compaction, and
drainage.
• Topography - important for its modifying effects on both
climate and soil.
• Vegetation - composition and ecological characteristics of
natural and (when present) introduced vegetation. On areas
which have not been degraded by man, the vegetation can
provide an indication of the site. Unfortunately, over much of
the arid world, the vegetation has been so disturbed that it is
no longer a reliable indicator of potential planting sites; in these
situations, site selection should be based on soil surveys.
• Other biotic factors - past history and present land use
influences on the site, including fire, domestic livestock and
wild animals, insects and diseases.
SITE SELECTION

• Watertable levels - a knowledge of the depth and

variation of the watertable levels in the wet and dry
seasons is valuable and can be crucial in determining
the tree and shrub species that can be grown.
Watertable levels can be estimated from observations
in wells or by borings made for this purpose.
• - Availability of supplementary water sources - ponds,
lakes, streams, and other water sources.
• - Distance from nursery.
 SITE SELECTION

Apart from the above biophysical information,

socio-economic factors also play an important role.
Among these factors are:
- The availability of labour.
- Motivation of the local population.
- The distance of the forest plantation to the
market and consumer centers.
- Land ownership and tenure.
SELECTION OF PLANTING SITE

Policy makers

Who will
decide Planting
Foresters where to crews
plant?

Based on site
reconnaissance
SELECTION OF THE PLANTING SITE

• The key is to select the site that, when planted,

will lead to the establishment of a successful
forest plantation.
• the choice of the planting site is limited to lands
which are not suited for agriculture or livestock
production; when this is the case, the site
reconnaissance information gains importance.
• The boundaries of the planting site, once the area has been chosen, should be
marked with boundary posts.
 Boundary fence should be established when there is presence of grazing
animals or danger of trespassing
 Fencing is costly and, therefore, should only be built when other means of
protection are not effective. Once a forest plantation is well established and
the trees are sufficiently tall, the fences can be removed and reused at
another planting site.
 tree and shrub planting is undertaken to protect fragile sites from
degradation. However, in some situations, the fragile sites should not be
planted; it may be better not to disturb the soil in these areas. Where gullies
have been severely degraded by erosion, protective measures other than the
planting of vegetation (such as building small checkdams) may be necessary.
 SPECIES SELECTION
• the aim is to choose species which are suited to the site, will remain
healthy throughout the anticipated rotation, will produce acceptable
growth and yield, and will meet the objectives of the plantation
(fuelwood production, protection, etc.).

• For a successful planting, performance data may have to be

extrapolated from one locality to another. Results from a locality where
a tree or shrub species is growing (either naturally or as an exotic)
strictly apply only to that locality; their application in another locality
involves the assumption of site comparability, an assumption which
may or may not be justified. When reliable information shows a close
similarity between the site to be planted and that on which the species
is already successful, it is generally possible to proceed to large-scale
planting with confidence.
 PREPARATION OF THE PLANTING SITE

Among the objectives of site preparation in arid zones are to:

- Remove competing vegetation from the site.
- Create conditions that will enable the soil to catch and absorb as
much rainfall as possible. Surface runoff should be reduced to
increase the moisture in the soil.
- Provide good rooting conditions for the planting, including a sufficient
volume of rootable soil. Hardpans must be eliminated.
- Create conditions where danger from fire and pests is minimized.
TIME OF PLANTING
 Planting season :

 Rainy season (Planting can also

be initiated when the soil is wet
to a specified depth
(approximately 20
centimeters).
 This amount of precipitation
must be judged on the basis of
local knowledge
PLANTING OF CONTAINERIZED STOCK
• A good practice for the preparation of planting holes is to
surround the planting pit with a small ridge (15 to 20
centimeters in height) of soil, to obtain a small basin (about
80 centimeters in diameter); this is especially helpful when
the plants are watered individually after planting.
• A threat to newly-planted trees in arid zones is the high rate of transpiration
• To reduce the damage of root malformation in containerized plants, a common practice is to remove
the container from the soil cylinder before planting and make two or three vertical incisions to a depth
of one centimeter with a knife to cut "strangler" roots. As a further precaution, the bottom 0.5 to 1
centimeter of the soil cylinder can be sliced off. Care must be used to ensure that the soil does not
disintegrate and expose the roots to desiccation.
•
• Reference:
• https://www.fao.org/3/t0122e/t0122e07.htm