RMGT 230

Natural Resources Management

CBSUA
GS
Aries O. Ativo Lecture 4

Graduate School
Central Bicol State University of Agriculture
San Jose, Pili, CamarinesSur
1st Semester
Forest Resources: Status, Issues and Concerns
Topic Outline
• What is forest?
• Distribution
• Types
• Forest Resources
• State of Philippine Forest
• Forest Resource Management: Status, Issues and Concerns
Points to Ponder
• What is a tree?
• What is a forestland?
• Are all forest lands with trees?
• Are all deforestations happen in the uplands?
What is a Forest?
• A large area covered chiefly by trees and undergrowth.
• A complex ecosystem consisting mainly of trees that buffer the earth
and support a myriad of life forms. 
• A forest is an ecosystem or assemblage of ecosystems dominated by
trees and other woody vegetation. 
• Forests are ecosystems; a dynamic, constantly changing community of
living things, interacting with non-living components. 
Forest (UNFCCC, 2001)
• Forest' is a minimum area of land of 0.05-1.0 hectares with tree
crown cover (or equivalent stocking level) of more than 10-30 per
cent with trees with the potential to reach a minimum height of 2-5
meters at maturity in situ. A forest may consist either of closed forest
formations where trees of various storeys and undergrowth cover a
high proportion of the ground or open forest. Young natural stands
and all plantations which have yet to reach a crown density of 10-30
per cent or tree height of 2-5 meters are included under forest, as are
areas normally forming part of the forest area which are temporarily
unstocked as a result of human intervention such as harvesting or
natural causes but which are expected to revert to forest.
Forest (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA, 2001)
• Forest is a land area of more than 0.5 ha, with a tree canopy cover of
more than 10%, which is not primarily under agricultural or other
specific non-forest land use. In the case of young forests or regions
where tree growth is climatically suppressed, the trees should be
capable of reaching a height of 5 m in situ, and of meeting the canopy
cover requirement.
Forest (FRA 2000 Main Report)
• Forest includes natural forests and forest plantations. It is used to refer to land with a
tree canopy cover of more than 10 percent and area of more than 0.5 ha. Forests are
determined both by the presence of trees and the absence of other predominant land
uses. The trees should be able to reach a minimum height of 5 m. Young stands that
have not yet but are expected to reach a crown density of 10 percent and tree height
of 5 m are included under forest, as are temporarily unstocked areas. The term
includes forests used for purposes of production, protection, multiple-use or
conservation (i.e. forest in national parks, nature reserves and other protected areas),
as well as forest stands on agricultural lands (e.g. windbreaks and shelterbelts of trees
with a width of more than 20 m), and rubberwood plantations and cork oak stands.
• The term specifically excludes stands of trees established primarily for agricultural
production, for example fruit tree plantations. It also excludes trees planted in
agroforestry systems.
Forest
UNFCCC UNEP/CBD/ FRA
SBSTTA

SIZE (AREA) 0.05-1.0 ha More than 0.5 ha More than 0.5 ha

CROWN/ More than 10%

CANOPY COVER More than 30% More than 10%

TREE POTENTIAL
HEIGHT AT 2-5 meters 5 meters 5 meters
MATURITY
Common denominator: trees
Funny Tree Names
• Bayag usa (Voacanga globosa)
• Pukinggang kahoy (Clitoria racemosa)
• Tangisang bayawak
Forest stratification
Classifications of forests
• Forests are often broadly classified by biomes, which are forest types
corresponding to the climatic regions of the earth in which they occur.
• A biome is a major community of plants and animals, classified according to
its predominant vegetation and characterized by the adaptations of its
organisms to that particular environment
• There are three major forest biomes
1. Tropical
2. Temperate, and
3. Boreal.
Tropical Forest
• Tropical forests are characterized by the greatest diversity of species.
• They occur near the equator, within the area bounded by latitudes
23.5 degrees N and 23.5 degrees S.
• One of the major characteristics of tropical forests is their distinct
seasonality: winter is absent, and only two seasons are present (rainy
and dry).
• The length of daylight is 12 hours and varies little.
Tropical Forest: Characteristics
• Temperature is on average 20-25° C and varies little throughout the year: the average
temperatures of the three warmest and three coldest months do not differ by more than 5
degrees.
• Precipitation is evenly distributed throughout the year, with annual rainfall exceeding 200 cm.
• Soil is nutrient-poor and acidic. Decomposition is rapid and soils are subject to heavy leaching.
• Canopy in tropical forests is multi-layered and continuous, allowing little light penetration.
• Flora is highly diverse: one square kilometer may contain as many as 100 different tree species.
Trees are 25-35 m tall, with buttressed trunks and shallow roots, mostly evergreen, with large
dark green leaves. Plants such as orchids, bromeliads, vines (lianas), ferns, mosses, and palms
are present in tropical forests.
• Dense growing trees create a thick canopy layer in tropical rainforests that keep the sun from penetrating
to the lower layers of the forest. This means that most animals that live here must be adapted to living in
the trees. A variety of birds, bats, monkeys, snakes and other animals can be found in tropical rainforests.
Tropical Forest: Subdivisions
• Further subdivisions of this group are determined by seasonal
distribution of rainfall:
• evergreen rainforest: no dry season.
• seasonal rainforest: short dry period in a very wet tropical region (the forest
exhibits definite seasonal changes as trees undergo developmental changes
simultaneously, but the general character of vegetation remains the same as
in evergreen rainforests).
• semievergreen forest: longer dry season (the upper tree story consists of
deciduous trees, while the lower story is still evergreen).
• moist/dry deciduous forest (monsoon): the length of the dry season increases
further as rainfall decreases (all trees are deciduous).
Tropical Forest
Temperate Forest
• Temperate forests occur in eastern North America, northeastern Asia,
and western and central Europe. Well-defined seasons with a distinct
winter characterize this forest biome.

• Moderate climate and a growing season of 140-200 days during 4-6

frost-free months distinguish temperate forests.
Temperate Forest: Characteristics
• Temperature varies from -30° C to 30° C.
• Precipitation (75-150 cm) is distributed evenly throughout the year.
• Soil is fertile, enriched with decaying litter.
• Canopy is moderately dense and allows light to penetrate, resulting in well-
developed and richly diversified understory vegetation and stratification of animals.
• Flora is characterized by 3-4 tree species per square kilometer. Trees are
distinguished by broad leaves that are lost annually and include such species as oak,
hickory, beech, hemlock, maple, basswood, cottonwood, elm, willow, and spring-
flowering herbs.
• Fauna is represented by squirrels, rabbits, skunks, birds, deer, mountain lion, bobcat,
timber wolf, fox, and black bear.
Temperate Forest: Subdivisions
• Further subdivisions of this group are determined by seasonal
distribution of rainfall:
• moist conifer and evergreen broad-leaved forests: wet winters and dry summers
(rainfall is concentrated in the winter months and winters are relatively mild).
• dry conifer forests: dominate higher elevation zones; low precipitation.
• mediterranean forests: precipitation is concentrated in winter, less than 100 cm
per year.
• temperate coniferous: mild winters, high annual precipitation (greater than 200
cm).
• temperate broad-leaved rainforests: mild, frost-free winters, high precipitation
(more than 150 cm) evenly distributed throughout the year.
Temperate Forest
Boreal Forest (taiga)
• Boreal forests, or taiga, represent the largest terrestial biome.
• Occuring between 50 and 60 degrees north latitudes, boreal forests
can be found in the broad belt of Eurasia and North America: two-
thirds in Siberia with the rest in Scandinavia, Alaska, and Canada.
• Seasons are divided into short, moist, and moderately warm summers
and long, cold, and dry winters. The length of the growing season in
boreal forests is 130 days.
Boreal Forest (taiga): Characteristics
• Temperatures are very low.
• Precipitation is primarily in the form of snow, 40-100 cm annually.
• Soil is thin, nutrient-poor, and acidic.
• Canopy permits low light penetration, and as a result, understory is
limited.
• Flora consist mostly of cold-tolerant evergreen conifers with needle-
like leaves, such as pine, fir, and spruce.
• Fauna include woodpeckers, hawks, moose, bear, weasel, lynx, fox,
wolf, deer, hares, chipmunks, shrews, and bats.
Boreal Forest (taiga)
Rainforests
• There are two types of rainforests -- tropical and temperate.
• Tropical and temperate rainforests share certain characteristics. For
example, most trees flare at the base. Vegetation is dense, tall
and very green.
• Both types of rainforests are rich in plant and animal species,
although the diversity is greater in the tropical rainforest.
Rainforest
Are all tropical forests, rainforests?
• Only a small percentage of the tropical forests are rainforests. To be a
tropical rainforest, forested areas must: 
• Lie between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. 
• Receive rainfall regularly throughout the year (80-400 inches per
year).
• Remain warm and frost free all year long (mean temperatures are
between 21° and 29°C) with very little daily fluctuation.
Philippine Forest
• Mangrove Forest
• Beach Forest
• Molave
• Dipterocap Forest
• Pine Forest
• Mossy Forest
Forest Resources and Uses
• Timber • Cultural
• Non-Timber • Aesthetic
• Vines • Gene bank
• Rattan
• Productive
• Medicinal plants
• Food
• Lianas, etc.
• Medicines
• Water • Dye
• Wildlife • Protective
• Home
Are all forest lands with trees?
State of Philippine Forest
Land Classification
Excerpt from PD 705 as amended by PD 1559. Signed by Pres. Marcos on May 19, 1975
Extent of Forest Cover Loss in the last 100 years
Less than 6%
of the country’s
original
forest remains!
• In the 1950s, only three-fourths of
the archipelago was covered with
forest, according to the (DENR). 
• By 1972, the figure had shrunk to
half, and by 1988 only quarter was
wooded and just one tiny fraction
of this was virgin forest.
• The United Nations Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO) said
about 7,665,000 hectares of the
country is forested.  Between 1990
and 2010, the country lost an
average of 54,750 hectares per
year.
Contributing factors
• Logging (destructive logging, legal and illegal logging, carabao logging)
• Kaingin (swidden farming)
• Mining operations
• Poor forest protection and law enforcement
• Natural calamities
• Population growth
Deforestation is not limited to uplands

In 1981, there were an estimated

450,000 hectares of mangrove areas
in the country.  Since then, there has
been a decreasing trend from
375,000 hectares in 1950 to about
120,000 hectares in 1995.
Solutions anyone?
Sometimes you lose a
forest
through the trees
- Chinese Proverb
References
UCMP. The Forest Biome. University of California Museum of Palaeontology.
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/biomes/forests.php

FAO. 2002. Second Expert Meeting on Harmonizing Forest-related Definitions for Use by Various
Stakeholders. http://www.fao.org/docrep/005/y4171e/y4171e00.htm#TopOfPage

DOD. Types of Forests. Defenders of Wildlife. http://www.defenders.org/forest/types-forests