This paper summarises work on modelling global plantation woodflows carried out as part of the FAO Global Forest Products Outlook Study Thematic Study on Plantations (GFPOS/WP/03).
In 1995 there were about 123.7 million hectares of plantation forests. This excludes trees like rubber and various palms that are usually classified as non-forest plantations. The majority of forest plantations are in Asia and about 83% are being grown for industrial purposes. Tropical and subtropical areas have about 45% of all forest plantations. Some 54 percent of these plantations are less than 15 years old and only 2 percent over 50 years. Current planting rates are estimated to be about 750 000 ha yr-1.
Current estimates by FAO are that forest plantations provide about 414 million m3 yr-1 of roundwood; some other estimates are higher than this. Forest plantations are providing about 27 to 35 percent of current industrial wood demand. By 2010 FAO estimates the production from industrial plantations will increase to about 600 million m3 yr-1. The increase for this will come from trees already in the ground. Three future scenarios for industrial roundwood production through to 2050 are discussed and show that plantations will likely increase their proportion of the increasing roundwood demand. It is difficult to predict where future planting of industrial plantations will occur but it is likely to be largely in Asia (most notably in China), Oceania and South America.
