Malaysia's Pasoh Research Centre gains international recognition for tropical rainforest studies
by Tho Yow Pong
Tho Yow Pong
Research Coordinator
Pasoh Forest Research Centre
Kepong, Selangor, Malaysia
The Pasoh Forestry Research Centre is a 2 000-hectare reserve situated near the small village of Simpang Pertang in Negri Sembilan, about a 2 1/2-hour drive from Kuala Lumpur. The major part of the area is under lowland dipterocarp forest. Toward the eastern boundary, the terrain rises to about 610 metres and the forest here is represented by a stand of beautiful hill dipterocarp forest. Much of the core area within the reserve is still untouched by man, but the surrounding areas have been logged in the past, providing many examples of regenerating lowland forest. Even so, the Centre is a good representative of the tropical rain-forest ecosystem in Malaysia.
Between 1970 and 1974, the original Pasoh Forest Reserve was the site of an intensive research programme into the ecology and dynamics of the tropical rain-forest environment under the auspices of the International Biological Programme (IBP). During these years, many aspects of lowland forest ecology were researched by teams of international scientists, particularly from Japan and the United Kingdom, working in close collaboration with local scientists. Subjects studied included productivity, flora, soil and soil nutrients, hydrology, nutrient cycling, and fauna.
With such accumulated background information, the Pasoh Forest Reserve, which was designated in 1977 by the Forest Department of Malaysia as one of the research sub-stations of the Forest Research Institute and renamed the Pasoh Forestry Research Centre, has become an extremely important field site for ecological studies on the tropical rain-forest ecosystem. It has now, in fact, been designated as an International Biosphere Reserve under the Man and Biosphere Programme sponsored by Unesco.
There are many established permanent plots within the Centre where studies such as phenology and growth rate of trees, and seedling and regeneration studies are being continuously monitored. Physical facilities have been considerably improved and research scientists can stay comfortably at the Centre itself. A small laboratory is also available to research workers. There is now a resident Station Manager and a Research Officer, who are assisted by a labour force of seven people.
The projects now being undertaken at the Centre include studies on termites and their role in decomposition, regeneration and mortality factors of forest tree seedlings, insects and their relation to the reproductive biology of trees, plant succession, the phenology of trees, and small mammal and bird population dynamics.
The Centre welcomes active participation both from other institutes and from local and international scientists. A start has already been made in this direction with a joint programme of research into the reproductive biology of timber trees by the University of Malaysia and the University of Aberdeen. Scotland, based at the Centre itself.
Sri Lanka moves to protect indigenous plants and trees before they disappear
The island nation of Sri Lanka is embarking on a unique forestry experiment. An active programme of reforestation has been under way for a number of years, about 126 000 hectares having been planted by the end of 1979. The largest area is in teak, with lesser amounts of mahogany, eucalypts, pine, and miscellaneous species. However, in the last few years there has been increasing concern about the effect such exotic monocultures may have on the island's environment and native fauna and flora. Therefore the State Timber Corporation, a government agency whose main responsibility has been the harvesting and marketing of timber, plans to establish mixed forests of mainly indigenous species that will more closely resemble the original native forests. Species to be used will include those having edible seeds or fruits, fibre or other plant products, medicinal value, etc. as well as those producing fuelwood, pulpwood, and timber.
All available ecological information about each species will be compiled and stored in a computer. This will then be programmed to produce lists of species that are adapted to the site characteristics of any area to be reforested. From these lists, mixtures of species can be selected that are compatible and that fit the reforestation objectives set for the particular area.
The techniques developed in this pioneering effort could prove useful in tropical forest areas throughout the world. Comments, suggestions and inquiries are welcome. The project manager is:
Dr Ranil Senanayake
State Timber Corporation
7, Vajira Lane
Colombo 5, Sri Lanka
Food, energy and economic order are critical issues, say UN diplomats
A survey of UN diplomats, carried out by the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), shows that they feel that the most critical world economic issues are: increasing food production, the energy problem and the establishment of a new economic order. The diplomats believe that the United Nations has a better than even chance of achieving results in the next 12 months only in the area of agricultural productivity.
New US forestry support network
Three US government agencies have created a new, four-year international forest resources support network. The three agencies - the USDA Forest Service, the Agency for International Development (AID) and the Peace Corps - have signed a cooperation agreement to create the network. One aim is to put experienced foresters in the field in each of the major tropical regions (Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America) to provide guidance and assistance to AID missions, Peace Corps volunteers and developing country agencies. The project also envisages a series of regional symposia and an international conference on tropical forestry.
Tropical forestry conservation and management lesson
A 1979 slide-tape package entitled "Tropical rain forests: use and protection" is available from Unesco for US$55.00. The package includes 74 colour slides, a 23-minute cassette tape and a booklet with script and instructions for use with a standard slide projector and cassette tape-recorder. The audiovisual presentation covers major environmental issues of the humid tropics and illustrates interdisciplinary problem-oriented research methods applied to resource management.
Unique reforestation in Indonesia
Indonesia's state forest corporation, Perum Perhutani, is using a unique method of reforestation called "MA-MA" on one part of the Island of Java. The name "MA-MA" derives from the names of two towns, Maland and Mageland, which have similar forest and soil conditions.
MA-MA reforestation, started in 1978, divides land assigned to contractors into four equal strips. The first strip can be cultivated by an agricultural crop of the contractor's choice, but the next three strips are to be planted with three differing tree species having different harvest rotations. The second strip, for example, might be planted with Calliandra, which can be harvested in five years: the third strip might be planted with Acacia and harvested in 10 years; and the fourth stocked with Pinus merkusii to be harvested in 15 years.
When the second strip is logged, hypothetically, after five years, it is then turned over to agricultural crops. The first strip, which had been producing annual agricultural crops, is then planted with P. merkusii for felling 15 years hence. The rotation proceeds along these lines so that after 20 years each strip has produced one five-year period of farm products and at least one kind of tree. After 35 years each of the four strips will have grown three different kinds of trees in addition to food crops.
Treatment of seeds for containers
Seeds used to grow southern pines in containers should be handled properly both before and after sowing to ensure maximum survival. In an article in the "Southern Journal of Applied Forestry" (3(1): 19-22, 1979), W.H. Pawuk and J.P. Barnett describe in detail how this should be done.
First, bad seeds should be removed through techniques such as flotation. The leftover good seeds, if they are stored, should first be dried to less than 10 percent moisture content and then kept at temperatures below 0°C. Disease problems can be reduced by sterilizing seeds with hydrogen peroxide or by treating them with a fungicide. After sowing, soil moisture and temperature should be closely monitored to ensure good germination.
Ivory Coast lost 70% of its forests in 20 years
In the last 20 years the Ivory Coast has lost 70 percent of its forests, turning what was in 1973 the world's fifth biggest wood exporter (and Africa's largest) into a nation on the verge of forest bankruptcy.
According to a recent article in the Financial Times of London, the dense tropical forests of the Ivory Coast covered 10 million hectares in 1960 but have shrunk to only three million hectares today and are still disappearing at a rate of 500000 hectares per year. Insufficient reforestation plus agricultural clearing in areas opened up by logging are among the causes of the present crisis condition.
Reforestation during this period never exceeded 3 000 hectares annually. The effort, however, will now be more than doubled thanks to a $47.3 million project launched by the Ivory Coast government ($17.3 m), the World Bank ($18 m) and the Commonwealth Development Corporation ($12 m). Plans are to reforest 20 000 hectares over the next five years.
In a recent speech to the seventh party congress, Ivory Coast President Felix Houphouet-Boigny said that saving the forests was a matter of national necessity and that logging would be progressively reduced until it covered only domestic needs. In addition, agriculture in the dense forests has been banned. Both measures, however, are expected to be difficult to enforce.
Ireland is becoming a timber-surplus country
Irish Forestry Policy, a report of the Irish National Economic and Social Council, is a surprising publication. It not only reveals that domestic production of pulpwood was in excess of demand by 1979, but it predicts that this will reach a level that is actually double the country's demand by 1983. And while Ireland is presently a net importer of sawn wood, it could become a net exporter within 10 years. All this in a country where only five percent of the total land area is in forest and where no land can be used for forestry unless it is certified as unusable for agriculture.
Since Great Britain is a close and ready market and since Europe is expected to have a timber deficit of I 15 million m3 by 2000, Ireland would appear to face no problems in disposing of its projected surplus of 3 million m3.
A review of the book appears in the British Commonwealth Forestry Re view, Vol. 59 (3), No. 181, September 1980, p. 352-3.
Frank Convery, of Duke University in the United States, was hired to make the study for the National Economic and Social Council in 1977. The 225-page report is available for £2.25 from The Stationery Office, Dublin.
18 years ago blast furnaces were run on charcoal in the USSR, Japan and Sweden
Collective forgetfulness has virtually obliterated the fact that up to recent times charcoal was still being used to make iron in certain major industrial countries.
This was reported in Unasylva 18 years ago ("Use of charcoal in blast furnace operations," Vol. 18, No. 72, page 36).
In the USSR, an unknown number of charcoal blast furnaces are in operation and Japan produces some 30 000 tons of charcoal iron annually. In Sweden the use of charcoal has declined mainly because of its high cost caused by competition for the raw material from the pulp and paper industries but, as late as 1948, 31 percent of the pig iron production was made with charcoal. In Sweden, charcoal has been mainly produced from softwoods giving a product with relatively low density, whereas in Japan metallurgical charcoal is produced from oak and is of high density.
New chemical for hardwood control in North America
In tests of seven new chemicals for hardwood control in the United States over a period of six years, glyphosate proved to be the most effective. It brought better results than both 2,4-D amine and Tordon 101R, which are widely used today. Since it can be applied in small, undiluted dosages over a very wide spacing of incisions, it has the added advantage of also reducing labour costs. These research results were reported in 1979 in the US Dept. of Agriculture, Forest Service Research Paper SO-150 by W.F. Mann, Jr.
Protecting wooden windows
A recent study shows that the common method of protecting wooden window units from decay using penta-chlorophenol dip is superior to two alternative methods, one using ammonia gas and the other ammonium hydroxide under high temperature conditions.
Windows made from ammoniated wood, after four years of exposure, were shown to have absorbed more moisture, demonstrated less stability and resulted in chemical paint discoloration and the growth of green algae.
The study, made by Terry L. Amburgey and Bruce R. Johnson, appeared in Forest products journal (29/2: 23-28. 1979). The authors recommend further experiments with other treatments for sills and lower frames.
How to cut chips
Analysis of orthogonal cutting forces and chip formation in 22 different southern US hardwoods has resulted in distinct conclusions, as reported by G.E. Woodson in the US Dept. of Agriculture, Forest Service Research Paper SO-146, 1979.
Continuous veneer chip types were formed at high-rake angles in saturated wood. Cross-cut chip types resulted from high rake angles and high moisture content. Planning chip types were produced best when making thin cuts or when using intermediate rake angles of about 20°. However, two failures were reported regarding planning chip types: one, at low-rake angles in low-density, diffuse, porous hardwoods, crushing occurred; and the other, cantilever-type failures were seen in all species at high-rake angles and low moisture content.
