General
Fundamental science
Silviculture
Logging and engineering
Forest injuries and protection
Forest management
Industry and trade
Forest products and their utilization
Forest policy
The items appearing here are condensed selections of news thought to be of interest to readers of UNASYLVA. They are grouped alphabetically by countries under headings currently used by the Forestry Division for reference purposes. FAO assumes no responsibility for statements in news items accepted in good faith from outside contributors.
CEYLON
· The last annual report of the Chief of the Ceylon Forest Service announces the opening of a forestry field training school for rangers, who for various reasons are unable to attend the Forestry College at Coimbatore, and also for forest guards. During two three-month courses the training school, which has two centers, one in the dry and the other in the wet zone of Ceylon, has trained 17 rangers or assistant -rangers and 35 guards.
CHILE
· An FAO officer writes of an air journey from Santiago to Balmaceda in Aysen province which provided him with an excellent opportunity for observation. He noticed that there were still extensive patches of natural forest, apparently Nothofagus obliqua, little damaged by fire on the foothills of the Andes as far north as the provinces of Linares and Nable between 36° and 37° S. The worst instance of destruction by fire seen north of Valdivia province was at 38° S., immediately to the west of Malleco National Forest in Malleco province. South of the region of Villarica Volcano, the pure forests of Nothofagus pumilio at high elevations immediately below the tree line stood out prominently the foliage of this species being bright with autumn colors.
After Lago todos los Santos, the configuration became much more mountainous and rugged with narrow deep, steep-sided fjords running from the sea far into the heart of the region, and further inland there was a confused mass of higher mountains many of them with ice caps, intersected by deep valleys. In this region, the eastern portion of Llanquihue, there was a comparatively narrow coastal strip covered with dense evergreen forest which included even the rounded summits of the lower mountains.
Inland, where the mountains were much higher, their upper portions above the tree line were bare and rocky and frequently covered with small glaciers or snow. Evergreen forests were limited to the valleys and their place was taken at higher elevations by deciduous forests of Nothofagus pumilio and N. antartica. Sparse forests of these species occurred up to the tree line, and the growth on the northern or sunny aspects was notably more profuse than that on the southern aspects. Much forest in the valleys had been destroyed by fire, presumably for pasture.
Though the mountains of this region appeared forbidding in aspect the climate in the valleys is fairly mild, but the difficulties of communication have up till now impeded agricultural development. In many cases, also, the valley floors need drainage. Apart from the valleys the rest of the region consists of lower slopes which could be kept permanently under forest, while forest growth on the upper slopes is physically impossible.
Further south, in Chiloe continental and in the northern portion of Aysen province, where the main chain of the Andes comes nearer the coast, and also inland from the high snow or ice-covered peaks on the eastern or Argentine side, the configuration was much less rugged. Here the FAO officer observed comparatively low, smoother hills, many wide valleys, lakes and extensive forests, again apparently mainly of Nothofagus pumilio and N. antartica.
This inland region, comprising the upper portions of river valleys which cut their way westwards through the main chain, was more densely populated than the region to north and west. Many scattered settlements were seen, both on the valley floors and on the low hills, as well as many sawmills eating their way into the forests and leaving desolation behind them. The wide valleys of this region have extensive areas of swampy land. Forests were mainly on the lower slopes while the hill tops had sparse vegetation and were free from snow during the summer months.
Balmaceda, at the end of the journey, is a small village on a bare windswept plain close to the Argentine frontier and lies on the eastern limit of tree vegetation imposed by climatic conditions. To southeast and east of Balmaceda there is no tree growth, but to the northwest there are forests of Nothofagus antartica and N. pumilio (mainly pure forests of the latter) which are stunted at first but attain fair height growth on the low hills between Balmaceda and Coyhaique.
KENYA
· A revised program of forest research dealing largely with silviculture, has recently been worked out as part of the program of the Fast African Agriculture and Forestry Research Organization. The main lines of work for some years are to be:1. collection, analysis and distribution of the available information now widely scattered and unusable. This will involve preparation of a manual of East African trees, compilation of a list of introduced exotics, preparation of a bulletin on seed of indigenous and introduced species, compilation of a forest bibliography, and preparation of a glossary of technical terms;
2. standardization of research procedure;
3. study of softwood problems including both seed and nursery problems, and covering planting-out problems and trial of further exotics
4. stock taking or enumeration
5. improving present unsatisfactory methods for regeneration of hardwoods
6. determination of the effects of short-term cropping of wattle and gums on deterioration of the soil;
7. preparation of yield tables for important species, based on sample plots.
In addition, the organization is conducting work in forest pathology particularly that of the native cypress.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
· The U.S. Department of Agriculture Library has issued several specialized bibliographies. One covers the economics of forestry, with 3,821 titles for the United States and Canada for the years 1940-1947, bringing up to date earlier bibliographies. The field is taken to cover value and price aspects of1. forest and forest land use and tenure
2. forest management for timber water, forage, wildlife, recreation or other forest products;
3. industry based directly on forest products;
4. marketing of forest products
5. consumption of forest products.
A second, already mentioned in Unasylva, covers the forests of continental Latin America, with 1,957 selected titles for the period 1920 to 1950. The bibliography includes general items and, separately for each country, forest descriptions, trees timber and utilization of species.
A third bibliography, which covers the grading of logs and trees, includes both North American material, that selected from other continents and much that has so far remained unpublished.
· The State of Wisconsin has long placed great emphasis on conservation education of both youth and adult groups. Questionnaires were given recently to several thousand people in selected groups in an effort to estimate the success of the educational program to date to determine areas in which strengthening was both needed and feasible.
A major result was to discover that neither high school graduates nor the general run of citizens had yet been reached by sufficient information on conservation nor of the principles behind it. Improvement can be obtained in several directions by:
1. strengthening and expanding teacher training in conservation by all feasible means2. emphasizing outdoor teaching of conservation
3. expanding the already established system of school forests
4. increasing attention to teacher training, especially through providing full-time conservation program advisors, assistants and consultants;
5. strengthening the financing of conservation education; and
6. working towards the establishment of a separate course in conservation at senior high school level.
CANADA
· Of the various systems of site classification few have given practical consideration to the total site complex. A recent, field-tested method for classifying and evaluating the forest sites of Ontario undertakes to deal with the site as a whole. (Ontario Department of Lands and Forests, Division of Research, Research Report No. 24).
The main elements of the site may be grouped into:
(a) physiographic, the inorganic features of environment outside the works of man;
(b) biologic, the organic portions aside from man and domestic animals;
(c) cultural, man and his physical works, and domestic animals.
The most stable, though not necessarily most important, group is the physiographic, and it is therefore the primary point of reference, suitable whether the system of classification is to be local, regional or national in scope. The main groups of physiographic elements are:
(a) the ecoclimate, the climate to tree top level
(b) the soil moisture regime;
(c) the nutrient regime.
Each can be conveniently subdivided into eleven classes, ranging from least to most.
Biologic features include the stage of succession and the genetic composition of the plant population that is, whether available seed will give improved or deteriorated reproduction. Through a correlation of physiographic features, biologic features and the effects of cultural controls in regard to the biotic community and its changing total environment, it is possible to rate the capability of main physiographic sites for production of important species and types variously managed. Best adjustment of forest crop to total site also involves consideration of probable economic-social conditions expected to exist until the crop is harvested.
Mapping of sites on a regional scale as well as smaller units has proved practicable with this system. This approach and classification should provide the forester with a tool for the complex task of best utilizing the potential of each site. There is also much of value here for workers in other countries.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
· A comprehensive study has been made by the Southeastern Forest Experiment Station on hereditary variation as the basis for selecting superior forest trees. The problem is an urgent one for, although over 200 million young trees are planted annually, the seed used is collected where it is abundant and cheap rather than from superior trees and stands, and common silvicultural practice is to cut the better trees rather than reserve them to regenerate new stands. Thus the broad trend of practice is toward a degeneration of future forests.
To maintain the genetic quality of present stands and to improve those of the future, the following steps are needed:
1. establishment of new stands by planting or natural methods with seed from the best trees in the best stands2. tests, with seed or grafted material, of the best trees, stands, and races to isolate the best types so that superior seed can be produced in the future
3. a program of tree breeding to create new types.
The first two steps assume that heritable variations occur between trees and that they can be recognized. These assumptions are valid based on world experience to date. In the traditional argument on heredity versus environment, foresters in the region tend too strongly to accept the dominance of environment, and recognize too little the opportunities for improvement due to genetic variation within species.
Heritable variation, as work in many countries has shown, may arise from various combinations of genes that control growth and form, through mutations-that is, sudden variations and through variations between populations. The process of selection for tree improvement may be done either en masse or with individual plants, and both broad methods, with their subsidiary categories, can be applied in forestry. Selection may be made either for single traits, or preferably for a combination of desirable traits, and the objectives require somewhat different approaches, although single traits form the basis for combinations.
Vigor as measured by diameter height and basal area has been found to vary greatly within even-aged stands of southern pines and can be identified readily. Selection for quality is more complex, involving such factors as straightness of stem, amount of butt flare, self-pruning qualities rapidity of growth, straightness of grain, form of branching and other factors. In species grown for special purposes, such as for veneers, other factors come into the process of selection for quality, such as figure of grain, durability of wood, etc. Selection for resistance to disease and insect pests is of the greatest importance with some species.
In the application of selection to silviculture in general, volume growth is perhaps more important than quality, but inherent vigor is more difficult to manipulate through silvicultural practices than quality, and in selection of seed trees and reserve trees the forester should apply considerations of vigor, quality and resistance. As genetical viewpoints and techniques are more widely applied in the region, it is hoped to identify and mark superior trees and stands so that they may be available for detailed work by the regional Institute of Forest Genetics. As practitioners the men who conduct silvicultural marking and seed collecting operations learn to look for, identify and put into practice the findings so far developed, improvement in the vast stands of the region should come about.
UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS
· A study carried out by the Dokuchaev Institute for Research on the Soils of the Central "Chernozem" (black soil) Region on the effect of shelterbelts on micro-climate, compared the micro-climate of the steppe with that of land surrounded on all sides by belts planted with a mixture of elm, ash, birch and much oak The average height of the trees varied between 16½ and 21½ m. and the width of the belts between 10 and 43 m. except in the east where width was standard at 106 meters. The fields enclosed by shelterbelts measured roughly 600 x 400 m.
In the region under study the same crop rotation was followed on all farms-forage, fallow and grain -and the fields under observation were either lying fallow or under winter wheat.
It was found that wind velocity 2 m. above the ground was, on an average, during the period of observation, from 1.7 to 2.4 percent higher on the open steppe. The influence of- a 10-year old belt was found effective up to 300 m. while that of a 50-year old screen was still very marked at 400 m. and still apparent at 1,000 m. A south wind with a velocity of 4.8 m. per second on the steppe dropped 10 percent near the southern belt of a field protected by shelterbelts, and did not exceed 70 percent of that velocity between two belts lying some 500 m. apart.
Shelterbelts reduce maximum air temperature by 1 to 2°, raise minimum night temperatures and increase relative humidity up to 10 percent. Ground temperature to a depth of 20 cm. was found to be higher in the spring between the shelterbelts than on the open steppe and during the summer the reverse was the case.
The influence of shelterbelts on snow melt and consequent run-off has also been investigated by a station of the Government Hydrology Institute. The layer of snow between the belts was, on an average, 1½ times that on the open steppe and the water reserves were proportionately higher. If the soil layer immediately under the snow is not frozen, a reasonably permeable soil can easily absorb the melt from relatively deep snow. On the other hand, if it is frozen. the first melting turns to ice on contact with the ground so that subsequent meltings give rise to intense run-off even from snow of no great depth.
The Institute calculated that forest cover prolonged the melting period by roughly 20 percent compared with that in open country. If a shelterbelt is established across a slope, snow melt from the land above is absorbed by the snow that still remains in the heft. When the latter in turn melts, the run-off is absorbed by the thawed ground of the uncovered fields below.
CHILE
· An FAO Technical Assistance officer making a survey of the Malleco Forest Reserve reports on the forests situated in the valley of a large tributary of the Rio Escondido: "The upper end of the valley is well stocked with Araucaria occurring either in mixture with coigüe or pure. Most trees are from 4 to 6 feet (1.2 to 1.8 m.) in girth at breast height and 60 to 80 feet (18 to 24 m.) in height, but a few trees on favorable sites are much larger. One wind-thrown Araucaria had the following measurements:total length: 120 feet (37 m.);length of clear bole to first branch: 80 feet (24 m.);
girth at breast height: 18 feet (5.5 m.);
girth at 80 feet (24 m.): 12 feet 8 inches (3.9 m.)
girth at 110 feet (34 m.): 5 feet 10 inches (1.8 m.).
A fire had burnt a cavity inside this tree at its base, said to be used as a shelter in autumn by people who come to collect the seeds of Araucaria, an edible product highly valued. Incidentally, the abundance of young cones indicates that this is likely to be a good seed year for Araucaria in this region. Natural reproduction was plentiful in this stand, and the average annual height growth of seedlings was 10 inches (25 cm.)"
This officer also reports requests to the Forest Department for seed of Fitzroya cupressoides (alerce) from the Forestry Commission, United Kingdom, the Botanical Gardens University of California; and from a plantation owner in South Africa. The United Kingdom has also asked for seed of Nothofagus obliqua and N. procera.
SOMALILAND
· The only vegetation type in Somaliland which may be described as forest occurs on the higher mountains at an altitude between 4,500 ft. (1,400 m.) and about 8,000 ft. (2,400 m.). The dominants are Juniperus procera, Olea chrysophylla, Buxus hildebrandtii, Cadia purpurea, and certain other species locally.
The formation probably survives from a period of greater rainfall. Accurate rainfall records do not date back very far, but the Juniperus forest appears to be within a belt which varies considerably, parts being as low as about 6 inches (150 mm.) some years and in other years over 30 inches (760 mm.). The mountains rise into a mist zone and, but for this, the forest probably would not exist. The forest is similar to that occurring in Kenya and other parts of East Africa as far north as Eritrea.
The formation varies from scrub on the more exposed parts to forest with a closed canopy at about 40 feet (12 m.), and with distinct shrub and ground layers. Most of the trees are over-mature, with large dead branches. Often one side of the tree is dead. Sometimes this state is brought about by people using fire to collect honey; but for the greater part these trees are dead or dying from old-age rather than any other cause.
Trees of younger classes are found, usually growing in even aged groups, indicating that only in certain years are all conditions suitable for the establishment of a young crop. Such groups are too small and too widely spaced to replace the crop of overmature trees, and there appear to be only two or perhaps three age-classes. Favorable circumstances for the establishment of new growth, therefore, only seem to have occurred at long intervals, possibly 40 to 50 years.
Lack of regeneration may be due to the fact that the forest, as well as being here out of its optimum climatic range, is suffering from continuous damage by man and his stock; the only remedy is enclosure (if this can be effected politically) and a gradual build-up to better soil and ground-layer conditions. It may be necessary to prepare the ground in some way such as making small bunds of brushwood and stone, or breaking the ground surface with a pick or crow-bar when seed are about to fall. Some sort of treatment of the seed may also be required. It has been said that J. procera regenerates more easily after a moderate fire than otherwise.
UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS
· At the close of 1951 a general survey of the oaks planted in clumps or "nests" as an experiment in 1949 (reported in Unasylva, Vol. III, No. 6, p. 221) in the most varied regions of the grass and wooded steppes of European Russia was made under the supervision of the Department of Plantations for Agricultural Protection. The area covered was 3,184 ha., of which 938 ha. in collective farms (" kolkhozes "), 302 ha. in State farms (" sovkhozes "), and 1,944 ha. in forestry enterprises (" leskhozes ").
The survey showed that the average number of young oaks obtained per clump was 10.3, and on 55 percent of the area, 15, and confirmed that oak was the species best adapted to steppe conditions. Stations which persisted in planting acacia Gleditsia and maple, had very poor results. The oak, moreover, if properly sown and cared for, does not here come under the category of slow-growing species; for instance, it was found that in the third year the trees doubled or tripled the height of 2-year old trees. In some experiments, 3-year old oak attained a height of from 1.92 to 2.16 m.. while some reached 2.42 m., the average gain in height in the third year being from 80 to 90 cm.
The meeting, at which the results of this survey were reported, was attended by the directors and foremen of crews of the "kolkhozes" who described the methods they had used and their achievements. From these reports it was learned that some "nests" had given much better results than row plantations because the trees were able to protect themselves better from the competition of the steppe grasses, their chief rival, and to withstand adverse climatic conditions better, creating within each "nest" from the outset a veritable forest micro-climate. In addition, "nest" plantations were more economical, the planting of a 1-ha. area within the protective belt in some cases required only six days' work, whereas under the same conditions row plantations required 42 days. Furthermore, between the rows of "nests" (generally numbering 600 per ha. ) and in the spaces between the "nests", until such time as the crowns of the young trees met, it was possible to cultivate the soil, and produce fairly good agricultural crops.
Since intercrops protect the young oaks against too much isolation, and against parching by wind, and prevent encroachment by weeds with strong roots between the rows, they are considered essential in some cases. Tall crops, the stalks of which are left standing over the winter after the harvest, are particularly useful for this purpose. These stalks protect the young oak against frost and ensure good snow cover and the retention of the snow melt.
The "nest" method has been widely used for several years for pine plantations on sandy soils. The method which has proved best is the planting of 50 x 50 cm. "nests" with a layer of from 5-9 kg. of fresh peat spread at a depth of from 25 to 35 em. For 12 years peat has been used as a soil cover under row plantations of pine, but under these conditions it was necessary to use from 60-80 tons of peat per ha.: the new method calls for only 2 to 6 tons per ha. Moreover, where the first method was used, the roots did not penetrate very deeply, whereas "nests" with a peat layer penetrated to a depth of from 90 to 100 cm. and 85 percent or more of the trees struck root on bare sand. The main problem is to select the proper grass to be planted between the rows of "nests" to protect the young pines against drought, without competing with them for water. Certain grasses which stop growing in May, and whose dry haulm, from 30-40 cm. tall, remains standing until autumn, have already been investigated for this purpose.
INDIA
· An FAO Technical Assistance officer writes: "While touring the forests of the Himalayas in winter I have found that in these remote areas, almost all modern logging and transportation equipment is lacking although its introduction should be quite easy. Logging tools are of a low standard, most of them locally made by some village blacksmith. Forest roads are chiefly made by hand labor, even rock drilling. The personal equipment of the loggers and forest labor, such as shoes clothing and protection against cold, rain, snow, are of an extremely low standard. It is obvious that without being provided with better clothing and equipment these loggers will not be able to do a much better job than they carry out at the present time. Moreover, their quarters, sleeping and cooking accommodation while working in the woods consists only of grass and branch huts, shelters under rock cliffs, etc. No winter work is possible under such conditions although it would be very advisable to work throughout the colder season.
"I have been amazed to see that all forest work stops as soon as the first snow falls. In other countries loggers wait impatiently for snow, which is their best means of sliding and shuting logs by snow slides, sleds, sleighs, etc. Here no sled has ever been seen, although the existing forest paths are well suited for this type of transportation. I found it quite tragic that these people here carry all the timber from high and remote forests to the valleys during the summer months, not taking the least advantage of the facilities provided by the winter snow in areas above approx. 7,000 feet (2,100 m.). There is no doubt that logging as well as log transportation in the Himalayas can be improved to a very considerable extent. But new tools and methods would have to be demonstrated on the spot. The local populations are very conservative, and they would only be convinced of better tools and methods after having seen them in successful operation. A trained logging crew would have to demonstrate modern logging tools, their maintenance and repair, and the use of proper shoes, clothing for mountain logging, shelters for winter work (prefabricated, light and portable huts, including stoves), sleeping bags, etc."
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
· Every oak tree in the United States is today under threat of destruction by what is potentially the most dangerous invader the forests have ever known. Even the chestnut blight that wiped out this species did not rival "oak wilt" in potential destructiveness. The chestnut was seldom more than a small fraction of the forest whereas in parts of the United States oak constitutes more than half the total tree cover.
Oak wilt, caused by a fungus, Chalara quercina, or more correctly Ceratostomilla, is now firmly entrenched in parts of eighteen states, in areas of Iowa and Wisconsin, mortality has reached 50 percent or more in some forests. At present the disease is incurable, although much research is being concentrated on combatting it. Special studies are being made of the method of dispersal, since the disease "jumps" for considerable distances.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
The concept of land capability classes is not new, but its application to a large unit of widely varying conditions, as in a study entitled Know California's Land, by L. R. Wogletz and E. F. Dolder, is valuable in showing the fairly fixed limitations set by nature on types of land use, the discordance between actual and correct use of land, and the nature and extent of conservation practices which must be applied on high percentages of land to make the areas really useful for agriculture, forestry and grazing.
The land capability classes in the study are divided into three main groups:
1. four classes of land suitable for cultivation: Class I - very good land with no limitations, Class II - good land with minor limitations; Class III - moderately good land with major limitations; and Class IV - fairly good land with occasional cultivation and major limitations;2. group of three classes suitable for range and forest use: Class V suitable for range and woodland with no limitations, Class VI - suitable for range and woodland with minor limitations, Class VII - suitable for range and woodland with major limitations;
3. land suitable only for wildlife and watershed.
Since the natural watershed unit (drainage area) is obviously the best unit for study and action, each of the eight principal watersheds of the State is given separate treatment in this study, and prescriptions for proper conservation practices are described for each. This emphasizes the wide range of problems and the local changes in land use still to be worked out.
A single area, no matter how large or varied, cannot serve as a precise model for other areas, but this thoughtful analysis provides useful ideas on approach, classifications, and methods of work for other areas where use of the land capability method can mean that balanced attention is given to all kinds of lands and all kinds of land uses.
· In the southeastern United States the small owner of pine stumpage has long needed a simple method to determine whether it is more profitable to sell his pine timber for pulpwood or for saw timber. Tables are now available enabling him to decide for each diameter class likely to be in demand. The recovery ratio of standard cords to thousand board feet varies for each diameter glass and, with this known, a comparison of the prices offered determines the size tree representing the dividing line between more profitable or less profitable sale for one purpose or another.
ARGENTINA
· The extent to which Argentina imports timber is difficult to ascertain owing to non-availability of statistics. It is reported that softwood imports come from Brazil North America and Europe. Hardwood imports derive mainly from Paraguay, but substantial quantities come from Brazil, Bolivia and Chile. Brazil is favorably situated for the trade in timber but the quantities of pine and hardwoods exported de" end on the volume of cereals moved from the Argentine to Brazil. There are also other factors: non-availability of shipping space, exchange difficulties, and Argentinian in the Paraguayan timber business.
There are said to be 50 plywood factories, of which the 37 that are registered have a capacity of 146000 m3 and a production in 1951 of 55,000 m.³, which is 25 percent in excess of national needs.
Consumers are fuming to hardboards, imported mainly from Europe, and much ground has been lost by the plywood industry. A factory has now been installed in Argentina to produce hardboards. It is hoped to improve the quality of production this year, when this materializes, there may be prompt efforts to restrict imports.
BRAZIL
· It is reported that the main timber markets of Brazil hold prospects for the absorption of production from an expanded timber industry within the Amazon Valley. There is, in fact, a consumption potential within the Amazon Valley itself, which constitutes a vital market for secondary timbers and secondary specifications, and the stability of the industry is likely to devolve largely on its ability to dispose of such material effectively.
At present, general development in the Amazon appears to be at a slower tempo than elsewhere in Brazil. But it is a positive development. With the setting up of the Comissão de Valorização, and the development funds to be made available to it progress in the Amazon Valley will inevitably be stepped up and become comparable to progress elsewhere in Brazil. This, in turn, will call for increasing quantities of commercial timber, both for domestic construction and for industry. There are grounds for belief, therefore, that an expanded timber industry in the Amazon will be supported by an adequate increase in commercial timber consumption within the Amazon Valley itself.
In addition there are supplies to the North East ports down to Pernambuco. Local supplies of hardwoods to these ports are not important. Hardwoods from the Rio Doce area gravitate nominally to the Southern States, particularly to the Distrito Federal and Rio de Janeiro. Supplies from the Rio Doce forests are dwindling and it is unlikely that much can be diverted to the North East. The Amazon Valley is thus the natural source of hardwood supply to the North East ports, and the rate of development in these ports has been very rapid and is continuing. The corollary is a steady and immediate increase in consumption of hardwoods and it is to the Amazon that these North East ports will look for supplies.
Finally, there is the supply of hardwoods to the cities of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. The Amazon sends some timber, mainly cedro, to Rio de Janeiro, while its contribution to São Paulo's supply is insignificant. Up to the present, São Paulo has obtained its hardwoods from the forests in the State of São Paulo and neighboring states, but it is considered by reliable authorities that at the present rate of cutting, the commercially exploitable stands of timber in these forests will be exhausted in 10 years from now. It is therefore clear that before long both these cities, which between them consume more than 600,000 tons of hardwoods annually and are developing rapidly, will look for new sources of hardwood supply and there seems little alternative than that this timber must come from the Amazon. The present level of timber exports from the Amazon to all markets, home and abroad, is less than 60,000 tons annually.
GERMANY
· The significance and pattern of the German hardwood market may be gauged from the following approximate figures for imports during 1951:
|
|
tons |
|
Central and South America |
20,270 |
|
Africa |
158,860 |
|
Asia |
2,200 |
Additional quantities of hardwoods were imported from the U.S.A., Canada and Japan. Brazil supplied 3,680 tons, chiefly from the Amazon the main species being Louro Vermelho, Quaruba and Assacu. The main interest is now in Okume from Africa. Other African species are being received in quantities of sufficient magnitude to create a permanent interest in the market and to make publicity worthwhile.
Much research is being done at the Forest Institute at Reinbek on tropical woods and, though Brazil woods figure in the program, the work is mainly on African timbers. It is claimed that hard and soft tropical woods have been successfully mixed in the same cook and that a satisfactory paper has been produced from the result. The German authorities are also apparently interested in the possibility of using tropical hardwoods for sleepers.
NEW ZEALAND
· The largest forest utilization project of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere is nearing completion at Kinleith, 144 miles (232 km.) south of Auckland, New Zealand.
N. Z. Forest Products Ltd. has invested about N. Z. £ 7,000,000 in the enterprise which is situated in the strategic center of the company's 176,000 acres (71,000 ha.) of Monterey pine (Pinus radiata).
The company will produce a maximum of 45,000 tons of unbleached sulphate pulp annually, 12,600 tons of which has already been earmarked for export to Australia, for newsprint furnish. Kraft paper production from the mill alongside will be 25,000 tons yearly, to be used mainly for making into Bates multi-wall bags and fiber containers at the company's Auckland plants, with any balance available for new Zealand converters.
Average daily output of sawn timber from the American bandsaw mill and the Swedish gangsaw mill, housed together in the same building, is 180,000 board feet (800 m.³) daily. Annual sawn timber output from the company's four sawmills is 60 million board feet, (272,000 m.³) the largest for any single organization in the Southern Hemisphere.
The water supply for the Kinleith pulp and paper mills will be pumped through 5½ miles (8.9 km.) of 32-inch (81 cm.) diameter spiral-welded pipes delivering 14½ million gallons (66 million liters) of water daily from a tributary of the Waikato River.
Other industries carried on by N. Z. Forest Products Ltd. at Auckland are the manufacture of "Pinex" fiber building board, boxes and shooks. A corrugated container plant is scheduled to commence operation early in 1953.
Tokoroa, a rapidly growing township, 4 ½ miles (7.2 km.) north of Kinleith, is the site of the company's housing project. Of over 600 employee houses planned, more than 31)0 have been completed and occupied.
Confidence in New Zealand-grown pine as a building material has been exemplified by N. Z. Forest Products Ltd., who have used it in all their houses and other wooden buildings.
PORTUGAL
· Portugal exports mining timbers and cork but has a deficiency of hardwoods, which are imported mainly from Brazil and the Portuguese African territories.
1951 import figures were:
|
Hardwood logs |
Tons |
Value in 1,000 Escudos |
|
Portuguese W. Africa |
8022 |
9082 |
|
Brazil |
15795 |
18459 |
|
Other countries |
342 |
826 |
|
|
24159 |
28367 |
|
Hardwood sawn |
|
|
|
Portuguese W. Africa |
604 |
884 |
|
Brazil |
984 |
1594 |
|
Other countries |
1626 |
6003 |
|
|
3214 |
8481 |
Brazil is the most important source of hardwood imports, the trade being mainly in round logs. The trade is said to be difficult on account of exchange manipulations, one result of which is that parcels of the same species and specification arrive at different prices.
It is of interest that hitherto timbers from overseas Portuguese territories have been marketed abroad, despite the import duty on Brazil timber. Recently, however, more of these timbers are finding their way into the Portuguese market, presumably owing to the difficult hardwood position in the United Kingdom and Germany during 1952. In normal circumstances over 90 percent of Mozambique timber production is exported by rail to South Africa and Southern Rhodesia. Angola and Guinea production now exceeds 30,000 tons annually. About a quarter finds its way to Portugal, but much is for re-export in the form of plywood.
Production in West Africa is on the increase and there appears to be some danger to sales of timber from Brazil, for the Portuguese market is a limited one. But the Amazon timbers are well-liked and established through long usage.
SWEDEN
· Logging operations in parts of Sweden today resemble a military campaign more than the peaceful harvesting of a natural bounty. The whole process of planting and growing timber, cutting it down and transporting it to mills is being scientifically streamlined. Every conceivable aspect is being mechanized. Airplanes chart maps, helicopters spray chemicals, flame throwers burn brush, tanks pack snow tracks, bulldozers tear out roads, dynamiters blast ditches, walkie-talkie sets transmit reports from and orders to the field, facilities for workers are being improved, and "lumberjills" have been added to the working forge. Trucks and buses race along specially constructed roads to distant logging areas to debouch workers, horses, and equipment, often accompanied by mobile kitchens and mobile housing. On the "home front" science is busy producing better seeds, better conservation methods better working methods and better tools. Photomicrography and time and-motion studies are among the many methods being applied by the teams of researchers active both in the laboratory and in the field.
Forestland covers more than half the total area of Sweden and forest products are the backbone of the economy. As much as 55 percent of the country's export trade depends on it, and 25 percent of all industry is based on it. An abundant, cheap and regular supply of raw logs is vital.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
· The American magazine Time is trying to develop overseas sources of paper for international editions in the countries where the magazine is printed, but few mills outside the U. S. are equipped to manufacture large quantities of paper with a coated surface. Most printing plants however, purchase their ink locally, and only a relatively small amount is shipped from the U. S.· Six plants of the Weyerhaeuser Timber Company in the Pacific Northwest are interconnected electrically with the Northwest Power pool and deliver approximately 1,500,000 kilowatt hours per week to the pool during any periods of shortages of electric power, while withdrawing less than 500,000. This is a net gain to the pool of more than a million kilowatt hours a week.
The production of power at Weyerhaeuser mills is one result of the firm's determination to use as much of the forest harvest as possible. In this instance, electrical energy is created from bark, sawdust and other sawmill left-overs that might otherwise be wasted.
CANADA
· A Research Co-ordinating Committee on the Utilization of Sawmill Waste for Pulpwood was formed in 1951 with membership from the government, universities and industries. To date it has issued reports on Bark Removal Methods and Machines ¹ Portable and Small Stationary Type Chippers and The Handling and Transportation of Sawmill Waste for Pulpwood. Each report describes the problems involved in different parts of Canada, the means available and under test for tackling them and the economic factors involved.
In the latter, the alternative methods of transportation are shipment of slabs and edgings as such to the pulp mill or conversion into chips at the sawmill, and shipment of the chips to the pulp mill. When a cord of slabs and edgings is converted into chips, it will occupy, on the average 243 cubic feet (6.88 m.³), or nearly three times the volume of the primary material, and this fact affects the costs of shipment by any available method. Moreover, many small unintegrated sawmills do not have and cannot afford, the special chipping and conveyor machinery needed to convert slabs into chips at the plant. Thus, the eventual organization of sawmill waste utilization for pulp will vary, depending on various factors, but on the whole it is believed that a great increase in present utilization can be worked out.
· The Federal Forestry Branch organizes annual lumber seasoning courses at the Forest Products Laboratory, Ottawa. These courses are intended primarily to provide training in the kiln-drying of lumber for those whose duties are connected with the operation of dry kilns. They are, however, sufficiently broad in scope to be of interest and value to all who are interested in the seasoning of lumber and other wood products. The lectures, instruction and demonstrations for the course are planned to emphasize procedures and precautions necessary to obtain and maintain high standards in all phases of lumber seasoning.
The following is an outline of the main subjects covered during the latest course held over a five-day period in February 1953: significance of wood-using industries in the Canadian economy: commercial species, woods used in eastern Canada, and their identification: cellular structure of wood and its effect on seasoning: mechanical properties, moisture, strength relations and other factors: seasoning of wood, advantages of good seasoning and the factors controlling drying: air seasoning, method of piling, rate of drying, etc.: kiln-drying, kilns, types, design, etc.; temperature, humidity and circulation in kiln-drying; moisture content, how measured, electric moisture meters, use of test boards to measure drying rates; control instruments and other kiln equipment; drying schedules; seasoning defects and how they are overcome; storing and shipping of seasoned lumber: other methods of seasoning such as vapor drying, solvent drying, chemical seasoning, dielectric heating, infra-red, high-temperature, etc.; decay and stain in lumber, moisture content relations, effect of seasoning, etc.; visits to woodworking industries.
No charge is made for these courses, but owing to space limitations, only a single representative is accepted from any one firm.
JAPAN
· A recent mission from the Japanese Government and Japanese pulp and timber industries visited the United States to investigate the possibility of obtaining supplies of forest products from Alaska. At present rates of cutting, Japan's own softwood resources will he nearly exhausted within the next decade and a half. It is therefore imperative to find supplementary sources.
Under existing U. S. law and practice, importation of forest workers would be difficult as long as American workers were available. Any enterprise sponsored by Japan would, moreover, have to be incorporated under American law, bid successfully and competitively for National Forest stumpage, and conform to laws, regulations and contract terms in the same manner as American firms.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
· For over 20 years the personnel of the Naval Stores Research Division of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Agricultural and Industrial Chemistry, have published many papers dealing with the production, uses, composition, specifications, analytical methods, chemical and physical properties, scientific and technical information of naval stores. A bibliography of these papers is periodically date by supplements, including only papers believed to be still applicable and significant.
CANADA
· The first annual statistical series in Canada, covering lumber and wood pulp production, were begun in 1908. At intervals until 1926, additional series were started, covering utilization, depletion and waste. Forest inventories continued to add information on total forest area and its breakdown into productive accessible forests, and into non-productive forests. The Government, through the Forestry Branch of the Department of Resources and Development, periodically revises and brings up to date all such information in two forms, first, a series of 28 statistical tables, together with charts, and second, a bulletin with some tables and charts, but including information not available in the statistical bulletin.
The total forested area, is now given as 1.3 million square miles (336.7 million ha.), making up 37 percent of the total land area. Productive forests make up 20 percent of the land area; about 67 percent of these are accessible. About 40 percent of this area has trees large enough for commercial use, and the remainder is in young growth. It is estimated that annual per-acre growth of 11 out ft. (0.78 m.³ per ha.) on the accessible area will be required to maintain production at present levels. Crown lands constitute 67 percent of present forest land and privately owned lands the remainder.
Utilization averaging about 3,515 million out ft. (99.5 million m.³) annually during the past decade has made up about 80 percent of the total average annual depletion, the remainder being accounted for by fire insects and disease. Fires average about 5,400 in number, and hum over 2 million acres (800,000 ha.) annually, about 1/3 of which is in young growth and cutover land.
The trend in all forms of forest production in both volume and value number of industrial establishments, labor employment and apparent domestic consumption, has been steeply upward. Total industrial production has risen from 2,137 million out ft. (60.5 million m.³) in 1938 to 3,140 million (89 million m.³) in 1949 and from $310 million to $1,373 million in the same years. Forestry now accounts for one quarter of the total primary production in Canada and for about one sixth of secondary production. In terms of the trade balance, forestry produces a credit balance of nearly $800 million, and is responsible for the favorable balance for all products: which is about $250 million.
Employment in forest industries increased from 175,000 employees receiving $182 million in 1938, to 324,000 employees receiving $754 million in 1949. In value of production, the sawmilling and pulpwood industries were almost equal in 1938 at about $53 million each, whereas by 1949 the pulpwood industry produced $271 million compared with $208 million for the sawmilling industry. The province of British Columbia continues to dominate in lumber production, followed by Quebec and Ontario, whereas in total forest production Quebec leads, followed by Ontario and British Columbia. The number of lumber industry establishments is now nearly 7,500, having about doubled singe 1938 pulp and paper establishments have increased from 99 to 123 during the same period. There are over 3,700 wood-using industries and over 400 paper industries.
Between 1938 and 1949, apparent domestic consumption of primary forest products increased from 1,900 million to 3,000 million cu. ft. (54 to 85 million m.³); of lumber from 2,100 million to 3,800 million board feet (9.5 to 17.2 million m.³); of wood pulp from 3.1 million to 6.3 million tons, all reflecting the vigorous and expanding economy of the country.
ICELAND
· A note on forestry in Iceland appeared in a previous issue of Unasylva (Vol. VI, No. 2, p. 93). Since then FAO has, under the Technical Assistance Program, sent a technical forester from Alaska to discuss and advise on the country's forestry program. This officer has now made his report to the Government.
Iceland has no forest resources and is dependent upon imports for all timber used. Between 1947 and 1951 imports, about 90 percent softwoods, averaged around 65,000 m.³ annually, costing about 1.8 million U.S. dollars. The Forest Service, with the help of the Iceland Forest Association, expects to plant conifers on 32,000 hectares of brushland over the next 100 years. At conservative growth rates, this will produce yearly at least as much timber as is now imported.
Meanwhile the whole program depends on importing seed from proper seed sources because new plantations could not produce sufficient native seed for 30 to 40 years. Among his recommendations, the Technical Assistance officer suggests that arrangements be made for the purchase of tree seed of several Alaska species as yet not fully tested in Iceland particularly lodgepole pine (P. contorta), mountain hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana), Eastern larch from central Alaska (Larix laricina), Western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) and Sitka spruce from glacial moraines. A 5 year period for collecting sufficient amounts would be necessary.
The methods now used in growing seed in nurseries are resourceful and planting out has been successful so far as it has gone. Controlled experiments are needed with reference to seed source, nursery treatment and methods of planting out under various conditions. Fencing is necessary to prevent the destruction of the brush cover and plantations by sheep; fenced land soon recovers its vegetative cover while unfenced land is eroding. In fact, Iceland has a much bigger land use problem than that of growing timber, sheep and cattle grazing have eroded the land to an incredible degree. This could be controlled by proper range management. Shelterbelts and windbreaks appear to he needed to arrest the constant wind which is Iceland's chief enemy. The hardiest and least exacting pioneer species, Salix for instance, might be used for initial plantings.
MALAYA
· The following is a statement of the interim forest policy of the State Governments of Malaya:
I
1. To reserve permanently, for the benefit of the present and future inhabitants of the country, forest land sufficient(i) to ensure the sound climatic and physical condition of the country, the safeguarding of water supplies and soil fertility, and the prevention of damage by flooding and erosion to rivers and padi and other agricultural land; such reserves are known as Protective Reserves,(ii) for the supply in perpetuity at reasonable rates, of all forms of forest produce which can be economically produced within the country and required by the people for agricultural, domestic and industrial purposes; such reserves are known as Productive Reserves.
2. To manage the Forest Estate with the object of obtaining the highest revenue compatible with sustained yield, and with the two primary objects set out above.
3. To foster, by education and propaganda, a real understanding among the people of Malaya of the value of forest to them and their descendants.
II
1. Protective Reserves should never be alienated, save in the most exceptional circumstances and after the most careful and detached inquiry One of the purposes of such inquiry will be to ensure that alternative protective measures are practicable and can be enforced.
III
1. In order to provide conveniently for the requirements of the population, productive Forest Reserves should be widely distributed throughout the country. The present aim should be to ensure that each District a reasonable percentage. of its area reserved as productive forest and that over the country as a whole, up to 25 percent of the land area is set aside for timber production.2. Forest Reserves are constituted by Government, after careful enquiry, for productive or protective reasons and are not available for other purposes. Long-term planning and security of tenure are essential for the successful management of the Forest Estate.
3. Therefore applications for excisions from Productive Forest Reserve will not normally be considered except for:
(a) the permanent cultivation of wet rice;(b) the mining of minerals
(c) the development of agriculture on soils which, in the opinion of the Department of Agriculture, are of sufficient fertility to support permanent agricultural crops on an economic basis;
and then only if:
(a) the aggregate area of forest reserve in the District is not, as a result reduced below a reasonable percentage or,(b) an equivalent area is made available for reservation.
Only in exceptional circumstances will applications for excisions from Forest Reserve be considered if they rest primarily on grounds of easy accessibility or convenience to the applicant.
4. In leases relating to the mining of minerals suitable provisions shall be inserted to ensure that water supplies required for other purposes are not polluted, that protective measures are taken where there is risk of serious soil erosion and that mining operations are conducted in such a manner as to ensure that soil cover is restored.
5. Government is responsible for the management of the Forest Estate, and to ensure its proper maintenance it is recognized that a proportion of the revenue derived from it should be reinvested in the form of silvicultural operations and other works of improvement. A sum equal to approximately 10 percent of the gross revenue is accepted as adequate for this purpose at present.
6. Since the forest policy of Malaya is an integration of the policies of the territories which comprise it, any departure from accepted principles on the part of one Administration must affect the others, and the country as a whole. It is therefore urged that all States and Settlements in the Federation of Malaya, in accepting this interim policy, will also accept the advice of the Department of Forestry in implementing it.
UNITED KINGDOM
· Proof of the increasing interest in non-forest plantations, for example hedgerow and farm timber, is shown by the recent appointment by the Minister of Agriculture and the Secretary of State for Scotland of a Committee to advise the Forestry Commissioners on this problem. The Commissioners are particularly anxious to ensure that hedgerow timber, a large part of which is overmature and consequently licensed for felling each year, should be replaced.
The Committee's terms of reference are: "In view of the national need to promote timber production, to examine the extent to which the growth of hedgerow timber is compatible with good agricultural practice and to make recommendations as to the best means of securing the planting and tending of hedgerow timber."
VENEZUELA
· The Rural Welfare Council of Venezuela, a private concern receiving financial and administrative assistance from the Government, has as its main object to increase agricultural output and to raise the standard of living among farmers. In December 1951, the Council was requested by the Ministry of Agriculture to report on the organization of the Forest Service with the collaboration of E. W. Loveridge, Assistant Chief of the U.S. Forest Service.
The report, which was published in June 1952, contained recommendations for the reorganization of the Forest Service with a structure similar to that of the U.S. Forest Service but with certain simplifications. The issue was complicated by the large variety of functions carried out by the Venezuelan Forest Service, ranging from administration of the Botanic Institute, soil and water conservation, forest research, administration of public forests and control of private forests, fire prevention measures range management and the responsibility for all renewable natural resources.
The present deficiencies of the Service are said to be due largely to lack of trained personnel and the present forestry legislation, the first of which is being remedied by the work of the Forestry Faculty of the University of Merida, and the second by new legislation.
