Introduction

The establishment of intensively managed plantation forests offers many productivity advantages over natural or restored forest. Stands of a single species that survive and grow well on a given site can be managed to produce a relatively uniform product for an established market. Plantations can be managed for full stocking of relatively uniform trees to capture site potential and achieve high volume growth resulting in cheaper harvesting costs. Growing area per tree can be manipulated during the rotation to produce a desired mix of timber sizes from poles to pulpwood and saw-timber.  This module explores the principles and practice of plantation development focusing on plantation establishment followed by maximizing productivity of the plantation. Topic one of the module reviews different forest types covering primary (natural forests), secondary forests, semi-natural forests and plantation forests and identifies the trend to increasing plantation forest area in many areas including the Asia-Pacific region. Topic two explores the steps in plantation establishment from purpose of the plantation through to matching species to site characteristics and techniques for preparing the site for planting. Topic three covers ways the plantation manager can improve the profitability of the plantation by either growing more wood through fertilizer practices or by thinning and pruning to produce higher value wood. The application of nutrients to increase plantation productivity is approached in the context of the allocation of net primary productivity through different stages of forest stand development and recognizes the importance of nutrient cycling in building site resources for subsequent tree rotations.

Objectives

The first objective of this module is to clearly identify the drivers of plantation development globally and to understand the different characteristics of plantation forests when compared with primary and secondary forests. The second objective is to understand the steps taken in establishing a plantation enterprise encompassing plantation purpose, matching species to site and establishment techniques. The third objective is to understand the principles of either growing more wood through nutrient addition or growing higher valued wood through thinning and pruning silviculture of established trees.

Upon completion of this module, you should be able to:

• Recognize the characteristics of plantation forests that set them apart from natural forests.
• Explain the steps in plantation establishment including the factors influencing choice of species.
• Discuss the influence of site and soil factors on site preparation techniques.
• Discuss ways in which site resources can be managed to improve plantation growth.
• Apply the principles of nutrient cycling to the application of fertilizer nutrients for increasing plantation productivity.
• Explain the principles of thinning and pruning practice for increasing the value of plantation-grown timber.