Value addition to Teak plantations

Abstract of a Seminar presentation

Hasini de Alwis

Teak (Tectona grandis) is one of the most premier luxury hardwood timbers in the world. It is native to the Indian-Burmese floristic region and found naturally in India, Myanmar, Thailand and Laos. It was introduced to Sri Lanka due to high quality wood by a Dutchman in 1680. Taungya method and participatory forest projects were two popular methods in establishing Teak Plantations at the beginning. At present teak plantations are maintained on state owned lands, private lands or as farmer woodlots. According to the Sri Lanka Forest Department, the present extent of teak plantation is approximately 45,000 ha which is distributed mainly in dry and low intermediate zones.

Value addition is a concept which an additional value is added to the product or service that has above the baseline. Teak Plantations are mainly managed for commercial purposes. Therefore the private plantation companies who export their timber have more concern about this concept.

Replacing lumber with reconstitute panels, polishing the furniture products, manufacturing timber products according to customer’s requirement, practicing seasoning methods and pre-treatment methods, obtaining certain forest certifications will add values to the end product.

Value additions can be done by increasing tree growth and timber quality of Teak plantations. Genetically improved seeds can be taken from clonal seed orchards, seed production areas.

Tissue culture to develop large scale uniform superior plants can also be practiced. Good silvicultural practices like proper spacing, pruning, weeding, thinning, pest and disease control can be done to produce high quality timber. Teak is grown as mixtures with Jak, Margosa, Eucalypts and Mahogany. Practicing agroforestry systems will provide additional incomes from agri crops and by doing so, the land is maximally utilised. Applications of organic fertilizer, fire management are some eco-friendly forestry practices can add values to the plantation.

Plantations are maintained by using the local labor. Therefore, it is desirable to maintain the structure of the local community in a way that provides a steady supply of reliable workers.

In Sri Lankan context, value additions to the plantation are not practicing properly. Advance silvicultural practices, promoting agroforestry systems, adopting appropriate new technologies and obtaining forest management certifications to the end products are recommended for the teak plantations to add values so that a better price and a better reputation can be obtained.

Value addition to Eucalypt plantations

Abstract of a Seminar presentation

Ama Wickramarachchi

Eucalyptus is a native tree to Australia which is now widespread across the world because of its fast growing rates and adoptability to wide range of geographical area from lower altitudes to higher altitudes. There are about 700 Eucalyptus species recorded in the world. It was introduced to Sri Lanka in late 1800s as a fuel wood to the upcountry households and tea industry and later different species were introduced to dry, wet and intermediate zones of the country.

Eucalyptus plantations receive criticisms due to its effect on soil fertility and hydrology. However, most of these criticisms have now been addressed by value additions to those plantations as well as to the end-products through sustainable management which optimizes economic, environmental and social benefits of the plantations.

Good silvicultural practices, planting superior clones of hybrids and genetically modified high yielding, disease-free, non-splitting trees obtained via vegetative propagations and field trials and mixed plantations would improve timber quality and quantity within the plantation. Practicing agroforestry and promoting related industries such as beekeeping, extraction of Eucalyptus oils and Eucalyptus dyes would generate additional income to the rural communities. At the same time it maximises the landuse of the area. Adding organic fertilisers, managing plantations for longer rotational periods, fire management and trench management are some of the eco-friendly management practices that add values to the plantations.

Timber seasoning, pre-treatments, designs used in furniture manufacturing and forest certifications will add value to the end product.

When comes to local context, it is very limited that Sri Lanka follows any value additions at the plantation level. Therefore agroforestry, promoting related industries, advanced silvicultural techniques, research and development and obtaining forest certification can be recommended to follow in order to add value to the plantation.

At the end-product level, Sri Lanka has to practice more advanced pre-treatment methods and designs in furniture manufacturing have to be improved in accordance with the current trends. Forest certification to the end-product would surely add a more value at the market level, specially in international markets. Moreover, it is becoming a must to compete in most of the export markets. Therefore Sri Lankan manufactures need to concern at least in obtaining this certifications to the eucalypt plantations and its products.

Current status of forest certification in Sri Lanka

Abstract of a Seminar presentation

Lanka Rathnayake

“Forest certification is the process of inspecting particular woodlands to verify if they are being managed according to an agreed set of standards’

There are several certification systems in the world. The forest stewardship council certification is one of them in Sri Lanka. The Forest Stewardship Council is an international non-profit organization founded in 1993 to support environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial & economically viable management of the world’s forests”. There are ten Forest Stewardship principles. It accredits certification bodies. It is a system for independent forest certification. It has introduced an international labelling scheme.

Center for the promotion of imports from developing countries has problems to promote non Forest Stewardship Council certified products. Sri Lanka will lose market share if it is not obtained. With Forest Certification new markets can be found, a higher price will be paid (around 3%) and forests will be saved for future generations. So, the main objective of this certification system is to establish a healthy and steady export environment for the wood processing industry of Sri Lanka.

There are several certification systems in forest certification as Forest Management Certification, Chain of Custody Certification and group certification. Control Union, SGS, SCS are the current accreditation bodies in Sri Lanka. Instead of national Forest Stewardship Council standards currently interring standard have been developed using generic standards in Sri Lanka.

There are thirty five Forest Stewardship Council certification holders in Sri Lanka. Forest Stewardship Council certified forest area in Sri Lanka is 31,657 ha. Fourteen Forest Stewardship Council Chain of custody certificates have been issued.

For Forest Management/Chain of Custody certification Kotagala plantation, Agarapathana plantation, Elpitiya plantation, and Kahawatta plantation are at final stage of inspection. Also two teak projects, one mahogany project and coconut project have been proposed for Forest Stewardship Council certification. To obtain Chain of Custody certification two printing companies are also proposed.

Current status of forest certification in Sri Lanka is at considerable level when comparing with other countries. At present, Forest Stewardship Council certification is confined mainly to the private sector in Sri Lanka. Demand for FSC certified products are also increasing. Group certification should be encouraged to fulfill the demand.

Bamboo planting project at Yagirala Forest, Sri Lanka

Bamboo planting project at Yagirala Forest Reserve by a Sri Jayewardenepura University student

Savindi Caldera, a second year student in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Science of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka has launched a bamboo planting project inside the Yagirala Forest Reserve (http://www.sjp.ac.lk/~upul/Yagirala) in the wet zone of Sri Lanka with her fellow mates.

The aims and objectives of this project are to inform, educate, and demonstrate how bamboo can reduce the environmental impacts of global climate change, to balance the carbon foot print in the Kalutara area and to encourage and motivate the community to mitigate the effects of climate change.

She started this project after having a training in India under a British Council sponsorship. In fact, she represented Sri Lanka. This project is collaborated with the International Climate Change Championship Pogramme. The objective of her project is to enrich the river banks and stream banks by planting 200 bamboo seedlings. It is expected that those plants will significantly contribute to the aesthetic value and the biodiversity of the area.

Savindi has selected bamboo for this project due to several reasons. There is a great advantage of bamboo as it has an enormous growth rate. It sequesters 4 times more carbon dioxide than hardwood and releases 35% more oxygen than equivalent stands of trees. Further, bamboo does not require any fertilisers.

The net-like root system of bamboo effectively protects watersheds by stitching the soil together along fragile riverbanks, deforested areas, and in places prone to earthquakes and mud slides. A wide-spreading root system, uniquely shaped leaves, and dense litter on the forest floor also greatly reduces rain runoff, preventing massive soil erosion and effectively keeping twice as much water, in the watershed.

Savindi believes that planting bamboo trees is an effective implementation to balance the carbon footprint because it sequesters 4 times more carbon dioxide than hardwood. She hopes to further use her knowledge and experience gathered by following the subject "Forestry and Environmental Science" at the degree level to carry out this project successfully.

Savindi (5th from the left at the front row) and her fellow mates at the project site

A management plan for Albizia odorotissima

A management plan for Albizia odorotissima

Abstract of a seminar presentation

Based on a hypothetically formed plantation company

Niranjan Kannangara

Albizia odorotissma is a medium sized tree highly valued for shade and soil improvement. It is a multipurpose woody legume which obtains a height of 22-26 m and diameter of 120-150 cm. On good sites five-year-old trees can be 5 m in height and 14 cm in diameter. A mean annual diameter increment of 1.3 cm. Albizia odoratissimatolerates a wide range of temperatures and rainfall. In its natural range the maximum shade temperature varies from 37°-50°C and the minimum from 0°-15°C. Normal rainfall varies from 650-3000 mm.

It is used as a valuble timber for furniture making, as a fuel wood, and fodder for cattle grazing. The species is used in a plantation located in Puttalam with an extent of 50ha. 625 trees are planted in 1 ha and entire land is utilized as batch wise. After demarcating, fencing and clearing is done before the seedlings are planted. In the initial year 1 ha plot is planted with 625 seedlings. Although the natural rotation age is 40 yrs we are expecting to harvest within 25 yrs by providing more favorable conditions. This species is more resistant for pest and Diseases. Weeding is done properly. After the pruning stage there will be 3 thinnings and then the final harvest. A net profit of 51 million is expected.

Establishment and maintenance plan for Michelia champaca

Establishment and maintenance plan for Michelia champaca

Abstract of a seminar presentation

Based on a hypothetically formed plantation company

Upamali Perera

The management plan says what the user has to do to achieve objectives or management the forest. Plan makes policies real. It includes all activities related to plantation management. It means from land preparation to final harvest. It includes land preparation, nursery establishment, planting, weeding, watering, fertilizer, protection, pruning, thinning and finally the final harvest.

Michelia champaca has been wide spread all over tropical Asia. In Sri Lanka, it is found in wet and intermediate zones (village gardens in Kandy, Kegalle and Mirigama etc). It is a large evergreen tree with long cylindrical bole with 1.8 m in trunk diameter. The Bark is light grey, smooth about 1.27cm thick. Height is 14m-20m. Required Rainfall varies from 2250 – 5000 mm. It performs well in an altitude of 500 -1500m above msl. It is well suited for sandy loam soil and also it occurs on moist deep, well drained, good quality soil. The tree is a light demander and coppices well up to a fair size and it does not produce root sucker. It provides many products and services.

The hypothetical company created was Luxury plantations (PVT) Ltd. Vision of the company is to be a helping hand in saving our rain forests. Mission of the company is to meet future demand for timber in Sri Lanka by using sustainable forest management. The selected area to establish the plantation is Kegalle with a land of 50 ha. A barren land privately owned is cleared using machinery. Leveling is done. In the land, about 0.8 hectares of nursery area is established. Protection measures are taken like fencing the area with barbed wire. Site preparation will be done by ploughing and hoeing the land. It should have water as a perennial source to ensure adequate supply in hot weather and to reduce costs. Seeds are bought from the homegardens of Kegalle and Kandy areas. Seeds should be cleaned and dried in the shade. Nursery bed size is 1 meter wide, 15 cms high, 10 meters long or as long as the topography would allow. The nursery should be separated by a pathway of 30 cms, so that the beds can be weeded by standing on the pathway. Seed should be sown within two weeks of collection as it loses its viability very rapidly. Planting out nearly one year old seedlings at the break of the monsoon of the following year is done. Spacing is 1.8m x 1.8m. The first thinning in well-stocked plantations will normally be required in the 5th year. Trees are subject to the attacks by Urostylis punctigera, the champ bug, occurs as a pest, causing appreciable damage in pure plantations. Young plantations should be frequently inspected; Spacing with a suitable mixture, such as nicotine sulphate 1 part and soap 1.8 kg in 450 liters of water is helpful. Harvesting method is clear-cut system.

Establishment and maintenance plan for Dipterocarpus zeylanicus plantation

Establishment and maintenance plan for Dipterocarpus zeylanicus plantation

Abstract of a seminar presentation

Based on a hypothetically formed plantation company

Deshika Kariyakarawana

Dipterocarpus zeylanicus, commonly known as “Hora” in Sinhala is endemic to Sri Lanka. It is a large tree attaining a height of 40m and a girth of 4m with a dense hemispherical crown. This is an important and common species in the low land wet evergreen forest where it occurs generally scattered below 1000m altitude. In river banks and well-drained alluvium, the species grows often vigorously. In wet evergreen forests which is generally storied, the top canopy consists essentially of dipterocarps.

The species regenerates freely and the seedlings establish themselves without much difficulty. Flowering is in January to February and fruiting is during April to May. Sapwood is pinkish white and heart wood is dark reddish brown. Strong hard wood timber comes under class I. After preservative treatments it can be used for railway sleepers, rafters, electric posts, beams, joists, heavy carpentry work and eminently suitable for underwater and marine work. Bark contains oleo resins.

Management objective of the plantation company is to optimise the land utilization by growing commercially viable and environmentally sustainable trees to invest at present to make profit after 35 years.

Plants will be produced in an own nursery with a six months nursery period. Seeds can be bought by villagers. Initially 988 trees per hectare will be established in the land of 50 hectare with the spacing of 2.5m×2.5m. Fertilizing will be done once per year until the 10^th year and weeding will be done for all 35 years. Two thinning operations are scheduled at 10^th year and 25^th year. Pest or disease attacks are not recorded for the species recently in Sri Lanka but termites can be a problem. Watering will be done using drip irrigation using water from the river at the boundary of the plantation nursery.

After felling the trees at 35^th year, logs will be sectioned in to 5m pieces and loaded in to containers for transport. Transport will be done by the customer. Estimated no. of trees in final harvest is 37050 with the total income of Rs. 12,327,244,592 including income from thinning. With some assumptions made for maintenance cost changes and timber price changes, in 35 years, expected profit is Rs. 11 billion. The IRR value is 24% at the end of 35^th year.