Research on building ideal models for community forest at xuan le commune thanh hoa province

MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF FORESTRY STUDENT THESIS RESEARCH ON BUILDING IDEAL MODELS FOR COMMUNITY FOREST AT XUAN LE COMMUNE, THANH HOA PROVINCE Major: Natural Resources Management Code: D850101 Faculty: Forest Resources and Environmental Management Student: Hoang Phuong Anh Class: K58A Natural Resources Management Student ID: 1353090984 Course: 2013 - 2018 Advanced Education Program Developed in collaboration with Colorado State University, USA Supervisor: Assoc Prof Pham Minh Toai Ha Noi, 2018 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Many people contributed during the process of planning, implementation, and writing of this thesis For supervision of the thesis, I especially thank to Assoc Prof Pham Minh Toai for his technical supports, helpful suggestions and enthusiastic encouragements Without his thoughtful, patient guidance through every step of my research, this thesis could not have been realized I sincerely thank to Vietnam National University of Forestry has given me an opportunity to apply the knowledge I learned from the school I have got many new and useful experiences that are helpful for my future work I would like to extend my thanks to Mr Cam Ba Hung, Vice Head of Xuan Le Commune Administration, as well as respective staff members for accepting me as an apprentice and supporting me with the enthusiastic guidance to collected data when I work at Xuan Le Commune Special thanks to my sister Ms Rose for helping me correct language mistakes of the thesis Finally, I wish to express my gratitude to my beloved family for their boundless patience and love i ABSTRACT Xuan Le commune is within a mountainous area located in the west of Thuong Xuan district, Thanh Hoa province with abundant forest resources However, there is unavailability of growth and yield data for Xuan Le Commune, therefore, the forest resources assessment is crucial in order to elaborate ideal stem number-diameter distribution (so-called ideal models), needed during the process of data analysis and forest management planning It’s also the method facilitating the identification of a standard for participatory forest resource assessment and management planning Thus, the present work aimed to provide a basis elaboration of ideal stand models for community forest at Xuan Le commune The results show the two ideal models have been built based on forest assessment and demand of local forest users on timber exploitation There are three forest statuses in Xuan Le Commune, namely young-regenerated forest after shifting cultivation (IIa), regenerated forest after exploitation (IIb) and natural forest already exploited (IIIa1) The preferable harvestable diameters about 33 cm as a minimum size In degraded forest stand, the mean annual diameter-increment is 1, 01 cm, diameter-class widths roughly resembling time of passages of years, the lowest diameterclass has been set at < cm, the largest diameter-class has been set at > 32.9 cm DBH In matured forest stand, the mean annual diameter-increment is 0,5 cm, diameter-classes width roughly representing 10 year growth-intervals, the largest diameter-class has been set at > 39.9 cm DBH - ii TABLE OF CONTENT ACKNOWLEDGEMENT i ABSTRACT ii TABLE OF CONTENT iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS v LIST OF TABLES vi LIST OF FIGURES vii INTRODUCTION GOAL, OBJECTIVES AND METHODS 2.1 Goal 2.2 Objectives 2.4 Methodology 2.4.1 Elaboration of ideal model 2.4.2 Plot establishment 2.4.3 Annual growth increment and suitable diameter – class 2.4.4 Suitable basal area and stem numbers in single diameter-classes STUDY SITE CHARACTERISTICS 12 3.1 Natural conditions 12 3.2 Socio-economic conditions 13 3.2.1 Ethnic groups and population 13 3.2.2 Economic condition 13 RESULTS 14 4.1 Forest statuses in the study area 14 4.2 Demand of local forest user groups on timber exploitation 15 4.3 Annual growth increments of forest statuses 16 iii 4.3.1 Degraded forest stands 16 4.3.2 Matured forest stands 18 4.4 Stem numbers in single diameter-classes, suitable basal area and ideal models for community forest in Xuan Le commune 20 4.5 Proposed solutions for community forest management 24 CONCLUSION 25 REFERENCES iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CBFM Community-Based Forest Management CF Community forest CFM Community forest management DBH Diameter at breast height (1,3 m) Ha Hectare NTFP Non-timber forest products RECOFTC The Center for People and Forests v LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1 Overview of the single steps leading to the calculation of diameter-classes, representative of equal times of passage Table 4.1 List of species included in the measurement of annual growth rings from former shifting cultivation areas 16 Table 4.2 List of species included in the measurement of annual growth rings from matured forest stands 19 Table 4.3 Stem number and basal area of single diameter-classes representing the ideal stand model for degraded forest sites 21 Table 4.4 Stem number and basal area of single diameter-classes representing the ideal stand model for mature forest sites 22 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1 Layout of plot establishment Figure 2.2 The sequence of tasks necessary for the determination of suitable diameter-class widths as input parameters for ideal models Figure 2.3 The sequence of task necessary for the determination of suitable basal area and stand structure as input parameters for ideal models Figure 3.1 Map of Xuan Le Commune 12 Figure 4.1 Diameter/age estimation derived from annual growth ring measurement of 14 samples from degraded forest sites in Xuan Le commune 18 Figure 4.2 Diameter/age estimation derived from the measurement of annual growth rings of sampled from matured forest sites in Xuan Le commune From the resulting graph, diameter- classes have been derived roughly resembling equal times of passages 20 Figure 4.3 Ideal stem number-diameter distribution for matured forest stands 23 Figure 4.4 Ideal stem number-diameter distribution for degraded forest stand 23 vii INTRODUCTION Forests play an important role both in its social and environmental functions especially concerning the provision of timber and non-timber forest products, its watershed protection functions and as well as the role as habitat for variety of animal and plant species Another vital feature of forestry is its role in poverty alleviation and income improvement for people, particularly local people who live near the forests The challenge of forest resource management in Vietnam is to achieve a balance between these socio-economic functions of the forest and its environment functions A new phase in the development of forest policies and programs was came into use in the 1970s, which made significant progress to the present Community-based forest management (CBFM) program and strategy, and since then become a popular intervention across Asia and Africa CBFM is government-approved form of forestry practices involving direct forest users in common decision-making processes and implementation of forestry activities, and as such it requires decision-making autonomy to the direct forest users in setting objectives, local control in forest management and utilization, and ownership of the benefits of the forest (Bowler et al., 2012) [2] It also can be considered as a state-community forest management strategy aiming to improve livelihoods of forest user, reduce poverty, conserve natural resources, and promote good governance and decentralization CBFM includes “initiatives, sciences, policies, institutions and processes that are intended to increase the role of local people in governing and managing forest resources” (RECOFTC, 2013) [3], then encourage indigenous community in protecting forests as well as help them to get benefit from those forest resources CBFM emerged as a search for alternative and less contested approaches to forest management in parallel with a growing international interest in participatory development and linkages between land rights movements and the environmental movement According to Runge (1986) [7], CBFM played an important role in nurturing scarce natural resources Local communities have been managing forests for a long time, that is exploiting, sustaining and manipulating them for productive products They base their forest management in a traditional knowledge and own rules sufficient to sustain the biophysical condition of their forests resulting long-term ecological sustainability in compatible with locally set priorities (Hayes and Persha, 2010) [5] However, the major shortcoming of this approach for elaboration of CBFM consisted in the fact that the management plans were not based on forest inventory data Forest inventory forms the basis for sustainable forest management The purpose is to assess the quantity and quality of forest resources available for management to develop an effective forest management plan, that can satisfying the demand of the forest user in terms of forest products while at the same time ensuring sustainability of forest resources (Wode, 2003) [13] For suitable forest management, especially for decision maker, there is a need of the development of an overall management goal or standard, which can be compared against the real situation However, until now forest inventories are carried out only the national level to provide data for forest policy and national statistic but are not suitable and not intended to provide detailed data on growth and yield characteristics for sustainable forest management at the individual stand level Xuan Le is a commune in Thuong Xuan district, Thanh Hoa province, Vietnam It has an area of 98.94 km², with a population of 3,614 people and a population density of 37 persons/km² Xuan Le commune is characterized by a rather low standard of education and high degree of poverty It can only be accessed crossing many rivers and small streams, resulting in a poor connection to regional market but surpassing endowment with natural forest, especially regarding matured forest stands Being aware of the important role of an overall management standard based on suitable forest resources assessment for sustainable forest planning, I decided to conduct a thesis titled “Research on building ideal models for community forest at Xuan Le commune, Thanh Hoa province” Topography: Xuan Le commune has various topographical characteristics with an average height of 500-700m with many hills The topography causes soil erosion Climate: Average temperature is 22-24°C, the hottest temperature is 37-40oC, the coldest temperature is 1oC – 3oC Average rainfall is 1,600-2,000mm and distributed unequally Average humidity is 85 – 86% The North East monsoon lasts from October to April next year Hot, dry Southwest wind from April to July The hot, humid and rainy weather are suitable for growing plants 3.2 Socio-economic conditions 3.2.1 Ethnic groups and population There are ethnic groups living in Xuan Le Commune, in which Thai people account for 55%, Kinh people is 41%, Muong people is 3.2% According to demographic statistics of 2016, the total population is 3614 people The population density is 37 people / km² 3.2.2 Economic condition Xuan Le is a mountainous commune with difficult economic condition The main incomes of local people are mainly based on forest and agriculture production The forestry, agriculture and fisheries sector accounted for 31.3%, industry - handicrafts - construction 39.2%, trade and services 29.5% 13 RESULTS 4.1 Forest statuses in the study area In general, three overall forest statuses could be identified in Xuan Le commune, there are young regenerated forest after shifting cultivation (IIA), regenerated forest after exploitation (IIB), so called matured forest and natural forest already exploited (IIIA1: degraded forest) The former recovering from shifting cultivation, while the latter represent more matures forest stands, generally situated farther from the settlement area, legally classified as protection forest There are major differences between those statuses of forest stands regarding their species composition, with typical species found in IIA and IIB being Ginoniera sp (Ngat), Engelhardtia drysolepsis (Cheo tia) and Cassia pinnata (Rang rang mit) On the contrary, the matured forests accommodate very valuable, but slower growing species such as Shorea roxburghii (Sen), Vatika tonkinensis (Tau), Fokienia hodginsii (Po mu), Erythrophorum fordii (Lim), Diospyros mun (Mun), Cinnamomum albiforum (Re) and Mangletia fordiana (Vang tam) Forest structure differs accordingly between the two forest types In areas classified as IIA, bigger-sized trees are generally lacking, resulting in a rather open canopy and dense underbrush Those areas frequently form small-scale mosaic patterns with denuded or entirely grass-infested spots The abundance of pole-sized trees (15-20 cm in DBH) is somewhat higher in areas classified as IIB, leading to more readily closed canopies However, the vertical structure of those stands consists only two strata with a great proportion of the area being significantly infested by bamboo, weeds, and climbers Where the matured forest sites are undisturbed, emergent trees are sticking out of a closed canopy and the vertical stand structure is frequently being divided into three or four main strata Bamboo and weeds, if encountered at all, are not very abundant in those forest stands 14 4.2 Demand of local forest user groups on timber exploitation Several interviews have been carried out during the stay in Xuan Son village, Xuan Le commune The interviews has been taken to include people of both gender as well as varying age groups in order to obtain a broad picture about the demand for timber and non-timber forest products In general it can be noted, that the timber needed for house construction can at present only be obtained from the matured forest stands and is generally lacking both in terms of size as well as preferable species in the areas recovering from shifting cultivation Nevertheless, some species found in the degraded forest stands can be used for construction timber but are often relic trees from former exploitation Those species include Quercus wallichiana (De do), Engelhardtia drysolepsis (Cheo tia) and Gironniera sp (Ngat) Moreover, regarding the preferable harvestable-diameters for house building, farmers stated that although about 33 cm can be seen as a minimum size for harvesting, preference is generally given to the biggest trees, which are only encountered in matured forest stands Thus, even emergent trees are logged and transported disregarding their size and weight, as processing is done on-site, using simple handsaws The selection of trees for harvesting is based on suitability criteria like species, stem form, and diameter As a result, harvested trees are scattered over the forest area and therefore the selection procedure has been termed “single tree selection” One forest user stated that the timber needed for the construction of each additional house has to be approved by the forest protection department of Xuan Le commune After permission for house construction has been granted, the family can literally go anywhere in order to harvest the required timber However, in Xuan Le commune, an old traditional law restricts the building of new houses to merely two per year, but villagers revealed that some of the logs cut from the matured forest are also sold to other villages 15 In terms of quantity, harvestable diameters of about 30-35 cm are most commonly used for the construction of pillars for the houses (villagers stated that the outer 1,5 to 2,5 cm of the log would not be utilized and are therefore removed) Smaller size poles (of about cm up to 20 cm DBH), however, are still cut in the degraded forest stands are used for the construction of pig-stalls (around 8-12 cm DBH), as well as buffalo-stalls (around 20 cm DBH) Nevertheless, some forest users indicated that they would still prefer to cut the 20 cm poles in the matured forest stands, as species that are more durable can be encountered 4.3 Annual growth increments of forest statuses The collection of diameter-disc and subsequent analysis of growth rates after sanding represents a destructive method The only alternative for the acquisition of stem disc needed for the measurement of growth rates was to locate stumps of recently cut trees because tree were not allowed to be logged for the purpose of this survey The results of the measurements for the respective forest types (degraded forest and matured forest) are presented below 4.3.1 Degraded forest stands As far as the degraded forest stands are concerned, annual growth rings of 14 trees have been measured The list of species is presented in table 4.1 Table 4.1 List of species included in the measurement of annual growth rings from former shifting cultivation areas Local name Latin name Abundance (n) Gie Quercus areca Xoan dao Pygenum arboreum Re Cinnamonum albiforum Man cho Knema conferta Lim xet Peltophorum tonkinensis Rang rang Cassia pinnata 16 Gi gai Castanopsis indica De Quercus wallichiana Cheo tia Engelhardtia drysolepsis Ngat Gironniera sp Com tai trau Not identified The initial step of data analysis comprises the calculation of mean annual diameter increments for the respective years This was done by adding up the increments of all the samples in each respective year and dividing the sum by the sample Subsequently, in order to arrive at the cumulative diameter increment for each year, respective mean annual increments had to be added up The mean diameter in dependence of the age of sampled species is displayed in Figure 4.1 Based on the cumulative diameter increment, diameter-class widths have been identified, roughly resembling time of passages of years In other words, with the chosen diameter-classes it is approximated that the trees grow from one diameter-class into the next within an average period of five years Since rings of juvenile wood (i.e the stem-sections near the core) have usually been formed under strong competition through neighbors and young tree may furthermore differ in physiological responses to drought from mature tree (Worbes 2002) [16], diameter and age are not expected to strongly correlate at juvenile age Thus, the lowest diameter-class has been set at < cm, aiming at obtaining accurate ageintervals for the upper diameter-class This step is necessary in order to add the dynamic component of forest growth (allowing for the prediction of yield) to the otherwise static stem number-diameter distribution 17 Figure 4.1 Diameter/age estimation derived from annual growth ring measurement of 14 samples from degraded forest sites in Xuan Le commune As tree with a DBH above 20-25 cm are generally lacking in the degraded forests and villagers indicated that minimum harvestable diameters of 30-35 cm are needed most frequently, the largest diameter-class has been set at > 32.9 cm DBH 4.3.2 Matured forest stands Mainly because of the remoteness and vastness of matured forest areas only seven reasonable stumps could be located Data analysis yielded a mean annual diameter-increment over all sampled species and years of 0,5 cm (which is only half of the value obtained for the degraded forest with 1,01 cm) Besides the differences in stand and age-structure between the degraded and matured forest sites, this represented another indicator and justification for the elaboration of two separate models The list of sampled species is presented in Table 4.2 Regarding the analysis of increment data, the same procedure as for degraded forest stands was applied Nevertheless, a linear correlation between tree age and diameterincrement became apparent, resulting in evenly spaced diameter-classes 18 Table 4.2 List of species included in the measurement of annual growth rings from matured forest stands Local name Latin name Abudance (n) Van tam Mangletia fordiana Lim xet Peltophorum tonkinensis Tau Vatica tonkinensis De sung Castanopsis sp De Qercus wallichiana Vang re Machilus frijuga Diameter-classes have been chosen to be cm width, roughly representing 10 year growth-intervals The mean diameter in dependence of the age of sampled species is displayed in figure 4.2 (refer to the next pages) The largest diameter – class has been set at > 39.9 cm as forest users stated that they are mainly using wood of 30 cm and bigger 19 Figure 4.2 Diameter/age estimation derived from the measurement of annual growth rings of sampled from matured forest sites in Xuan Le commune From the resulting graph, diameter- classes have been derived roughly resembling equal times of passages 4.4 Stem numbers in single diameter-classes, suitable basal area and ideal models for community forest in Xuan Le commune The final task regarding the completion of ideal stand models for matured and degraded forest stands is represented by the specification of stem numbers in single diameterclasses Determined stem-numbers for ideal models elaborated in respect to degraded forest stands are presented in Table 4.3 20 Table 4.3 Stem number and basal area of single diameter-classes representing the ideal stand model for degraded forest sites D-class – 5.9 -9.9 10 -14.9 15 – 20.9 21 – 26.9 27 – 32.9 1600 800 400 240 100 80 40 1.13 4.02 4.90 6.11 4.52 5.65 3.85 > 32.9 Stem number (N/ha) Basal area (m2/ha) Total basal area (m2/ha) 30.18 Care has been taken to give a slightly higher weight to trees in the lower diameter classes, not only accommodating the present natural condition of respective stands but also accounting for the demand of timber in the lower diameter-classes (as assessed during the forest user groups interviews) In case future management is geared to the respective model, at least 80 trees per (haft of the tree in the diameter-class 27 – 32.9 cm plus another 40 trees bigger than 32.9 cm) are expected to surpass a DBH of 30 cm within approximately 20 years Hence, the best model aims at gradually transforming the degraded forests into more matured but still productive states, allowing for trees to be harvested wherever their abundance is reaching over the respective model-value (although silvicultural guidelines have to be considered) Stem number for matured forest stands are presented in Table 4.4 Comparing respective stem numbers of degraded and matured forest stands reveal that the abundance of smaller-sized tree is marginally lower for the latter This decision was mainly based on the observation that encountered matured forests exhibited closed canopies, resulting in a reduced availability of light in the lower strata and lesser abundance of smaller sized tree accordingly Because villagers did not specify an upper diameter-limit, but they revealed a general preference towards harvesting of bigger trees, the largest diameter-class has been set at larger 39.9 cm 21 Table 4.4 Stem number and basal area of single diameter-classes representing the ideal stand model for mature forest sites 10 – D-class – 4.9 15 – 20 - 25 – 30 – 35 – – 9.9 > 39.9 14.9 19.9 24.9 29.9 34.9 39.9 Stem number 1500 600 300 160 110 70 40 30 25 0.74 2.65 3.68 3.85 4.37 4.16 3.32 3.31 3.98 (N/ha) Basal area (m2/ha) Total basal area (m2/ha) 30.6 In both cases, basal areas of the stems per diameter-class and has been calculated using the means of respective classes, while for the largest diameter-classes the lower limits have been used The stem number-diameter distributions of both ideal models are displayed in Figure 4.3 and Figure 4.4 22 Figure 4.3 Ideal stem number-diameter distribution for matured forest stands Figure 4.4 Ideal stem number-diameter distribution for degraded forest stand 23 4.5 Proposed solutions for community forest management The ideal models are crucial for the community to develop a forest management plan Some following solutions are proposed in order to manage the forest effectively in aspects, namely utilization, improvement and protection First, the community should select specific areas for harvesting and only trees in the diameter- class 30 – 34.9 cm can be harvested Additionally, harvesting should be restricted to rare species Before harvesting a tree, make sure that seed-bearing mother trees are nearby to ensure natural regeneration Those seed trees must be distributed over the area Second, prior to harvesting, timber trees have to be marked Responsible forest rangers, as well as a representative of the Communal Forest Management Board have to check and approve the selection Third, after harvesting, no further logging activities are to be carried out in the area for a minimum of 20 years People should not concentrate logging activities in one small area Besides, local government and forestry organizations should pay attention to focus on improve awareness, silviculture guidelines and technical support for locals in the process of building and implementing forest management plan 24 CONCLUSION Important conclusion about participatory forest resources assessment in the context of community based forest management can be drawn First, with the annual diameter increment in this degraded forest and the matured forest is to know how many years does it take from one diameter class to the next, in case of the degraded forest it takes years to growth into the next cm – diameter class, in case of matured forest it take 10 years to growth into the next 10 cm – diameter class This is able for local people to decide time frame of harvest operation Second, these ideal models follow the “inverse – J – curve” as the frequent curve for virgin natural forest On the basis of this model, only trees above the curve are allowed to be cut to maintain the sustainable close-to-nature forestry Experts and local people can use the results to build an actual community forest management plan and are furthermore elaborated during village meeting in order to enable participation by local forest user groups, thus ensuring reliability and usefulness The forest management plans should be elaborated for a period of 10 years to provide the medium-term stability that needed to guide consistent implementation of sustainable forest management activities as prescribed in the plan The plan should be used by everyone who has a decisionmaking role The plan is based on the forest resource assessment above to ensure that all management levels have a clear understanding of what they are doing and why Besides setting out approved management objective, the purpose of the plan is to communicate those objectives of stakeholders who are concerned with the implementation The forest resources assessment in Xuan Le commune have potential to make important contributions as a model towards the achievement of sustainable management of forest resources However, the need for training of local communities in forest management, especially regarding the provision of adequate silvicultural guidelines has to be stressed in order to achieve sustainable management 25 REFERENCES Augusta Molnar, Marina France, Lopaka Purdy and Jonathan Karver, 2011 CommunityBased Forest Management The Extent and Potential Scope of Community and Smallholder Forest Management and Enterprises Bowler DE, Buyung-Ali LM, Healey JR, Jones JPD, Knight TM & Pullin AS, 2012 Does community forest and management provide environmental benefits and improve local welfare? Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 10 RECOFTC, 2013 Community forestry in the Asia and Pacific Bangkok, Thailand Don Gilmour, 2016 Forty years of community-based forestry A review of its extent and effectiveness FAO, Rome Tanya M.Hayes & Lauren Persha Nesting Local Forestry Intiatives: Revisiting Community Forest Management in a REDD+ World Forest Policy and Economics 12 Hla Myo Aung, et al., 2010 Levels of People Participation in Community Based Forest Management of the Dry Zone Area in Myanmar: A Case Study of Chaung U, Nyaung U and Taungdwingyi Townships Runge, C F., 1986 Common property and collective action in economic development World Development 14 Asia Development Bank (ADB) 2002 Indigenous Peoples/Ethnic Minorities and Poverty Reduction Viet Nam Environmental and Social Safeguard Division, Regional and Sustainable Development Department, ADB Manila Kumar Nath, Mohammed Jashimuddin, Makoto Inoue, 2016 Community-Based Forest Management (CBFM) in Bangladesh Springer International Publishing Switzerland 10 UN-REDD Vietnam Phase II Programme, 2016 Community-based forest management in Vietnam 11 Runge, C F., 1986 Common property and collective action in economic development World Development 14 12 Uphoff, N 1992 Local Institutions and participation for sustainable development Gatekeeper series no.31, IIED, London 13 Wode, B 2002 Methodology for Participatory Forest Inventory Social Forestry Development Project (GTZ-SFDP), Community Forestry Section Son La, Vietnam 14 Wode, B 2003 Reference note on the development of the stem number-diameter class distribution developed by SFDP in the framework of participatory forest resource assessment 15 Wode, B 2003 Reference note on the development of the stem number-diameter class distribution developed by SFDP in the framework of participatory forest resource assessment Social Forestry Development Project (GTZ- SFDP), Community Forestry Section Son La, Vietnam 16 Worbes, M 2002 One hundred years of tree-ring research in the tropics – a brief history and an outlook of future challenges Dendrochronologia ... based on suitable forest resources assessment for sustainable forest planning, I decided to conduct a thesis titled ? ?Research on building ideal models for community forest at Xuan Le commune, Thanh. .. in Xuan Le commune, Thanh Hoa province 2.2 Objectives - To assess current status of forest statuses in Xuan Le commune; - To propose ideal models for each forest status and solutions for community. .. exploitation There are three forest statuses in Xuan Le Commune, namely young-regenerated forest after shifting cultivation (IIa), regenerated forest after exploitation (IIb) and natural forest