scholarly journals Economic Potential Of Moringa Oleifera As A Commercial Tree Species And Its Suitability For Forest Management Intervention In Taungya Farming System

Agrosearch ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 242 ◽  
Author(s):  
CA Ajayi ◽  
OA Williams ◽  
OO Famuyide ◽  
O Adebayo
Author(s):  
Ahmed Abu Shaban

Organic farming has achieved significant growth in developing countries. However, it is still in some areas such as Gaza strip at embryonic stage. Introduction and promotion of organic farming would need more information about economic feasibility of shifting from the existing conventional farms to organic farming system. This is the main aim of this study. Data was collected from 100 randomly selected farmers in southern area of Gaza strip using standard questionnaire. Additional focus group discussions were conducted for further qualitative analyses. Data was also collected from the organic farm of Safe Agriculture Association where vegetables are organically produced and marketed. Gross margin and comparative analyses were used to describe cost structure of conventional and organic production and to assess economic potentialities to shift to organic farming. Results varied among vegetable crops as some crops showed very high economic potential to shift to organic farming while other crops did not. Major reasons for crops with good potential were higher yield under organic farming, premium market prices and lower production costs. Major reasons for lower economic potential to shift were the significant lower yield and higher production costs. The study recommends further technical research to explore organic production techniques that allows for higher yield and lower production cost. The study also recommends further market research to investigate consumers' preferences and willingness to pay for organic products.


2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 2411-2427 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Otto ◽  
D. Berveiller ◽  
F.-M. Bréon ◽  
N. Delpierre ◽  
G. Geppert ◽  
...  

Abstract. Although forest management is one of the instruments proposed to mitigate climate change, the relationship between forest management and canopy albedo has been ignored so far by climate models. Here we develop an approach that could be implemented in Earth system models. A stand-level forest gap model is combined with a canopy radiation transfer model and satellite-derived model parameters to quantify the effects of forest thinning on summertime canopy albedo. This approach reveals which parameter has the largest affect on summer canopy albedo: we examined the effects of three forest species (pine, beech, oak) and four thinning strategies with a constant forest floor albedo (light to intense thinning regimes) and five different solar zenith angles at five different sites (40° N 9° E–60° N 9° E). During stand establishment, summertime canopy albedo is driven by tree species. In the later stages of stand development, the effect of tree species on summertime canopy albedo decreases in favour of an increasing influence of forest thinning. These trends continue until the end of the rotation, where thinning explains up to 50% of the variance in near-infrared albedo and up to 70% of the variance in visible canopy albedo. The absolute summertime canopy albedo of all species ranges from 0.03 to 0.06 (visible) and 0.20 to 0.28 (near-infrared); thus the albedo needs to be parameterised at species level. In addition, Earth system models need to account for forest management in such a way that structural changes in the canopy are described by changes in leaf area index and crown volume (maximum change of 0.02 visible and 0.05 near-infrared albedo) and that the expression of albedo depends on the solar zenith angle (maximum change of 0.02 visible and 0.05 near-infrared albedo). Earth system models taking into account these parameters would not only be able to examine the spatial effects of forest management but also the total effects of forest management on climate.


2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 15373-15414 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Otto ◽  
D. Berveiller ◽  
F.-M. Bréon ◽  
N. Delpierre ◽  
G. Geppert ◽  
...  

Abstract. Despite an emerging body of literature linking canopy albedo to forest management, understanding of the process is still fragmented. We combined a stand-level forest gap model with a canopy radiation transfer model and satellite-derived model parameters to quantify the effects of forest thinning, that is removing trees at a certain time during the forest rotation, on summertime canopy albedo. The effects of different forest species (pine, beech, oak) and four thinning strategies (light to intense thinning regimes) were examined. During stand establishment, summertime canopy albedo is driven by tree species. In the later stages of stand development, the effect of tree species on summertime canopy albedo decreases in favour of an increasing influence of forest thinning on summertime canopy albedo. These trends continue until the end of the rotation where thinning explains up to 50% of the variance in near-infrared canopy albedo and up to 70% of the variance in visible canopy albedo. More intense thinning lowers the summertime shortwave albedo in the canopy by as much as 0.02 compared to unthinned forest. The structural changes associated with forest thinning can be described by the change in LAI in combination with crown volume. However, forests with identical canopy structure can have different summertime albedo values due to their location: the further north a forest is situated, the more the solar zenith angle increases and thus the higher is the summertime canopy albedo, independent of the wavelength. Despite the increase of absolute summertime canopy albedo values with latitude, the difference in canopy albedo between managed and unmanaged forest decreases with increasing latitude. Forest management thus strongly altered summertime forest albedo.


2013 ◽  
Vol 59 (No. 4) ◽  
pp. 159-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Pastorella ◽  
A. Paletto

Stand structure and species diversity are two useful parameters to provide a synthetic measure of forest biodiversity. The stand structure is spatial distribution, mutual position, diameter and height differentiation of trees in a forest ecosystem and it highly influences habitat and species diversity. The forest stand and species diversity can be measured through indices that provide important information to better address silvicultural practices and forest management strategies in the short and long-term period. These indices can be combined in a composite index in order to evaluate the complex diversity at the stand level. The aim of the paper is to identify and to test a complex index (S-index) allowing to take into account both the tree species composition and the stand structure. S-index was applied in a case study in the north-east of Italy (Trentino province). The results show that the Norway spruce forests in Trentino province are characterized by a medium-low level of complexity (S-index is in a range between 0.14 and 0.46) due to a low tree species composition rather than to the stand structure (diametric differentiation and spatial distribution of trees).  


IAWA Journal ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 297-S21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neda Lotfiomran ◽  
Michael Köhl

Reliable information on tree growth is a prerequisite for sustainable forest management (SFM). However, in tropical forests its implementation is often hampered by insufficient knowledge of the growth dynamics of trees. Although tree ring analysis of tropical trees has a long history, its application for SFM has only recently been considered. In the current study, we illustrate both the potentials and limitations of a retrospective growth assessment by tree ring analysis under the prevailing tropical conditions in a Surinamese rain forest. For this purpose, 38 commercial tree species were screened and grouped into three categories according to the visibility of their tree ring boundaries: (I) tree rings absent or indistinct, (II) distinct but partially vague tree rings which enable approximate age estimation, (III) very distinct tree rings. In 22 out of 38 commercial tree species distinct to very distinct tree ring boundaries could be identified. The anatomy of tree ring boundaries was described following Worbes and Fichtler (2010). Four species with distinct growth rings, Cedrela odorata, Hymenaea courbaril, Pithecellobium corymbosum and Goupia glabra, were studied in greater detail. Time-series analysis was used to characterise their radial growth. From the tree ring width, the annual diameter increment and cumulative diameter growth were calculated to find long-term growth patterns. Pithecellobium corymbosum and partially Hymenaea courbaril followed a typical S-shaped growth curve. By contrast, Goupia glabra and Cedrela odorata did not exhibit an age-related decrease of growth, but showed a constant linear growth over their entire life span. If based on more sample trees, such data can provide target-oriented information for improving SFM in tropical forests.


Koedoe ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth J. Opperman ◽  
Michael I. Cherry ◽  
Nokwanda P. Makunga

Forests in South Africa are harvested by local communities for multiple purposes and this affects the animals that inhabit them. The tree hyrax (Dendrohyrax arboreus) has a restricted distribution and utilises various tree species as dens and a source of food. In this article, we determined, through a series of interviews in the communities surrounding the Pirie forest, which plant species are harvested by local people and whether these overlap with those used by the tree hyrax. In addition, we determined the extent to which tree hyraxes are hunted by these communities. Of the trees used by the hyrax as dens in the Pirie forest, Afrocarpus falcatus, Schotia latifolia, Andrachne ovalis, Teclea natalensis and Apodytes dimidiata are important resources for local communities. But as these are harvested at relatively low levels, it is unlikely that current harvesting has a large impact on the tree hyrax. Opportunistic hunting occurs, but the hyrax is not targeted by hunters. Very limited commercial harvesting of A. falcatus has been taking place in the Pirie forest since 1975, but its impact on the hyrax population, although undetermined, is also unlikely to be high. We recommend that the Pirie forest tree hyrax population should be monitored by forest management in order to ascertain the impact of both commercial and community harvesting over the past quarter-century.Conservation implications: Tree hyrax populations in the Pirie forest should be actively monitored by management on an annual basis.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Getaneh Haile Shoddo

Abstract BackgroundThe forest people around the world through their indigenous knowledge contribute to the sustainable management of forests. This article argues that the Sheka people in southwestern Ethiopia by their ecological knowledge, values, and spiritual use could manage the Ororo tree (Ekebergia capensis). The Ororo tree (Ekebergia capensis) is one of the most important endemic tree species in the Sheka zone southwestern Ethiopia and, at the same time, one of the most endangered species. MethodsData collected on the indigenous ecological knowledge of the Sheka people and how the Ororo tree could be managed and conserved through the DEDO culture documented and the spiritual connection between the Ororo trees and the Sheka people traditional belief system measured. ResultsThe findings revealed that through their traditional forest-related knowledge, the Sheka people conserve and manage a single larger tree called Ororo. The Ororo tree is a special type of tree that has cultural and spiritual attachments that are presently non-existent. This unique forest conservation practice has been referred to as the DEDO culture. Thus, The culture of DEDO described in this article shows that it still exists in every element of local forest protection, and management Ororo tree (Ekebergia capensis). As the study clearly shows, the DEDO culture is productive and efficient for forest management, and this useful culture has demonstrated its significance in the protection of various forest types and tree species, contributing to the conservation of biodiversity.ConclusionThus, The culture of DEDO described in this article shows that it still exists in every element of local forest protection, and management Ororo tree (Ekebergia capensis). As the study clearly shows, the DEDO culture is productive and efficient for forest management, and this useful culture has demonstrated its significance in the protection of various forest types and tree species, contributing to the conservation of biodiversity.


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