East Asia and Pacific

Effect of Vegetation Restoration on Soil and Water Erosion and Nutrient Losses of a Severely Eroded Clayey Plinthudult in Southeastern China

Background

In this study, researchers compare erosion from reforested and degraded sites in subtropical southeastern China.

Goals & Methods

The objective of the study was to estimate the long-term influences of reforestation on soil and water erosion and nutrient losses in regions of southeast China that are characterized by severely eroded bare land derived from Quaternary red clay. The study examined surface runoff, soil erosion, and soil nutrient content.  

Available with subscription or purchase

Reforestation in the Philippines, Proceedings from the Fourth Pacific Science Congress, Java

  • This Bureau of Forestry authored document describes reforestation efforts to recover areas degraded by shifting agriculture. A forest nursery was established in 1910 to determine best forest tree species for “artificial reforestation of cogon lands” and in areas of “second growth of no commercial importance”- 600 species were experimented with.
Available with subscription or purchase

Annual report of the director of forestry of the Philippine Islands for the period 1907-1913

background

This report contains a number of sections relevant to early reforestation activities in the Philippines, including research on succession pathways, restoration experiments on degraded lands, tree nursery operations, and native species.

conclusion & takeaways

This report provides the rare opportunity to look at the history of forestry and ecological activities in the tropics. These activities and projects can now be analyzed in the full context of the past 100 years, wherein the arcs of their success, failure, and learnings can be more fully understood. 

 

 

Open access copy available

A Preliminary Working Plan for the Public Forest Tract of the Mindoro Lumber and Logging Company, Bongabon, Mindoro, Philippine Islands

Summary

This is a Bureau of Forestry management plan for a 20-year concession held by the Mindoro Lumber and Logging Company. The document provides site description, descriptions of different forest types, stand types, and tree species, yield tables for different forest types, brief financial analysis, and description of minor forest products. (wood properties, growth habit, etc)

Available with subscription or purchase

Annual report of the director of forestry of the Philippine Islands for the period 1915-1924

background

This report contains a number of sections relevant to early reforestation activities in the Philippines, including research on succession pathways, restoration experiments on degraded lands, tree nursery operations, and native species.

Open access copy available

Special Report of Captain George P. Ahern, Ninth U.S. Infantry, in Charge of Forestry Bureau, Philippine Islands, Covering the Period from April, 1900, to July 30,1901

background

This 139-page report outlines the state of the Spanish colonial Forestry Bureau at time of arrival of US forces in the Philippines (~1900), and reforms instituted by Captain Ahern. He describes the timber business in the Philippines including the state of the forested lands, species exploited, and volumes exported. At that time, 160 species of native trees were exported, but the Forestry Bureau knew of 665 native tree species. Ahern suggests trying to find a use for them to make timber extraction more profitable. Samples of 100 species were sent to the US for exhibition.

Open access copy available

The Forest Manual Containing the Forest Act (No. 1148): extracts from other laws of Philippine Commission relating to the Forest Service, and the forest regulations prepared in accordance with provisions of the Forest Act

Background

This document contains the text of the Philppine Forest Act, which regulates the use of public forests and reserves. It includes descriptions of  historical regulations, licenses, taxes, harvest limits, violations, and prohibition of caiñgin (swidden plots). It also includes extracts of other relevant laws.

Open access copy available

Philippine Dipterocarp Forests

  • This study provides a detailed description of Philippine dipterocarp forests, including details on climatic conditions and composition in the first pages. Page 430 has a table of natural stand regeneration studies of a range of plots (natural and cut over), listing seedling numbers and size class distribution of 5 species in “virgin Negros rainforest” (Table 3); 7-10 species of Bataan are listed on p. 433-437 (Table V-VII), 6 species in Laguna are listed on p. 438-441 (Table VIII-IX), and multiple species of Mt Maquiling are listed on p. 444-450 (Table X-XII).
  • Succession pathways on cleared land are described starting on p. 451.
Available with subscription or purchase

Philippine Resins, Gums, Seed Oils, and Essential Oils

background

This bulletin is a compendium of plant species containing exudate or oils that might be commercially exploited. The book also describes the difficulty posed by high species-diversity for economically feasible resin/oil extraction.

Open access copy available

Tropical Reforestation in the Asia-Pacific Region

background

This chapter reviews the meaning and implementation of landscape scale restoration in the Asia-Pacific region.  The authors define landscape as a spatial mosaic with differing land use patterns across a gradient, usually involving natural and human-intervened areas which changes through time.

Available with subscription or purchase
Subscribe to East Asia and Pacific