The Silviculture of Small-Scale Forest Plantations in Leyte, The Philippines: A Preliminary Survey

A baseline survey was undertaken of small-scale forest plantations in the provinces of Leyte and Biliran, the Philippines as preparation for Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) project ASEM/2003/052. Inspections and interviews were undertaken with plantation owners to determine the species, age, provenance, spacing, site preparation, pruning, thinning history, reason for planting and the expected market for the trees. The growth and form of the plantations was found to be poor, partly because of a lack of silvicultural management and partly because of a lack of commercial focus. Technical information concerning tree growing is difficult for farmers to access. Increased extension services and liaison between sawmillers and growers is suggested as a possible solution

Using Seedling Trays as Extension Aids in an ACAIR Project in Leyte, The Philippines

As part of ACIAR project ASEM/2003/052, Improving Financial Returns to Smallholder Tree Farmers in the Philippines in Leyte Province, the Philippines, 50 cell seedling trays are proposed as an extension aid to promote the uptake and diffusion of agro-forestry. The 50 cell trays were designed in Queensland, Australia and prevent root coiling while promoting air pruning of roots. The trays are a substantial improvement over the traditional polythene bag which is widely used in Australia and the Philippines to grow seedlings. Use of the trays is proposed as an extension aid in the provision of assistance to individual Filipino farmers. Evaluation of their use will be undertaken using a constructivist methodology to determine impediments to the uptake of tree farming from a farmer's perspective

Derivation of a One Way Single Tree Volume Table for Small-Scale Forestry

The purpose of this paper is to outline the procedures by which the ACIAR Project ASEM/2003/052 may assist farmers by deriving a single tree volume table which farmers could use to estimate the volume and values of their trees. The procedures for deriving a single tree volume table are outlined and the limitations to its use are discussed

Improving the Management of Tree Farms in the Philippines Through the Use of Demonstration Sites

Demonstration sites on existing tree farms have been chosen as the interface between farmers and project outputs in Leyte Province. The sites have been selected and the owner's cooperation has been obtained. A silvicultural management plan for each site is in preparation. Visits to the demonstration sites by interested farmers will provide the opportunity for them to evaluate tree farming and how it may be incorporated into their farming systems. This paper describes an action research methodology for the development and implementation of extension activities on the demonstration sites

Using FCD Mapper Software and Landsat Images to Detect Breaks in Forest Canopies in Landscapes in Australia and the Philippines

Using Landsat imagery, forest canopy density (FCD), estimated with the FCD Mapper (Mapper), was correlated with stand height for 20 field plots, measured in native forest at Noosa Heads, south-east Queensland, Australia. Another image was used to calculate FCD in Leyte Island in the Philippines and was ground-truthed for accuracy. The Mapper was produced for the International Tropical Timber Organisation and is available on a CD ROM. It estimates FCD as an index of canopy density using reflectance characteristics of Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper images. The Mapper is a 'semi expert' computer program which uses interactive screens to allow the operator to make decisions concerning the classification of land into bare soil, grass or forest. At Noosa a strong, positive, nonlinear relationship (R2 = 0.86) was found between FCD and stand height for 15 field plots in a range of native forest of variable stand height but complete canopy closure. An additional five field plots were measured in forest with a broken canopy and these plots were assessed as having a much lower FCD than forest with canopy closure. FCD was also calculated for forest and agricultural land on the island of Leyte and ground-truthing showed that at appropriate settings, the Mapper differentiated between tropical rain forest and banana or coconut plantations. These findings suggest that this remote sensing technique has potential for change detection in logged-over forests which are redeveloping a canopy, or in separating forests, which has a broken canopy, such as coconut plantations, from native forest. Since there is a continuing loss of natural forest to agriculture in the region, the Mapper may be a useful tool for the detection of illegal logging or the conversion of land from natural forest to agriculture

Appropriate Surveying Methods in the Philippines - Can Modern GPS Units Help?

An investigation was undertaken to test the effectiveness of two different procedures for recording boundary surveys of tree farms. The accuracy of a Garmin 76 Global Positioning System (GPS) unit and a compass and chain was checked under the same conditions. Tree canopies interfered with the ability of the satellite signal to reach the GPS and therefore the GPS survey was less accurate than the compass and chain survey. Where a high degree of accuracy is required, a compass and chain survey is a more effective and a less costly means of surveying land underneath a tree canopy, providing that operator accuracy of the compass and chain survey is sufficiently high. For a large number of surveys and thus large amounts of data, it is better to use the Garmin 76 (GPS) than the compass and chain survey, as it is more convenient and time efficient, but the operator must be willing to accept the inaccuracies, especially under a dense canopy

Tree Registration and Appropriate Surveying Methods in the Philippines - Can Modern GPS Units Help?

Registering plantations of trees in the Philippines requires a boundary survey of the land on which they are planted and this is expensive for poor farmers. Legal and political requirements for farmers owning tree farms or plantations, involves tree registration by employees of DENR. An investigation was undertaken to test the effectiveness of two different procedures for recording boundary surveys needed for tree registration. The accuracy of a Garmin 76 Global Positioning System (GPS) unit and a compass and chain was checked under the same conditions. Tree canopies interfered with the ability of the satellite signal to reach the GPS and therefore the GPS survey was less accurate than the compass and chain survey. Where a high degree of accuracy is required, a compass and chain survey is a more effective and a less costly means of surveying land underneath a tree canopy

Constructing a Yield Table for Smallholder Forests

Informed decisions about land use require estimates of future yields and returns. Yield tables are a convenient way to document likely yields from tree plantations. This paper outlines a pragmatic procedure to compile yield tables for smallholder plantings in Leyte, Philippines

Trials and tribulations in locating tree farmers and sites for research and extension activities

The major aim of ACIAR project ASEM 2003/052 is to improve financial returns to existing smallholder tree farms in Leyte through a number of extension activities. In order to identify sites suitable for extension activities, visits were made to some tree farms (either registered or not registered with DENR) in Leyte. For this purpose, the initial aim was to identify at least 30 tree farms representing a range of age classes, species, soil types, elevation and climate. In addition, tree farms should have an area of at least 0.25 ha. Various difficulties were encountered in fieldwork designed to locate these tree farms. The main reason was associated with inconsistencies in the database of registered tree farms compiled by Community Environment and Natural Resources Offices (CENROs) which included information concerning tree farm location, owner, species and plantation area. Specific difficulties encountered in finding sites included nonexistence of some registered tree farms, inability to interview some farm owners because they do not reside near their tree farm, some tree farms have a low stocking against what was listed with the CENRO. Despite these difficulties, 76 tree farms were found during October to December 2004. Seventy one tree farms were GPS referenced and 37 tree farm owners were interviewed

Bringing Agroforestry Technology to Farmers in the Philippines: Identifying constraints to success using systems modelling

Bayesian Belief Network (BBN) modelling may be applied in rural extension in situations where program outputs are influenced by variables which are sequentially influenced by other variables. For a recently completed agroforestry extension program in Leyte the Philippines, BBN modelling of site factors, establishment practices and risk, predicted widely different program outputs for different levels of extension assistance and farmer inputs. In a situation where very little was known about how farmers would respond to offers of extension assistance, monitoring of the program over a period of three years revealed that extended extension assistance was crucial in determining the likely survival and growth of trees. Extended extension assistance was also important for the elimination of unsuitable sites and the use of appropriate establishment procedures. Where extension support was not available, farmers displayed a poor knowledge of the principles of tree growth, planting trees underneath complete canopies and adjacent to mature coconut palms even though they could have been expected to have extensive local knowledge of raising and growing plants. Approximately one third of planting sites were infertile and eroded and growth of newly planted trees on these sites was poor, often because site preparation and maintenance was minimal. Newly established trees were also found to be at risk from fire, typhoon, and grazing and in situations where plantations were destroyed, farmers became antagonistic towards the program. The implications of the BBN modelling for a hypothetically expanded program are that extended assistance and site inspections are necessary to eliminate planting trees on inappropriate and unsuitable sites and to improve establishment practices and weed control in order to avoid plantations of suppressed and chlorotic trees which fail to meet the expectations of farmers, thus impinging on the success of the program