If the tree cutting continues at
the present speed, the forest will be gone in 20 month, not 20 years ! I
had a discussion with one of TMNP´s employees at the Open Day in
Crysalis Academy.
He was absolutely not interested in mainataining the forest, he was
interested in BIODIVERSITY and he feels more obligation to this "World
Heritage" BS than to the needs of the people who pay his salary.
Fynbos is preventing erosion. Erosion is the removal of surface soil.
I can see only sand and rocks in Silvermine, but not in Cecilia forest.
So when will the Fynbos produce soil ?
First I heard the extrmely smart argument the trees consume too much
water, now it is biodiversity. Fact is, there is basically no forestry
knowledge in the Western Cape. Forests in SA were always only exploited.
This what a forest expert has to say about both issues :
XI WORLD FORESTRY CONGRESS 1997
.... · Protection of water resources:
through its foliage, the craggy bark, and the abundant litter, trees and
forests decrease the speed of water dispersion and favour slow but total
infiltration of rain water; it is also to be noted the capacity of trees
especially in dry areas to retain other precipitations such as mist that
then can be collected and stored for use. The combination of these
elements makes it possible that in apparently very arid environments an
important amount of water is stored in the ground which can support the
survival of trees and forests in often adverse conditions. Reducing the
erosion, the forests also provide cleaning processes of natural water.
· Soil Protection: The forest canopy slows down the wind while its dense
network of roots holds the soil in place; added to the buffering
function of water flow as mentioned above, these characteristics protect
against wind and water erosion, land movement (mass slides and falling
rocks) and, under cold climates the risks of avalanches; with the
combination of slower dispersion of water and its forcing down to
phreatic and intermediary watertables, the forest exerts an important
buffering effect that protect against flooding or severe river bank
erosion; this latter function is fundamentally important. Many of these
functions may, however, be impaired by inadequate or unsuitable
management practices that allow inadvertent baring of forest soils or
the existence of empty space in stands. This degradation, if unchecked,
leads to deforestation which in turn leads to exacerbated run-off,
leaching, destruction of soil structures, growing erosion and eventually
desertification.
· Buffering local climate and reduction of gas emission impacts: Through
the control of wind velocity and air flows, the forest influences local
air circulation and may thus retain solid suspensions and gaseous
elements; it can filter air masses and retain contaminants. The forest
exerts a definite protective effect on neighbouring human settlements
and especially crops. This capacity is used in the protection of
inhabited areas especially when adjoining industrial areas and generally
in urban forestry.
· Conservation of the natural habitat and biological diversity: The
forest offers habitat to flora and fauna and, depending on its health,
vitality and ultimately the way it is managed or protected, secures its
own perpetuation through the functioning of the forest ecological
processes; under natural circumstances the many successions of states
evolve gradually towards an equilibrium, the climactic formations and
associations that should be the optimum state depending on the climate
and physiographic characteristics. In Europe, almost half of the ferns
and flowering plants grow in the forest. Due to its size and its
structural diversity, more animal species are found in the forest than
in any other ecosystem. The capacity of forest to provide a suitable
habitat to its various components also strongly depends on the
composition, density and structure. Composition and structure strongly
influence diversity while density may enhance protection. It is admitted
that mixed species forests offer better habitat to wildlife than pure
stands. This should be kept in mind when considering plantations or the
management and silviculture of deeply modified forest ecosystems.
· Recreational and other social functions of the forests: Apart from
these direct physical and biological protective functions, the forests
in general have gained increasingly important recreational functions
during the last five decades. In the vicinity of cities, tourism and
health resorts have flourished benefiting from the forest environment;
in forested areas of developed and developing countries alike, secondary
residences are getting man back closer to the forests. The management of
forest stands in these areas should then be more and more oriented
towards objectives relating to the well-being of people, leisure and
recreational services, protection of man from the effects of urban
concentrations and industrialization. To better meet these needs,
silviculture and forest management options should then be adopted by
promoting attractive stands of various species and diversified
structure. The forest should be provided with the adequate equipment,
access and road network to build conviviality and reduce fire risks.
· Protecting the forests to protect from cultural erosion: While urban
communities are striving to be closer to nature, at the same time
evolution of the world and local forest economies may threaten other
protective functions of natural forests in the developing world where
forests have still maintained their cultural and religious functions. It
is a challenge to the forestry of the 21st
century to also cater for these needs and maintain the cultural
dimension of the protective functions of the forests.
Desertification
Deforestation induced by use of forest and tree resources has been
aggravated by the degradation
of climatic conditions in many areas of the world. The most affected
countries are those recognized by
the United Nations in Africa and to which priority has been given in the
negotiation and the
implementation of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification and
Drought. Tree planting in areas
threatened by desertification or the management of dry tree formations
contribute to protecting the
soils and restoring the productive capacity of the land. The most
spectacular initiatives in desertification
control are the activities to stabilize sand dunes. These have been
implemented with remarkable
success in West Africa (Mauritania, Niger and Senegal), in North Africa
(Morocco; Algeria, with the
huge initiative of the Green Belt that has shifted from massive
plantations to an approach towards
integrated rural development; Tunisia and Libya), in Asia (India, Iran
and Pakistan among others).
This is why the role of trees and forests to control desertification and
mitigate the effects of drought
has been fully recognized and promoted in all the programmes being
implemented to control
desertification. Tree planting goes now more and more with associated
techniques including water harvesting, bundling and terracing,
establishment of micro-catchments and moon crescents to collect all
possible water resources.
The National Action Programmes to implement the UN Convention to combat
desertification will
promote these actions in the larger national initiatives to combat land
degradation, food insecurity
and poverty. Although tree planting has been heralded as the first and
foremost tool for desertification
control, many social, economic and ecological considerations have
re-evaluated its role and position.
The NAP processes have recognized this and involve a larger set of
integrated activities. However,
seen as a potent multi-functional tool among others in land degradation
control, tree, shrub and grass
planting can constitute a powerful complex when implementing water
conservation and erosion control
measures, rehabilitation of exhausted croplands, diversification of
village landscape to include trees
of various functions and services, stabilization and reclamation of
lands. Forestry, agroforestry and
urban tree planting will then remain very high in the agenda of National
Action Programmes to combat desertification.
http://www.fao.org/forestry/docrep/wfcxi/publi/PDF/V2E_T00.PDF |
Posted - 12
Mar 2006 : 20:08:32 
