new reforestration project

[nathanjod]

happy new year guys,

hi, i am jon from the philippines, we will be starting our reforestration business this coming april in time for the rainy season but reforestration as a business is new here in the philippines and i dont have any model to follow i have  42 hectares of land to start with and we are new in this field. we plan to plant mahogany, teak trees. maybe you could help me waht is the correct planting distance of this trees.


thanks

[Don K]

Hello Jon,

Welcome to the Forum. I think you might be our first member from the Philippines. I can't answer your question but we have some members that are in the tree business in more tropical climates. Maybe they can help.

Don

[crtreedude]

Hi Jon,

There is no way to answer your question. It depends on lots of factors. For example, soil. Without a soil test, you cannot guess what the planting distance should be, also, your management plan is important as well.

I cannot stress strongly enough the need to get a local forestry engineer. Planting trees is a long term investment, and a costly one. Whatever you pay in fees to a forestry engineer will more than come back in the end. If you can't afford to have a forestry engineer - bluntly, you can't afford to have a plantation.

We have 5 plantations in Costa Rica where we grow teak, mahogany and about 40 other species, just so you know my background.

Fred

[aom]

Hello NJ
first of all plant as much a variety as possible. Many of the native timbers are highly valuable, ie. narra, dao, tidalo, ipil etc. But if you plant natives, make sure that you have the required evidence from the DNR that it is a new planting, otherwise in the future, even if you wish to manage it by thinning, you wont be allowed to fell, as they will say it is a native woodland, hence can not be touched. Try and find out what grew in the area prior to the main clearances from the 60's to the late 80's, ask around, there must be a few karabao loggers[retired I hope] that knew what was successful.
The variety of species helps if there is some pestilence, ie. dont put all your eggs in one basket. A popular species is Gmelina, it grows fast, but even so realistically you need 15 years to harvest a decent sawlog, but is of less value than natives.
I would be cautious as to the locall terrain especially the relationship with local hills and the wind flow especially during typhoon season, ie. dont expect long tall clean stems, if you dont have topographic shelter.
It might be worthwhile to plant shorter broader trees around the perimiter, such as mango, as they will protect the valuable interior trees. Also fire is a problem in the Phils, petty jealousy etc and it is easy to destroy a crop, if local people have access to the fruit trees, generally they will try and look out to ensure the woodlot remains safe, as they benefit from it.
My experience has been from the Cagayan region of Luzon, but dont know which region your from. I f you have specific questions, please ask and I will try and answer.
Although I cant answer every day due to work committments with my business here in the UK. Also are there any local co-operatives which run tree nurseries? and are the NPA busy in your region, all points to bear in mind
regards Arwyn,