A Brief Review of Afforestation Efforts in Israel

RANGELANDS 20(2),April 1998 15

Viewpoint: A Brief Review of Afforestation Efforts in Israel

John Stemple

he establishmentof the State of Quercus i/ox (holly oak); Salix a/ba began with the destructive felling of Israel and its land administration (willow); and Tamarix articulata the Cedars of Lebanon, Syria, and Tpolicies have generatedpolitical, (tamarisk). Jordan 3,000 years ago." ethnic, and religiouscontroversies ever Much of the modern State of Israel Only a few decades later, during the since the United Nations voted for the was home to two Israelite kingdoms in 1948—1 949 Israeli War of partition of Palestine on 29 November biblical days, but the northern Independence, trees were indiscrimi- 1947. By 1961 the Jewish National Kingdom of Israel was taken by nately burned. During this conflict it Fund (JNF), also known as Keren Assyria in 722 B.C.E. and the south- was estimated (Morris 1961) that Kayemeth Leisrael (KKL), had been ern Kingdom of Judah by Babylonia 50,000 trees growing in the Balfour designated by the Israeli government later on. Thus Roman and Byzantine Forest of Ginegar and nearthe kibbutz as the solely accreditedagency for soil (586 B.C.E.-614 C.E.), Persian of Shamir were burned by advancing amelioration, land development, and (614—629), Byzantine (629-638), troops. Another 115,000 saplings died afforestation. With Israel's fiftieth an- Moslem Arab (638—1099), Crusader during this conflict due to neglect while niversary only weeks away, afforesta- (1099—1291), Moslem Arab their Israeli caretakers were diverted tion efforts continue utilizing five (1291—1517), Ottoman (1517—1917), by the necessity of defending the decades of accumulatedexperience. and British (1917—1948) "annexers" reestablishedState. Natural historians contend that Israel successively (Dosick 1995) adminis- containeda wide of native trees tered the region. variety The absence trees was not in centuries past. In fact it is generally The tree elements of "Palestine"(the of acknowledged(Azaria 1969) that in an- designation adopted by Roman lead- only obvious, but also severe- cient times, "Woodland covered almost ers) were mismanaged and neglected ly felt by the residents. all the country. . .". Indeed it would during the Diaspora. They were occa- seem that the land in generalcontained sionally wantonly requisitioned for war considerable flora. and building material. Herds of grazing Most of Israel's remaining native tree Based upon the Hebrew Bible, and animals roamed the denuded areas elements (Tucker 1995) are located in allowing for variations in the transla- and hampered the natural regenera- areas of the Judean, Samarian, and tions of its ancient writings, it would tion of foliage. Water erosion also took Galilee Hills, and near Haifa. Maquis appear that many tree species were its toll. The eventual result was that and other smaller woodland elements indigenous to modern Israel. Tree ref- the land (Azaria 1969), "reached its containing the following species can in areas the coun- erences (Walker 1979) from the bibli- lowest ebb during the second half of be found various of cal texts include: Acacia seyal (aca- the nineteenth century...in terms of its try: Acacia albida (acacia); Zizyphus cia); Amygdalus communis (almond); natural setting.. spina-christi(Christ-thorn); Pinus Buxus Iongifolia (box); Cedrus libani During the latter 1800s settlers and halepensis; Quercus ithaburensis (Cedar of Lebanon); Cinnamomum visitors alike were astonished by the (Mount Tabor oak); Styrax officionalis cassia (cassia); Cupressus semper- bleakness of the land. As a case in (styrax); Quercus callipninos (Kermes virens (Italian cypress); Elaeagnus an- point, one day in September of 1867, oak); Pistacia palaestina (Palestine gustifolia (oil); Ficus carica (fig); Ficus a traveler named Mark Twain com- terebinth); Laurus nobitis (bay tree); sycomorus (sycamore); Juniperus ex- mented in his personal journal Cercis siliquastrum(Judas tree); celsa (Grecian juniper); Juniperus (McKeithan 1958) that, "Of all the Ceratonia siliqua (carob); Pistacia Artbutus andrachne oxycedrus (cedar); Myrtus communis lands on earth for dismal scenery, I lentiscus (lentisc); (myrtle); Olea europaea (olive); think Palestine must be prince. The (Eastern Strawberry); Pistachia atlanti- Phoenix dactylifera (palm); Pinus hills are barren. . ca (Atlantic terebinth); Pyrus syniaca halepensis (aleppo or Jerusalem In the twentieth century rangeland (Syrian pear); Prunus ursina (wild pine); Pistacia terebinthus (terebinth); degradation would continue. World cherry); Acer obtusifolium (maple); Pistacia vera (pistachio); Platanus on- War I was, in a sense, the coup de and Platanus orientalis. entalis (oriental plane tree); Populus grace for the remaining large tree ele- The absence of trees was not only alba (poplar); Populus euphratica ments. As one author put it, the re- obvious, but also severely felt by the (aspen); Prunus armeniaca (apricot); moval (Dregne 1983) of "trees and residents. Even prior to Statehood it Pterocarpus santalinus (almug); shrubs...in World War I was but the was recognized that the presence of Quercus aegilops (valonia oak); last instance of the deforestation that trees would help to: raise the level of 16 RANGELANDS 20(2),April 1998

15,000 trees in six areas, covering 19 ha of land, to be planted. By 1948 the totals had soared to 5,280,000 trees at 72 different sites, encompassing nearly 2,368 ha. By the year 1960, the total plantings had reached 48,000,000 trees covering more than 18,569 ha. In 1968 the trees-plantedtotal rose to 95,000,000. By the end of 1994 over 205,000,000 trees had been planted. By 1995 80,000 ha of planted forest and 40,000 ha of natural woodland had been established, and the JNF was planting almost 2,835 ha of new forests and utilizing nearly 3,000,000 saplings annually. Total forest cover- age in 1995 was estimated at approximately 5%. As a former JNF official (Dr. Samuel I. Cohen, Executive Vice President for the JNF of America) related in a speech delivered at the USDA Winter Conference Jewish National Fund (JNF) planting site in the vicinity ofGolani, Israel. Leadership in Arlington, Virginia, on 26 January Israel will be the create new 1995, only country in underground water; soil; drought resistant and has a shallow the world that will have more trees at the earth; anchor root This was reinvigorate shifting system. species planted the end of the twentieth than it sand dunes; cover the hills with foliage extensively in mountainouszones. century and from containedat the beginning. timber; protect young crops Other early plantings included cy- and fierce desert cover and Experience knowledge has en- winds; provide press, tamarisk, acacia, and carob abled the JNF to achieve a camouflage for the precursors to the trees. Tamarisks were in the planting planted survival rate of over 90%. The density Israel Defense Forces; and Even in provide depressions salty swamps. of plantings averages from 160 trees forestry and timber employment; and the desert the JNF went to work plant- per acre in arid zones to 600 trees per make the bleak landscape productive, ing trees. In addition to earty plantings and acre in hilly areas. fruitful, aestheticallypleasing. of acacias and tamarisks in northern The The reintroduction of trees to JNF currently manages over the Negev gullies and wadis, and palms 150 forests. Forests are land was undertaken set- near Eilat maintained by residents, and Yotvata, pinewood even in the where about 32 tlers, and forestswere Negev, immigrants. Eucalyptus eventuallyestablished. kilometers north of Beersheba the trees, imported from Australia, were In forest areas as of 1970 (Tucker Lahov and Yatir forests green the arid planted to drain areas where malaria 1995) approximately89% of new plant- landscape.These sites possibly repre- infested swamps existed. According to ing was coniferousand 82% consisted sent the the Jewish National Fund its first southernmost pinewood (JNF) of Pinus halepensis, Cupressus sem- forests in the northern forest was in 1908 at Ben hemisphere. planted pervirens and Pinus brutia (Calabrian The number of Shemen, located between the city of pine). As late as 1995 Pinus species being plant- halepen- ed has been significantly increased Jerusalem and what would become sis accounted for at least 36% of the since the early days, partially as a re- the city of Tel Aviv. Some 12,000 olive total forest species planted. suit of the spread of diseases through trees were planted. Nine Jewish National Fund (JNF) Trees were often the primarily monocultural forests es- planted between tree nurseries were established in dif- tablished Decemberand the of ferent decades ago. Another influ- February, period regions of the country between ence for the of heaviest rainfall. Due to Israel's cli- the expansion species is period 1949—1960, so many of the the move towards mate the necessities of selecting saplings were domestical- multi-purpose propagated forestry. Trees are now needed for species (Tucker 1995) which could ly. By 1960 nurseries, such as the one survive the season be- located at ecological reasons, recreational uses, prolonged dry Gilat, had raised nearly and timber-related industries. tween April to October was of para- 1,000,000 for an- saplings replanting More than 80 species of trees are mount importance. An additional re- nually. was for a currently being planted. Native species quirement species which Figures related to national tree es- such as would survive in the Quercus calliprinos, Quercus shallow, high-pH tablishment programs indicate an im- Pistachia soils of the limestone hills. Pinus rate over the ithaburensis, atlantica, pressive growth years. Pistachia Ceratonia halepensis was attractive because it is Prior to 1920 contributors enabled palaestina, sillqua, RANGELANDS 20(2), April 1998 17

Cercis siliquastrum, Olea europaea, press), Cupressus macrocarpa and Arbutus andrachne are being in- The Forestry Department real- (Monterey cypress), Cedrus libani, troduced in greater numbers. Also ized that with comprehensive Cedrus atlantica (Blue Atlas cedar), conifers such as Pinus pinea (Stone such as dis- Cedrus deodora, and local varieties of Pinus planning problems Quercus, Pistacia, Cercis, pine), pinaster(Maritime pine), and stunted Styrax, Pinus radiata (Monterey pine), Cedrus ease, fire, growth Arbutus (heath), Ceratonia, Laurus, atlantica (Atlantic cedar), Cedrus deo- could possibly be minimized and Crataegus (hawthorn) were intro- dar (deodorar cedar), and Cedrus and made more manageable. duced to expand the species mix. libani have been recently introduced or Priorto 1992 fire damageand infesta- reintroducedto the land. tions of Israeli pine blast scale The afforestation of Israel pro- (Matsucoccusjosephii) were the forest's gressed via experience (trial and error) species, including Quercus calliprinos only real problems. Then several atypi- and experimentation, and despite nat- and Pistacia palestina, continued to cally heavy snowfallssignificantly dam- ural disasters. A major goal of early af- grow even after the sites had been aged the forest. Nearly, 100,000Pinus forestation was simply to plant trees cleared and prepared for pine plant- halepensis trees, representing 95% of across the barren land in an effort to ings. It was discovered that the resid- the forest species and 35% of the total make Israel's landscape alive and pro- ual oaks which grew in the open usu- forest inventory, were destroyed. ductive. Masses of trees were planted ally matured into shrub-like trees of Rather than being dismayed officials with a somewhat naive hope for their less than 4 meters of attained height realized that this natural disaster pro- survival. Thus, while trees were con- and intense intervention was required vided the Keren Kayemeth Leisrael sidered critical to Israel in the fight to shape them into single or double (KKL) with an opportunity to not only against desert and wilderness,species stemmed trees. Meanwhile, the oaks replace trees, but also make the forest mixes and forest management were growing under a pine over-story more resilient. The Forestry not always comprehensivelyplanned. sought light from the openings and Department realized that with compre- The need to more thoughtfully evalu- grew taller (6 to 7 meters) and hensive planning, problems such as ate plantingsites was becomingappar- straighter, and with less side branch- disease, fire, and stunted growth could ent to the Jewish National Fund (JNF) ing, with minimal intervention. possibly be minimized and made more by 1950. Natural factors, which had Since forests planted in the 1950s manageable. been overlooked or underestimated in and 1960$ are now attaining a normal In essence the revised Baram plan the haste to implement a large-scale rotation age, Keren Kayemeth Leisrael was an attemptto make the forest even aftorestation program, contributed to (KKL) forestry planners are sometimes more successful and durableby chang- this need for careful planning. able to revise their forest plans. ing the structure of the forest from The JNF devised methods of plant- Through natural lifespan processes large, even-aged, monoculturalblocks ing, clearing weeds and underbrush, they are provided an opportunityto re- to smaller, even-aged, multi-species pruning, thinning, and trimming. design mature forests to include ex- blocks of trees. Decisions as to what Silvopastoral management methods panded species mixes and to provide the forest's trees would be utilized for were eventually undertakento prevent for efficient multipurposeforest growth became a preliminaryfocus. The result "fuel loading" in forests as a fire reduc- and maintenance. was that certain areas were designated tion effort, and silvicultural intervention However, forest rotation due to ma- for commercial usage and others re- was implemented to enable proper turity is not the only opportunity JNF servedfor recreational purposes. tree development. has been given to modify forests. The areas of Baram having the most The result of the lessons learned Another scenario of forest redevelop- potential for commercial forestry were was a concerted effort to take into ac- ment can be seen in the example of designated as "productive".Productive count soil depth and texture, topogra- Baram Forest (Ginsberg 1995), which stands were designed to include two phy, force of rainwater runoff, and the is located in Galilee. Baram itself en- to four conifer species only. Planting average temperature and precipitation compasses approximately 1,000 ha. It densities in productive stands were at planting sites. Furthermorethe den- was an even-aged forest of largely adjusted to 1,600 trees per hectare, sity of the plantings, the suitability of monoculturalblock plantings. with a spacing of 2.5 by 2.5 meters. species, and site maintenancewere all Pinus halepensis, the most plentiful "Nonproductive,"or recreationalsec- brought into play in determining plant- species, Pinus brutia, and Cupressus tions, were to have as many as 12 ings at any specific location. sempervirens accounted for 85% of conifer and broadleaf species. The Current site problems are illustrated the forested area. Beginning in 1970 plan called for 1,100 trees per hectare, by maintenanceexperiences of mixed- additional non-native conifers and na- with spacing of 3 by 3 meters. On species forests (Ginsberg 1995) such tive broadleafs such as Pinus pinea, steeper sites 600 trees per hectare as Biranit, Meron, Sifsufa, and Sasa. Pinus radiata, Pinus canariensis were planned, with a planting spacing In some areas it was found that the (Canary Island pine), Cupressus an- of 4 by 4 meters. residual roots and stumps of several zonica (Arizona Roughed Barked cy- Since hot, dry summers are a con- 18 RANGELANDS 20(2), April 1998

into effect in Israel itself. Over the travel journal entry. Israel is literally decades since Israel's reestablish- painting its landscape, and the "pig- ment, foreign dignitaries and officials ment" utilized has been trees. It is iron- have rolled up their sleeves and insert- ic to note that contemporary Israelis ed a sapling into Israeli soil. Those are only repeating whattheir ancestors whose names are not as recognizable had done and recorded centuries be- have planted a far greater number of fore, for the Scriptureverse of Leviticus trees. These individuals are the true 19:23 strongly infers that their prede- VIPs, or "Very Important People". cessors planted trees throughout the According to the JNF the period be- land: "you shall come into the land, and tween 1993—1995saw nearly 100,000 shall have planted all manner of visitors planting saplings at seven cen- trees..." (The Jerusalem Bible transla- ters through the country. Photo A tion). Thus with each tree planted the shows a Jewish National Fund (JNF) "painting"of Israelcontinues. tree-planting site located in the Golani vicinity. Photo B shows an American "VIP" planting a sapling, which she Literature Cited purchased on-site from JNF stocks for Azaria, Alon. 1969. The natural of $10.00 (U.S.), during a visit this history past the land of the Bible. Paul Hamlyn, New May to Israel. York, N.Y. Dosick, Wayne. 1995. Living Judaism: the complete guide to Jewish belief, tradition Conclusions & practice. HarperCollins, San Calif. Susan Vesely-Galeplants a tree in IsraeL Francisco, There is little doubt that Israel has Dregne, H.E. 1983. Desertificationof arid lands: demonstrated to the world the advancement in desert and arid cern in the Baram area excavators poten- land technology and development. tialities of afforestation. As then U.S. Harwood with hammers holes Academic Publishers, New hydraulic opened Senator Al Gore noted in his York, N.Y. 50 to 60 centimeters into the (p. 324) deep book, "the reclamation of the desert Ginsberg, p. 1997. Israel: the pastoral ap- bedrock to allow oak and pistachio and degraded lands in Israel is one of proach. J. of Forestry. (95):25—27. roots to downward Gore, Al. 1992. Earth in the balance: ecol- seedling grow the great ecological success stories, rapidly and access deep-soil moisture. ogy and the human spirit. Houghton reversing centuries of land abuse...". Mifflin, New N.Y. tubes were used to boost the York, Planting Anyone visiting the and who is The Jerusalem Bible. 1992. Koren initial rates. In the first of country growth year aware of the land's natural history can- Publishers Jerusalem Ltd., Jerusalem, tube utilization the growth rate of the not but be of Israel. "tubed" cognizant the fact that Daniel M. 1958. seedlings was at least twice Israel and the Jewish National Fund McKeithan, (ed.) that of the other unsettled Traveling with the innocents abroad: seedlings. (as Michael Aschenbrand, Director of Mark Twain's from More than a Mark Twain original reports century ago Administrationfor the JNF of America, Europe and the Holy Land. University of (McKeithan 1958) declared, "What related in a delivered at OklahomaPress, Norman, OkIa. Palestine speech the wants is paint. It will never be USDA Winter Conference Morris, Yaakov. 1961. Masters of the Leadership desert: 6,000 in the G.P. a beautiful country until it is painted." in on years Negev. As an outreach Arlington, Virginia, 26 January Putnam's Sons, NewYork, N.Y. service to the friends of "have restored an J. 1995. and the 1995), ecological Tucker, Forestry practice in Israel, ecologically concerned balance to a land that was desolate." Israel. Q.J. of around the Forestry. (89)224—229. world, the Jewish National the Walker, Winifred. 1979. All the plants of Fund Perhaps significantly for world, the Bible. (JNF) operates tree sponsorship Israel's effort can serve as a model Doubleday & Company, New Individualswho York, N.Y. programs. would like to (Gore for whatcould be accom- donate for tree 1992) money plantings may plished all over the world. JNF often do so their JNF forestry through regional experts continue to with The author holds a Master of Arts office. Trees be for experiment Degree may designated new types of trees, cultivation meth- in Community Leadership.He recentlyvisited as memorials a Jewish National planting or in honor of an ods, and new woodland Fund (JNF) afforestation individual who is protections site while in Israel. personally significant against pests and the of tree The author wishes to thank in some to the donor. spread specifically way diseases. For these reasons Israel's Paul Ginsberg, Keren Kayemeth Leisrael Referring to the land Twain also (KKL) forest manager for the Baram Forest accumulated afforestation knowledge ManagementArea, and Mark Cohen, Director suggested (McKeithan 1958) that, is shared with other countries of Communications and for the "Each detachment of to through Information, pilgrims ought membership and participation in the Jewish NationalFund (New York) ofAmerica, it a coat. . .". As if in for graciously providing information for this give response to InternationalArid Lands Consortium. his "Plant Tree With article. suggestion, a a It would seem that the State of Israel Your Own Hands" was program put has borrowed the spiritof Mark Twain's