0 N A4 1978 Issued by: PROCEEDINGS Forest Products OF Laboratory Forest CONFERENCE Service ON IMPROVED U.S. Department UTILIZATION of Agriculture OF TROPICAL FORESTS PROCEEDINGS OF CONFERENCE ON IMPROVED UTILIZATION OF TROPICAL FORESTS Held May 21-26, 1978 Madison, Wisconsin Conference Sponsored By: Forest Products Laboratory Forest Service U.S. Department of Agriculture and Agency for International Development U.S. Department of State TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Summation of Conference ............................ .. 1..... Technical Program ............................. ............ 23 Introductory Remarks, R. L. Youngs ........................ 28 Welcoming Remarks, Henry Arnold ........................... 31 Keynote Address, K. F. S. King ..................... ....... 36 Speaker, Conference Dinner, Dave L. Luke, III ............. 43 Papers by Individual Conference Sections: I--Tropical Forest Resource ........................ 50 II--Environment and Silviculture ................... 83 III--Harvesting, Transport, and Storage ............ 195 IV--Wood Fiber and Reconstitured Products Research . 259 V--Wood Fiber and Reconstituted Products Research .. 331 VI--Industrial Plans and Practices ................. 426 VII--Investment Considerations ..................... 518 SUMMATION of Conference Overall coordination by R. J. AUCHTER from individual summaries by FRANK H. WADSWORTH JOHN G. BENE RISTO EKLUND Summary Sections Page Resource.................. .. 2 Utilization Research............. .. 8 Industrial Practice............ ... 11 Industrial Plans and Investment Considerations. 13 Comments from Attendees.......... .. .... 17 -Conclusions. ........... .... 18 Recommendations for Action.... ..... 20 Summators........ ........... .. 21 -- 1­ . RESOURCE Since time immemorial man has had ambivalent feelings about trees. They provided him with food, fuel, and feed for his animals and with shelter. The forest also hid the enemy, housed fearsome ghosts, and occupied land on which, from time to time, other crops should be grown. In Europe man sorted out his ambivale~ntfeelings some time ago and concluded that at least 25 percent of his land should grow trees. In Sweden the forest has been increased in size over the last 400 years, Finland is draining marshes in the North at enormous cost to grow new forests, the area of German forests has been increasing.for 200 years, and that in France for 150 years. In developing countries, demands on the forest to improve the quality of life are much greater than they have 'ever been in Europe or North America. More than 2 billion rural people depend on fuelwood to cook their meals; fruit, pods, and leaves of trees are a major part of their diet, and they hunt the game that lives among the trees; poles and branches are used to build the homes; and they sell some big logs to obtain foreign exchange for their most urgent imports. More recently people have looked to the forest as a source of paper. There is general agreement that the forests of the moist tropics do not contribute an adequate share to human welfare and great concern that they are damaged and often destroyed in spite of their meager contribution. Forest - Area Half of the world's'forests, some 2.3 billion hectares, lie within the tropics; furthermore, almost half of this is closed forest. About 60 percent of-the tropical forest is in Latin America, 25 percent in the Asia-Pacific'areas, and 15 percent in Africa. The largest block is located in the Amazon basin, where it makes up 40 percent of the land area of Brazil. Inventories are generally inadequate to provide accurate estimates of the forested areas in most tropical countries. The forest regions of the tropics are usually populated by isolated famikes--dedicated mostly to subsistence agriculture. The population of the region is increasing at rates in excess of 2 percent, with a life expectancy of less than 55 years. Incomes are low and amenities are few. Types A large number of forest types characterize the tropics, ranging from dry-deciduous to rain forests. Almost 90 percent is of mixed broadleaf trees and only 2 percent is coniferous. The natural forest of the moist tropics contains a great diversity of trees. The wood of these trees -2­ varies widely in density, color, contents of extractives and silica, and in many other respects. Not only do the physical, mechanical, and chemical characteristics of the woods differ among species, but-lar-ge variations also exist within species, depending on site, rainfall, age, and-other influences. This is true in the natural forest and in plantatioA species, whether 'native-or exotic. Values Tropical forests possess a broad spectrum of values which, in the context of this Conference, were seen as of two types: Those primarily of a social nature and those primarily economic for the production of commodities. * A. Social 1. As sources of useful information on organic evolution and ecosystem dynamics. 2. As 'habitats for numerous species of plants and animals, including indigenous human cultures. 3.. As a stabilizing influence on climate, soil, and water behavior. ­ 4. As sources of recreational.enjoyment. B. Economic 1. As regulators of the quality of useful water. 2. As sources of plant and animal products-, including wood­ based materials. The wealth of species is reflected in forest tree inventories. One such inventory in the Amazon Valley shows 438 tree species on less than 60,000 hectares of land. Many additional plant species are potential sources of medicine, foods, pesticides, and other industrial raw materials. The animals present .pollinate the plants, disperse seeds, control pests, and assist in nutrient recycling. World-wide, the timber volume in tropical forests is on the order of 200 billion cubic meters. Paradoxically, the present utilization of the trees of these forests is inadequate to supply the needs of tropical countries. Part of this problem stems from the fact that, because of topography, climate, or accessibility, large forest areas are not con­ sidered "economically operable" for harvesting. A large proportion of the Wood volume'cannot be disposed of in any other way but for fuel in populatedareas and not at all otherwise. -3­ These two factors exclude more than 80 percent of the forest biomass from industrial consideration in Latin America. In the Asia-Pacific region the figure is near 55 percent, and for Africa it is about 90 percent. The number of timbers utilized for industrial purposes vafies widely with accessibility, forest composition, and efficiency'of operations; in some cases only one species is extracted, while in other situations, 50 or more species may be used. Notwithstanding these limitations, there are many little-used woods that can be expected to be accepted on the market for a variety of products. Trends in Forest Area The fact that the area of tropical forests is shrinking is common knowledge. One estimate is that they now cover only 60 percent of their former area. Of the former dry forest area, some 20 percent apparently has been converted to desert, with the remainder considered under threat. The richness of the tropical forest in terms of species has been reduced by breaking up its integrity, to the detriment of the flora as well as fauna. The annual removal of industrial and fuel wood is on the order of 900 million cubic meters per year, or about 1/200 of the standing volume. Some 85 percent of this is used as fuel. In most countries, the more accessible tropical forest has already been cut over once or more. These observations have led to predictions of the disappearance of the tropical forests, as we now know them, in 25-50 years. There are no systematic inventories or other data to support an accurate prediction but dangers may well exist in some localities. In a world where population pressures keep on increasing and land is becoming more and more valuable, it is reassuring to realize that only small areas of plantations are required to produce a very large volume of wood. Tropical tree plantations now occupy less than 1 percent of the tropical forest land and it is unlikely that more than 2 percent will be used for tree plantations by the turn of the century. Concerns that establishment of plantations are an imminent threat to the genetic diversity of trees growing in the tropics appear exaggerated. Environmental Considerations Impacts of More Complete Utilization The environmental impacts resulting from more complete tropical forest utilization are largely a matter of conjecture. They undoubtedly would vary from place to place. Probable impacts would be accelerated soil erosion, at least some temporary reduction in nutrients, reduction in -A.­ soil microorganisms, decline in the quality and uniformity in flow of runoff water, and a decline in genetic quality and diversity. The magnitude of these impacts may vary with the degree of modification of the natural ecosystem. Where important rainwater catchments or where growing populations need hydroelectric energy, these impacts could be ,severe. The decline in nutrient levels caused by increased removal of trees and tree products may give rise to vegetation unsuitable for future timber crops. Removal of stemwood from tropical forests reduces key element (N, P, K, Ca, and Mg) residuals at almost-five times the rate character­ .istic of the temperate zone. Possible favorable environmental impacts are also foreseen from inten­ sified forest utilization. Silviculturally, more.options are available. Higher yields would require less land, and mixed