Eucalyptus in East Africa
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Forestry Department Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Planted Forests and Trees Working Papers Eucalyptus in East Africa Socio-economic and environmental issues Gessesse Dessie, Teklu Erkossa May 2011 Forest Management Team Working Paper FP46/E Forest Management Division FAO, Rome, Italy Forestry Department Disclaimer The Planted Forests and Trees Working Paper, report on issues and activities in planted forests. These working papers do not reflect any official position of FAO. Please refer to the FAO website (http://www.fao.org/forestry) for official information. The purpose of these papers is to provide early release of information on on-going activities and programmes, and to stimulate discussion. Comments and feedback are welcome. For further information please contact: Comment is welcome; please send any views to: Walter Kollert, Planted Forests Officer, Forest Management Team (FOMR), FAO, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00153 Rome, Italy e-mail [email protected] For quotation: FAO (2011). Eucalyptus in East Africa, Socio-economic and environmental issues, by Gessesse Dessie, Teklu Erkossa. Planted Forests and Trees Working Paper 46/E, Forest Management Team, Forest Management Division. FAO, Rome (unpublished). Cover photo: D. Gessesse Eucalyptus in East Africa Socio-economic and environmental issues Gessesse Dessie1, Teklu Erkossa2 1 Wondo Genet College of Forestry and Natural Resources, Ethiopia 2 International Water Management Institute, Ethiopia Table of Contents LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .............................................................................................................. V LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................................. V LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................................... V EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................... 1 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 1 2 EUCALYPTUS IN EAST AFRICA ............................................................................................ 3 2.1 HISTORY OF EUCALYPTUS IN EAST AFRICA .................................................................. 3 2.2 ETHIOPIA .................................................................................................................................... 4 2.3 UGANDA ....................................................................................................................................... 5 2.4 KENYA .......................................................................................................................................... 5 2.5 BURUNDI ..................................................................................................................................... 6 2.6 RWANDA ...................................................................................................................................... 6 2.7 SUDAN .......................................................................................................................................... 6 2.8 EXPERIENCE IN OTHER COUNTRIES ................................................................................ 7 3 SOCIO-ECONOMIC SERVICES .............................................................................................. 3 3.1 PRODUCTS AND SERVICES .................................................................................................... 4 4 EUCALYPTUS MANAGEMENT .............................................................................................. 6 4.1 OBJECTIVES ............................................................................................................................... 6 4.2 SEED AND NURSERY ................................................................................................................ 7 4.3 PLANTING AND SPACING ...................................................................................................... 7 4.4 COPPICE ...................................................................................................................................... 7 4.5 YIELD ........................................................................................................................................... 8 5 ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS RELATED TO EUCALYPTUS ..................................... 8 5.1 EFFECTS ON CLIMATE ......................................................................................................... 10 Macro- climate at regional level .................................................................................................. 10 Micro- climate at local level ......................................................................................................... 10 Shelterbelts and windbreaks ......................................................................................................... 11 5.2 HYDROLOGICAL IMPACTS ................................................................................................. 11 Canopy interception ..................................................................................................................... 11 Effects on runoff............................................................................................................................ 12 Effects on ground water ................................................................................................................ 12 Effects on water yield and soil moisture ....................................................................................... 13 Water use efficiency ...................................................................................................................... 15 5.3 EFFECTS ON SOIL QUALITY ............................................................................................... 15 Nutrients cycle .............................................................................................................................. 16 iii Soil nutrient depletion .................................................................................................................. 17 Nutrient use efficiency .................................................................................................................. 18 Effects on soil erosion and land degradation ............................................................................... 18 Allelopathy .................................................................................................................................... 19 5.4 EFFECTS ON BIODIVERSITY ............................................................................................... 20 Pests and diseases ........................................................................................................................ 20 6 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION ........................................................................ 23 CONCLUSIONS BASED ON ETHIOPIAN KNOWLEDGE BASE ................................................................. 24 RECOMMENDATIONS ......................................................................................................................... 25 REFERENCES .................................................................................................................................... 27 iv List of Abbreviations CADU Chilallo Agricultural Development Unit CDF Cartographie des Forêts de Rwanda DANIDA Danish International Development Agency FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FINNIDA Finnish International Development Agency IAR Institute of Agriculture Research of Ethiopia MAI mean annual increment R&D Research and development SIDA Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency UNSO United Nations Sudano-Sahelian Office USD United States Dollar WB World Bank WFP World Food Programme WPP World Population Policies WRI World Resources Institute List of figures Figure 1: History of eucalyptus expansion in Ethiopia since its introduction to the country ................. 4 Figure 2: Water requirements of two popular evergreen species ......................................................... 14 Figure 3 Schematic presentation of nutrient cycling processes in forest plantation ecosystems .......... 16 List of tables Table 1: Population, land and forests of East Africa .............................................................................. 3 Table 2: Kenyan experience with Eucalyptus ......................................................................................... 5 Table 3: Plantation areas 1990-2005, by function Table 4: Some common eucalyptus species grown in East Africa ......................................................... 2 Table 5: Some of the known products of eucalyptus in east Africa ......................................................... 4 Table 6: Price comparison of some eucalyptus products from Ethiopia and Rwanda ........................... 5 Table 7: Characteristics of smallholder growers of Eucalyptus in Ethiopia .......................................... 7 Table 8: Some effects of Eucalyptus ........................................................................................................ 9 Table 9: Summary of some of the diseases and pests reported on Eucalyptus