Tropical forest resources and extraction – in Tsaratanana forest, Midongy, Madagascar Ellen Winberg Degree project for Master of Science (Two Years) in Biology 2009 Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences Göteborg University Tropical Forest Resources and Extraction; Ellen Winberg; Master of Science in Biology; Göteborg University; 2009 Abstract Tropical forests are lost at an alarming rate globally. In Madagascar the forests only cover fragments of what they once used to. Conservation in the form of participatory forest management (PFM) is one of the tools that have been put in place to manage and preserve the remaining forests. In Tsaratanana forest in the south eastern part of the country PFM has been introduced by WWF. The community is taking over the management of the forest. This study aimed at looking at the extraction levels and what determines them, the utility fields of the trees and to get an estimate of the forest area that is affected by this extraction. The result shows selection for some tree species in large sizes and a high outtake of small trees. Factors that determine the outtake levels of trees are vegetation structure at the edge and distance to villages from the location in the forest.The largest utility fields are firewood and construction wood but an important compartment of the outtake is also for medicinal purposes. The study further estimates between 31 and 50% of the forest as being disturbed by this extraction. The outtake is not sustainable at the rate it is carried out today and thus needs to be lessened to guarantee the continuance of the forest. The study concludes that the exotic species Lantana camara can be beneficial for the protection of the forest as well as in easing reforestation. Svensk sammanfattning Skogstacket i tropikerna minskar I snabb takt. I Madagascar tacker numera skogarna bara spillror av vad de en gang gjorde. Att bevara skogarna I form av “Participatory Forest Management (PFM) ar en av strategierna som har satts in for att skota och bevara de skogar som finns kvar. I skogen Tsaratanana i sydostra delen av landet har WWF introducerat PFM for att bidra till losningen. Befolkningen i omradet kommer nu ta over skotseln av skogen. Denna studie syftar till att studera uttaget av trad och vad for faktorer som paverkar uttagsnivaerna. Aven anvandningsomradena for dessa trad studerades. En uppskattning av hur stort andel av skogen som ar paverkad av traduttaget gjordes ocksa. Resultatet visar selektion av vissa arter i deras storre diametrar och i ovrigt ett stort uttag av yngre trad. De faktorer som visade sig paverka uttagsnivaerna var strukturen av vegetationen gransande till skogen och avstandet fran bebyggelse till platsen I skogen. De viktigaste och storsta anvandningsomradena for de uttagna traden var ved och virke men en viktig del utgjordes aven av medicinalsyfte. Studien uppskattade att mellan 31 och 50% av skogen ar paverkad av detta uttag. De uttagsnivaer som tillampas idag ar inte langsiktigt hallbara utan maste minska for att garantera skogens fortlevnad. Studien kommer till slutsatsen att den exotiska arten Lantana camara kan vara av nytta for skyddet av skogen liksom for att aterskoga forlorade omraden. 2 Tropical Forest Resources and Extraction; Ellen Winberg; Master of Science in Biology; Göteborg University; 2009 Content Introduction ................................................................................................................... 5 Importance and challenges of tropical forests.............................................................. 5 Madagascar a diverse island and country.................................................................... 6 Madagascar’s ecology of international importance ...................................................... 6 Madagascar’s forests and their declining area............................................................. 7 Poverty, population growth and social institutions related to deforestation .................. 8 Tavy, a sustainable land use or the method of deforestation?..................................... 9 Edges and fragmentation affecting forests and their diversity.................................... 12 Introduced invasive species posing a threat to indigenous species or a way to reforest? ................................................................................................................................... 15 Conservation the goal for forest remnants of Madagascar ........................................ 17 Participatory Forest Management outside Midongy du Sud National Park ................ 17 Motives to this Study.................................................................................................. 19 Methods ....................................................................................................................... 21 Location and site description...................................................................................... 21 Field Surveys ............................................................................................................. 22 Data and map analysis .............................................................................................. 23 Results .........................................................................................................................26 Slope and vegetation affects basal area in type I tests .............................................. 26 Vegetation and total accessibility affects the extraction in Type III regression test .... 26 Vegetation, village and edge distance correlate to tree extraction ............................. 27 Sizes and species of tree stumps .............................................................................. 28 Different species most frequently extracted in different size classes ......................... 28 High degree of endemism among extracted tree species .......................................... 29 Construction and firewood for people or food for lemurs ........................................... 30 Up to half of the forest area affected by extraction leaving fragmented core areas ... 30 Discussion ................................................................................................................... 32 Edge vegetation structure and distance from villages and forest edges limit the outtake of wood.......................................................................................................... 32 3 Tropical Forest Resources and Extraction; Ellen Winberg; Master of Science in Biology; Göteborg University; 2009 Potentially selective outtake for size can have ecological implications ...................... 33 Diverse but selective outtake of tree species related to household needs but also to over exploitation......................................................................................................... 34 Fuel and construction wood as the largest utility fields brings implications for management.............................................................................................................. 36 Medicinal purposes fill an important role in tree extraction in Tsaratanana................ 37 Socially unsustainable and destructive honey extraction needs to be amended........ 38 Unsustainable fruit extraction and selection for trees competing with lemurs ............ 38 Risk of increasing pressure on Tsaratanana due to creation of Midongy du Sud National Park ............................................................................................................. 40 Incentives for managing the forest sustainably .......................................................... 42 Introduced invasive species a good or bad in Tsaratanana? ..................................... 45 A large part of the forest affected by selective tree extraction having implications for the ecosystem............................................................................................................ 46 Conclusions................................................................................................................. 48 What could have been done differently in this study and why did it turn out this way? ............................................................................................................................. 49 More extensive social information.............................................................................. 50 Satellite imagery ........................................................................................................ 50 Limitations in field work resources ............................................................................. 50 Acknowledgement....................................................................................................... 52 Abbreviations .............................................................................................................. 52 Reference list............................................................................................................... 52 Diverse....................................................................................................................... 52 Articles ....................................................................................................................... 52 Internet Links ............................................................................................................. 54 Literature...................................................................................................................