Ecosystem management in tropical timber plantations: Satisfying Economic, Conservation, and Social Objectives

Abstract

Management of tropical timber plantations is generally based on a single-product output, high-input model, often using an exotic species, that has been successfully used for plantation timber production in many temperate regions. This intensive model may be appropriate in areas designated solely for wood production but where the aim is to produce a wider range of conservation benefits and maintain more ecosystem functions, alternative plantation management approaches will be required. In this paper we describe some alternative management options for tropical forest plantations, incorporating ecosystem management concepts, that can potentially result in a wider range ecosystem benefits from tropical landscapes. Some of these practices have been used by plantation management agencies for some time. Others have been applied on a small scale or are still to be tested operationally. Options include: (1) consideration of the forest landscape and management of the matrix in which the plantation is established, (2) the use of native rather than exotic species, (3) using mixed species plantations rather than monocultures, (4) using the plantation to facilitate natural understorey regeneration, and (5) incorporating more structural and compositional diversity in plantations for wildlife habitat.