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by Dr. Angel C. Alcala
There is no doubt that the country needs to plant trees—and more trees—in barren and denuded areas. The question is what species of forest trees should we plant in reforestation areas.Since the country's reforestation program began in the 1990s, the decision of government has been to encourage the planting of exotic species for the main reason that they are fast-growing species. While the growth rate characteristic is important, there are other equally important considerations for the choice of these species.
Characteristics such as adaptability to the environment, amount of organic matter produced, ability to hold the soil, water-holding capacity, provision of microhabitats for native or endemic animal species, amount of canopy cover, etc. are equally important.
In order to appreciate these characteristics that I would call desirable, one needs only to observe the remnants of our lowland dipterocarp forest, the type of climax vegetation ideal for the preservation of our forest environment, together with the associated biodiversity that all of us should conserve.
Compare the characteristics of these original forests with those of the plantation forests of exotic species. These plantation forests are definitely inferior in terms of canopy cover and biodiversity components, as our ecological studies show. If controlled experiments were to be conducted, I would expect that these plantation forests will have lower quality soil and lower water-holding capacity, and would provide a less tropical microclimate compared to the original lowland dipterocarp (laua-an) forest.
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The goal of our reforestation program should be to restore the tropical rainforest to provide the required microclimate and microhabitats of Philippine biodiversity on a long-term basis. The trouble with our environmental programs in general is that they are directed to achieve short-term objectives, and this is one of reasons why fast-growing exotic species are the chosen species. We should now aim for long-term benefits of reforestation by using our own tree species selected by nature for environmental stability through eons of biological adaptation. The old ideas of aiming for quick results have not worked, and should give way to more progressive thinking.
I would urge the government agencies concerned with terrestrial conservation to review the policies and programs of reforestation and to consider our endemic and native species of trees for improving the quality of our environment and conserving the endemic biodiversity, the conservation status of which is considered one of the most problematic in the world.
Aside from timber tree species, forest restoration should consider planting of useful plant species that have been harvested by upland communities for various purposes. Only medicinal plants have attracted much attention.
But there are many species that have non-medical uses. These include several forest species of palms and shrubs that are sources of vegetables and fruits. Palms, including rattans, climbing bamboos, and fish-tail palms belong to this category. The shrubby forest tree called bago on Negros Island is an excellent source of vegetables as well as seeds. The tree ferns are widely used for growing orchids, and birds' nest ferns are collected as ornamental plants. And there are many other species of tropical rainforest plants that can be used in forest restoration to enhance the quality of reforested areas.
For more information, please contact rainforestation@haribon.org.ph
