Timber and Softwood Plantations

Timber and Softwood Plantations

KFDC has an area of 10,0053.834 Ha of which approximately 7000 ha is plantations. The Plantation Working Circle includes:

Pulpwood: Eucalyptus grandis, Acacia auriculiformis, Acacia mangium, Acacia crassicarpa, Casuarina equisetifolia, Wattle, Pinus patula, Alnus neplalensis.

Softwood: Albizia falcataria, Macranga peltata, Ailanthus.

Bamboo: Bambusa bamboos, Bambusa arundinaceae, Dedrocalamaus gigantia, Dedrocalamus membraneus, Dedrocalamus stictus, Bambusa vulgaris

Teak :Tectona grandis

Medicinal tree species :Gmelina arborea, Pterocarpus santalinus, Sterespermum colais, Caesalpinia sappan, Santalum album

Cash crops :Cardamom, Coffee, Tea, Pepper and Cashew

Felling

Rotation

Pulpwood, Softwood, Bamboo and Teak plantations have different rotation and periods. The pulpwood working circle includes the Eucalyptus and Acacia plantations. Eucalyptus plantations have rotation age of 9 years. Acacia auriculiformis has a rotation period for 18 years. Acacia mangium have a rotation age of 7 years.
The softwood species, Albizia have a rotation age of 7 years and Bamboo, is commercially harvested after 8 years of planting.

The rotation age of Teak plantations in the Forest Divisions of Kerala is 60 Years except in Nilambur North and South Divisions, where it is 50 years. In KFDC, the rotation age of teak plantations is 50 years.

After completion of the rotation cycle, the approved plantations by MoEF are felled for that year. The areas are divided into blocks and one block is felled at a time. Management Plan specifies that no felling is done on slopes above 30 degrees and the cut stumps will not be more than 15 cm in height on the uphill side. Felling is done from the top if the area is a slope or from the areas farthest from the extraction path. The trees are cut as near to the ground as possible and the cut is always made in a slanting manner so as to prevent water getting collected on the surface of the stump. Extreme care is taken to ensure that no damage is caused to the bark, stump or coppice shoots and to the trees that are to be retained. In case of Bamboos, the flowered bamboos are cut only in the year following gregarious flowering after the seed fall.

Replanting

The clear-felled plantations are planted with species as listed in the Management Plan before planting, soil quality check and the required consultations with Kerala Forest Research Institute are done. The replanted species are given proper care as per our silvicultural practises for getting better yield. KFDC also collects seeds and saplings from the recognised seed stands of the Kerala Forest Department.

Now onwards, all exotic species plantations such as Eucalyptus and Acacia after completing their rotation and on felling are being converted to indigenous species plantations so as to be more ecologically and environment friendly.