| [Back to front page] | Site management and productivity in
tropical forest plantations If plantations as a technology are to continue to be vigorously promoted, it
is essential to better understand their long-term impact on site productivity factors. Do
the changes in soil characteristics induced by intensive forms of plantation management
lead necessarily to site degradation as it is currently assumed? How can changes in soil
characteristics be influenced by silvicultural and harvesting practices? Can successive
and equally productive crops of trees be harvested from a site in perpetuity? CIFOR’s
research aims to increase understanding of the processes controlling productivity of
plantations in the long-term and to measure the impact of selected management practices on
productivity. These will be the basis for more sustainable management options. The past
year has brought closer collaboration at research sites in India, Indonesia and Brazil,
with plots also established in Congo and China. |