CS.2.6.1 Reconoce que todos los ecuatorianos tenemos derechos,

on average shorter than on valley bottoms for similar diameters (Figure 7.3). From a farmer's perspective, however, hillslopes are the better place for growing trees.

Height

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 111213 14 15 1617 18 19 2 0

Diameter (cm) at breast height

Figure 13 Average height as a function of diameter at breast height of teak trees on hillslopes and on valley bottoms

Source: in-depth farm survey.

Tree growing patterns

In permanently cultivated areas, trees are planted and felled more or less continuously. They are cut when there is a need for wood or cash. Seeds are planted or seedlings transplanted wherever there is room. Intermittently cultivated hillslopes are normally planted only when they happen to be under cuUivation. Farmers regard the labour inputs required for planting on fallowed land, and the frequent weedings required afterwards to

prevent the seedlings from being smothered by the surrounding Chromolaena shrub

vegetationll as too demanding; the chance of survival is too low, to warrant such an effort. This behaviour clearly deviates from that advocated by the regreening

11. In a highland forest area, Chromolaena inulifolia was found to eliminate the possibility of spontaneous regeneration of Acacia decurrens (Djawatan Kehutanan, 1952: 30,46-47).

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programmes, which targeted fallowed hillslopes for tree planting. Since the trees are planted well before the subsequent fallow period, they become big enough to withstand the rapidly invading Chromolaena, once fallowed. When the land is cleared again, the trees can be felled too, to make room for annual crops. However, clear-felling is rarely done. Many trees are left in the fields as the farmer does not need the wood yet, or because the trees are still too small to be cut. In the meantime, the stock starts to increase again, resulting from a combination of natural rejuvenation and transplanting or direct planting by the farmer. In Legundi and Mendak, where fallowing land is still important, there is a general increase in the number of trees and standing stock with increasing length of cultivation (Figure 7.4). This is particularly so in Legundi, where even the numbers of saplings (dbh < 5 cm) increase over time. This may serve to illustrate the favourable atdtude of the farmers towards substantial tree growth on theh" land before the land is fallowed again. This picture is very different from the one described by Soedarwono Hardjosoediro (1975: 5), who stated that fanners in the Gunung Sewu did not bother about replanting after cutting their 'regreening' trees. Possibly interest in growing trees was at that time not yet as developed as it is now. Tree densiues and standing stock on permanently or semi-permanently (> 5 years) cropped hillsides are also considerable.

S«4ec]ed spedes, dbh < 5 on

All trees, dbh > 5 cm

Standing stock, all trees

< 3 3 - 5

>5

Figure 7.4 Tree density and standing stock on cultivated land for different cultivation periods

Note: ^ long rotation species: teak, mahogany, acacia, wesen and sdnd keling.

^ diameter at breast height

Since hillside area cultivated/fallowed for five years or less is very small in Kepek, corresponding figures have been omitted.

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All trees, dbh > 5 o n _{Standing stock all Uees}

6 to . 10

Figure 7.5 Tree density and standing stock on fallowed land for different fallow periods Note: see Figure 7.4.

Source: in-depth farm survey.

Tree densities on fallowed hillsides (Figure 7.5) show clear differences between Legundi and Mendak. In Legundi land fallowed for less than five years has a much higher tree density (and volume) than land which has been under fallow for a longer period. In Mendak, however, tree density decreases with decreasing fallow length. This may indicate that in Mendak there has been a decline in tree planting or an increase in premature cutting since the regreening programmes. The standing tree stock on hillslopes fallowed for over ten years in both Kepek and Legundi appears to be very large (see also Figure 7.6; households Kl, K3, L2, L7, M5, M8). Evidently, it has become so large because the trees have been allowed a long time to grow. It seems not unlikely in these instances that the growing of trees has delayed clearance, enabling the fanners to obtain a voluminous stand.

Valleys Hillsides 1000 I— CO lo. 1000 I i " ] E

1

s:

:

Figure 7.6 Standing stock per area unit (ni3/ha) for separate plot sections Source: in-depth farm survey.

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At the farm level, large differences in wood volume from one hillside plot to the other on single landholdings are sometimes related to different stages in the planting and cutting cycle (Figure 7.6). Some plots with low volumes per ha appear to have been thinned out recently after being cleared, but all of them had already been planted with young trees (K3, LI, L6).

Tree growing and annual crop cultivation

Farmers are very much aware of the competition for light, nutrients and soil moisture between trees and annual crops grown on their fields. They generally try to maintain a balance in the tree canopy, which differs from farmer to farmer and from plot to plot, depending on plot conditions and the farmers' needs and preferences. Thinning and pruning are regular operations to permit the penetration of sufficient light to the annual crops and to provide farmers with firewood and fodder at the same time. Farmers often transplant seedhngs which have germinated in the middle of their fields to the boundaries, so as to keep the numbers of trees spread across the fields at an acceptable level. As trees become taller, farmers tend to thin more drastically among trees growing scattered across the fields than trees growing on the boundaries (Figure 7.7). Farmers generally consider a tree density of 200 trees per hectare acceptable in association with annual crop cultivation. In the regreening programmes, however, densities of 400 trees per hectare are the aim.

800 600 Number 400 200 - Height

Figure 7.7 Height distribution of teak trees for different sites on cultivated hillsides

A: trees scattered across the fields B: trees on the boundaries Source: in-depth farm survey.

Relative light intensity (%)

10 12 14 Time ol the day

• A Q B

Figure 7.8 The effect of shading on light intensity recorded on ground surface, plot Pateiten, 30 May 1989, Legundi (readings every 30 minutes)

A: on valley bottom at open site (1 measured point)

B: on hillside with moderate tree density (teak); slope ca. 25 %; aspect: northwest (average of 9 measured points)

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However, the amount of shade, and the yield reductions which farmers tolerate, are sometimes considerable. Figure 7.8 gives an example of the effect of moderately dense teak foliage on light intensity measured at ground level on a cultivated hillside in Legundil2. Total illumination was found to be only 40 per cent of that recorded on the adjacent treeless valley bottom during one day 13. The farmer cultivating this site expected cassava yields on this plot to be about three pikul (shoulderloads), two pikul less than they would have been without the shading effect of the trees. He took this yield reduction for granted in view of the large benefits which would be derived from the trees when fully grown. In Legundi, which has more trees on agricultural land than the two other hamlets, shading has undoubtedly a larger effect on crop yields than in the other two hamlets 14.

Of the three most important timber species. Acacia auriculiformis^^, is the most controversial in the eyes of the farmers, due to its greater adverse effects on annual crop cultivation. However, the tree performs best of all on the rocky hillsides. It also has an enormous capacity for rejuvenation 16, much more so than teak and mahogany it has a thick and widely spreading root system, and its hard leaves, which are shed profusely and protect the soil, decay slowly, rendering the tree less suitable for incorporation into annual crop systems. Opinions differ on the quality of the wood for construction because of the tree's tendency to develop a crooked trunk, but it produces fine charcoal. Farmers have therefore continued to plant the tree after the regreening campaigns, but only on intermittently cultivated hillslopes where it performs well and interferes least

12. A semi-automatic photo camera was used to determine relative light intensity. Measurements were