Hi Keith ; Oh boy, I guess I'll try one more time to ask this hypothetical question and then I'll leave it alone.
In the case of a standing forest of small trees, the preponderance of which are have a 3 sigma size distribution of 10 cm +/- 5 cm as a result of many decades of non-sustainable pilaging by the local people where any trees with perceived local utilization were removed, and additionally where I have identified the species of tree and determined that it presented no medicinal, culinary, or materials benefit, and additionally where I, in conjunction with the local people, determined that the clear ecological benefit of the tree would be significantly better provided by a multi-purpose tree, and therefore we would like to transition the forest in a sustainable manner towards the much acclaimed multi purpose use, how do we gently cause the transition in a sustainable manner? > Oh, you cut it down? Are you > sure you're not going to regret that? So then you are saying not to cut it down? > > Do you know what species of trees these are? What are > their > characteristics? What are the local names for them? > How were they > used traditionally? Those same species will also be > found in other > parts of East and Southeast Asia - what do those > traditional cultures > do with them? What is known about them botanically? > > Have you looked > at the big databases, like NewCrop, the Handbook of > Energy Crops, > Plants For A Future? No I didn't know they existed. This is precisely why I am here posting these questions. You know we have a current problem which we are trying to solve independently, and that is that the local people know the names of these trees and they tell them to me in Khmer, but no dictionary has been found that has translation listed. I can only guess from my admittedly limited knowledge. I spent hours last time at some large bookstores looking. I'm working on it. > How can you even ask this question when you haven't > even identified > the tree species yet, nor their mix and > concentration, nor anything > except their varying sizes and lack of "value"? Do > you even know what > species they are? A tree is a tree is a tree? Not! Prudent to investigate every outcome. One possible outcome is that some or many of the trees are genuinely usable only as firewood. Asking the question what to do with these trees in this case is absolutely valid, even if the answer is to do nothing at all with them. > > Peter, you want to cut it down and replace it with a > monocrop > oil-palm plantation, with the single purpose of > providing feedstock > for biodiesel manufacture. Quite incorrect. I'm sorry I gave you this impression. I thought I was quite clear that I DIDN'T want to monoculture. We had a discussion on the potential problems of trying to integrate on such a large scale as the 600,000 ht sunflower plantation. > Look at this table here, "Varieties to Plant and > Their Uses", about a third of the way down: > http://www.soilandhealth.org/01aglibrary/010148f > ert.farm/fertfarm-ch5.htm > Turner: Fertility Farming, Chapter 5 > Do you want me to go on? I doubt it's helping > you much. In a way you are right because most all examples I find on the net assume you are starting with cleared land. That's why I am asking this question. From the referenced article, "Your farm can be changed from bleak bareness to pleasantly dressed landscape in a dozen years, under average conditions, in less under rich conditions." I don't have bareness and I hope I never do. That's why I'm asking. > Forests are not static things, they're constantly in > transformation. Yes but without some help a walnut tree won't just appear by spontaneous generation. > >How to do this? (Hummor me, I > >know they are all different). One example would be > >sufficient for me to visualize the process. > > I don't think it would. Yes it would. > Agroforestry resources will probably be helpful for > you. OK great! I'll study it. > > My question much more basic : what happens to the > > existing forest when you try to transform it to these > >wonderful species? I'm assuming that most of it gets > >cut down. > Why should it be? Then you are saying don't cut it down? > I was VERY > gratified to find that each time I dug a hole I soon > hit the remains > of an old tree-stump! Right on top, every time. Cut > down and burnt. > So I got it right, as the original farmers had also > got it right. > You're looking for a list of instructions to tell > you how to do that? Not at all. I'm not asking how to plant desired species when existing trees have been cut, I'm asking how to plant desired specied when existing trees have NOT been cut. In your case the question I am asking was already answered for you : ie. the previous trees were already cut and burned. I will post one more background post on this subject. Best Regards, Peter G. Thailand __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Small Business - Try our new resources site! http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/resources/ _______________________________________________ Biofuel mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://wwia.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/biofuel Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuel archives at Infoarchive.net (searchable): http://infoarchive.net/sgroup/biofuel/
