difficult for conversion but can yield a relatively low-cost, general-utility timber for construction, panelling, stairs, door jambs, furniture, flooring, and power poles. In 1993 Indonesia had 65 million cubic metres of overmature coconut stems which needed disposal before replanting. There is increasing interest in this raw material in European and North American markets. It is unlikely to replace conventional timber, but likely to find its way into niche markets. It will continue to be used as a low-cost construction timber (FAO 2001). Oil palm plantations are harvested for fibre beyond the 25-to-30-year rotations and yield about 235 m3 per hectare. It is estimated that over 1.6 billion cubic metres of fibre will be available in the years to come from established resources in Southeast Asia. From 1996 to 1999 the area increased by 18 percent. In Malaysia, the area has increased by 3 million hectares in the past 30 years. Most oil palm plantations (unlike rubber and coconut) in the main growing countries, Malaysia, and Indonesia, are managed by plantation companies or cooperatives. Oil palm by-products such as kernel shells, pressed fibres and empty fruit bunches are currently used in heat generation at the extraction plants. Water in the stems can reach five times the weight of dry matter. The high moisture content as well as the high amounts of parenchyma tissue rich in sugar and starches make conversion into quality forest products a challenge. An MDF plant in Malaysia is currently being planned to utilize oil palm stems (FAO 2001). 38
Sedjo 2001 examined the potential of non-wood fibre sources, including annual cropping of plants such as hemp, bagasse, etc. These types of fibre sources have several economic and ecological problems. A major economic problem is that there is a specific peak harvesting period. Subsequently, the crop must be stored and preserved until it is to be processed. Both functions incur cost. By contrast, timber can generally be harvested throughout the year, or at least through a much larger portion of the year than an annual crop, and it can be stored for a longer period. Thus, labour and capital equipment can be used, essentially, year-round. Furthermore, wood tends to resist deterioration better than non-woody plants. Forest Plantations Harvest Regimes The harvest rotations of forest plantations vary enormously, from annual or sub-annual for some non-wood products, to around 200 years for traditionally managed high-value temperate hardwoods. With few exceptions, shorter rotation plantations - typically of 5 to 15 years - have been grown for fuel, fibre or roundwood, and longer rotation plantations - typically upwards of 25 years - principally for sawn or veneer wood products. Notwithstanding successful antecedents in both temperate (e.g., oak in Europe) and tropical (e.g., teak in Asia and India; 39Keh 1997) environments, plantation forests on a large scale are a twentieth-century phenomenon. The majority of the world’s plantation forests have been established in the past half-century, and the rate of plantation afforestation has been Sedjo, R.A. 2001. The role of forest plantations in the world’s future timber supply. The Forestry Chronicle Vol 77. No. 2: 221-225. 39 Keh, S.K. 1997. Wither goest Myanmar teak plantation establishment? Eleventh World Forestry Congress. Unasylva- No. 190-191. 38
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