Owing to the excessive use of human, natural forests area has a continuous decline on a global scale, which is nearly 10 million hm2 net decrease per year. While the global plantation area has a rapid growth, which has been nearly 187 million hm2 since 2000. Meanwhile planted forests is becoming a significant part of world’s forests increasingly, accounting for about 5% of the total forest area. For example, China has world’s largest plantation resources, which plays an important role in maintaining regional ecological security and promoting national economic development (China Wood Products Report 2004). To be specific, in Australia and New Zealand, the areas of commercial plantations in Australia were 2.01 and 1.71 million …show more content…
Also, there is a supplementary function of forest plantations in wood supply that the natural forests can be more efficiently used for environmental protection, biodiversity conservation and recreation. In particular, planted forests can meet the demand of timber products market. Besides, plantations could mitigate the climate change, water purification, flood regulation and disease regulation. Furthermore, the sustainable forest plantations should be managed under the correct species selection and suitable regulations and policy. However, planted forests cannot afford enough ecosystem services when compared with natural forests, such as water, soil, biodiversity and carbon sequestration. Besides, although the timber market prospect is bright, the competition from substitute products and trade barriers will become roadblocks for exporters (Wijewardana 2005).
This paper reviews both the negative and positive viewpoints on the topic of the ecosystem goods and services in planted forests. Meanwhile, there is a discussion on how to make the most use of plantations and balance the management of natural forests and planted …show more content…
They are industrial plantations and nonindustrial plantations. For Industrial plantations, they are supplying industrial wood and fiber account for 48% of the global plantation estate (Carnus et.al 2006). These typically consist of intensively managed, even-aged, and regularly contain single tree species (indigenous or exotic), often genetically improved, and are characterized by shorter rotations when compared with natural forests (Stephens et.al 2007). On the other hand, nonindustrial plantations, established for fuel-wood, soil and water conservation, and wind protection, account for 26% of plantation forests are established for other purposes (Leakey 1992). Obviously, exotic trees in plantations will face a lower risk of native disease. Moreover, the exotic tree species have a greater level of control to refine spatial planning management