Articles

Some experiences with reafforestation of alang-alang (Imperata cylindrica L.) grassland in Indonesia

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Abstract

In  Indonesia the alang-alang grassland covers about 16-20 million hectares. It  is considered unproductive land, therefore reafforestation of this grassland  is very necessary. Some efforts including the policy of the Forestry  Department, on national level and even in the field have been done.     Some techniques to suppress the alang-alang growth have been tried out  including techniques of soil preparation, species selection and maintenance  of plantations.     The reafforestation programme of alang-alang grassland has promising  results for the increase of the forest area and will ultimately provide wood  production, as well as an income for the rural people and soil protection  benefits. The production of log and soft wood as raw material will increase.      The knowledge of silvicultural techniques for reafforestation activities in  alang-alang grassland is enough to start an action programme, but  nevertheless further research has to be done to find out still more  appropriate techniques and to achieve better results.     The reafforestation method on the alang-alang grassland will mainly depend  on the site situation and the objectives, especially the kind of wood that  must be produced. Reafforestation directly with fast growing species will be  carried out when soft wood will be produced. When more valuable wood should  be produced, the system will be :     1. Planting fast growing species.     2. After the alang-alang is suppressed the slow growing and more demanding  species is planted, while gradually the fast growing species is harvested.      A choice between exotic or indigenous species for forest plantation must be  done, considering very carefully the advantages and disadvantages of these  species. When the value, volume and production time of an exotic and an  indigenous species are comparable, the indigenous one is the preferred  choice. Use of exotic species is in principle only justified when a  sustainable forestry is assured. The reafforestation of alang-alang grassland  will create positive socio-economic impacts as well as environmental  impacts.

How to Cite:

Pratiwi, -. & Lust, N., (1993) “Some experiences with reafforestation of alang-alang (Imperata cylindrica L.) grassland in Indonesia”, Silva Gandavensis 58. doi: https://doi.org/10.21825/sg.v58i0.876