Site Selection, Survey and Treatment Plan - Afforestation, Reforestation and Forest Restoration in Arid and Semi-arid Tropics - page 48

Chapter 3
Site Selection, Survey and Treatment Plan

Abstract Afforestation programmes covering large geographic extent need to be
divided into a series of plantations. Selection of sites for individual plantations is
a rather straightforward decision when the area to be afforested is delineated in
the design of the programme itself. In practice, however, this seldom is the case.
Most public programmes of afforestation cover entire geographical regions, and it is
hardly practical to lay down in advance a detailed plot-wise schedule of land to be
closed and planted. Land ownership and tenurial rights will almost always introduce
complexities. Terrain and soils will vary and thereby necessitate different treatment
practices, ruling out the possibility of a uniform plantation design for all land. If the
aims and objectives of the afforestation programme dictate a particular requirement
(e.g. choice of species or methods and technology of treatment) many land parcels
may not get selected at all. The question of selection of a site for a particular plantation
is thus a complex one, involving many considerations including political ones. The
thoroughness and meticulousness observed in identifying, surveying, and designing
an appropriate treatment plan for a plantation site will ultimately decide the quality
and success of the afforestation work.

3.1 Site Selection

Execution of an afforestation programme covering a large geographical area neces-
sitates selection of a site for a particular plantation at a time. Within the geographical
limits of the areas defined, it will not be feasible to afforest all kinds of land. Land
where local grazing pressure is too high to permit fencing, or land which is difficult
to approach except on foot, for example, will not constitute a priority, or even ap-
propriate, site. Other practical considerations might include availability of water for
nursery and plantation, availability of soil cover of adequate depth to allow plants
to grow, possibility of protecting plants against threats of animals, man, pests, and
adverse climatic conditions such as frost, heat, and drought.
For a multi-purpose long-term afforestation programme the range of sites to be
included will be quite wide. If no criteria have been specified regarding choice
of species and economic returns, even a site of the poorest quality—with poor or
shallow soils, low rainfall, and adverse climatic conditions—can be selected (for
example, when the objectives of the programme include generating employment and
establishing a protective vegetation cover).