Site Selection, Survey and Treatment Plan - Afforestation, Reforestation and Forest Restoration in Arid and Semi-arid Tropics - page 59

these should be laid out on a copy of the site map. This map then constitutes a part
of the treatment plan and is a valuable guide in executing the work. Design of a
treatment plan is quite a complex exercise and all the decisions involved in it should
be made after giving a thorough consideration to the relevant criteria.

3.8.1 Choice of Species

Choice of appropriate species of trees, shrubs, and grasses is a major factor de-
termining success of an afforestation programme. In the case of reforestation by
regeneration of the native rootstock, the choice of species is often evident since
the existing rootstock is to be regenerated. In case of afforestation sites, the native
species are either not known or their relative ability to thrive in the site may not be
known. The objectives of the afforestation programme may be different from that of
restoration of native vegetation, or new promising species may have become avail-
able that can outperform the native species. Choice of species is therefore a decision
that should be made while keeping in view the objectives of the programme as well as
the edaphoclimatic and socio-economic conditions prevailing in the area (Fig. 3.5 ).
The site specific determinants are the edaphoclimatic conditions obtaining at the
site. These define the biophysical environment within which the desired species
must be able to thrive. While incorporating the more restrictive of such site-specific
determinants, certain ameliorative treatments may have to be undertaken to mitigate
the limiting conditions obtaining at a site (Table 3.1 ).
The goal-specific determinants are the ones that decide whether or not a particular
aim or objective of the programme is going to be fulfilled with a particular species.
For example, determinant 6 represents production of fodder as a goal. To fulfil this
goal one must select species which have fodder value. Species that are not palatable,
do not produce significant leaf fodder, or are poisonous, will not meet this criterion.
However, in real life situations there are factors other than those relating to the
site and the goals of the programme. These ancillary determinants represent opera-
tional limitations under the afforestation programme (Fig. 3.6 ). For example, given
a number of species that fulfil the requirement of the basic aims of project and are
suitable under the site conditions, some of these species may impose higher unit costs
in terms of nursery operations, outplanting, and aftercare, which are not provided in
the programme. Or, the cultural preferences and beliefs of local communities may
make certain species preferable to others. Many other factors like these may affect
the final choice of species.
It is possible to identify broad groups of site-specific factors associated with
particular land and terrain types. While taking these into account, it is possible to
construct ready-reckoners that provide the list of species suitable for a particular
type of terrain or climate. However, it is not possible to exhaustively list all possible
combinations of site-specific factors, and for any setting that does not broadly fall
into any of the identified categories, the basic considerations should be used.