Practicing silviculture

Cultivating trees
Growing productive trees
Farming trees

Description

Practicing silviculture involves the deliberate management and cultivation of forests to enhance their health, productivity, and sustainability. This strategy includes selecting appropriate tree species, controlling stand density, and applying regeneration, thinning, and harvesting techniques. Its practical intent is to remedy issues such as deforestation, forest degradation, and loss of biodiversity, while ensuring a continuous supply of timber and non-timber resources, protecting soil and water, and supporting ecosystem resilience against pests, diseases, and climate change.

Implementation

The agroforestry systems used in Mayombe and Lower Congo (Zaire) include: (1) the 'nkunku' system of the Bakongo people; this is a centuries-old practice among the Bakongo and has the dual objective of regeneration of the fertility of agricultural soils and producing foodstuffs; (2) the traditional 'mafufu' system among the Bakongo in forestry extension programmes of the Taungya type; and (3) the silvo-banana system, a specific variation of the Taungya system. It is practiced on a large scale in Mayombe for establishing manmade stands of Terminalia superba.

Traditional agroforestry in North Kordofan Province (Sudan), includes the cultivation of Acacia senegal for production of gum arabic, to maintain soil fertility, erosion control, and use as a fuelwood.