PROJECT

 Course: FBT 902 – Advances in forest ecology and Biodiversity

Course Teacher: Prof. (Dr.) A.J. Raj, Professor & Dean,

College of forestry, SHUATS

PROJECT TOPIC: Regeneration process of Tropical forest

Prepared by
Rohit Gowtham Paruchuri
19PHFSTSAF104
Programme: Ph.D. Forestry (Silviculture and Agroforestry)

COLLEGE OF FORESTRY
SAM HIGGINBOTTOM UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE TECHNOLOGY AND
SCIENCES
PRAYAGRAJ-211007, U.P
Introduction
What is Regeneration?

Regeneration is defined as the renewal of a forest crop by natural or artificial means. Reproduction or regeneration of
forest crop is an essential condition for the practice of scientific forestry, as failure or under-performance on this score will
disrupt the sustainability of forest yield.

Methods of Regeneration

As the definition suggests, there are two methods to regenerate a forest - natural and artificial. However, in practice, a
combination of these two methods is also adopted. Thus regeneration may be obtained in a forest by the following methods
–

• Natural regeneration

• Artificial regeneration

• Natural regeneration supplemented by artificial regeneration

Natural Regeneration

Natural regeneration is defined as the renewal of a forest crop by self-sown seeds or by coppice or root suckers.
Natural regeneration may thus be obtained from the following two sources.

• From seed – called ‘high forest’ or ‘seedling crop’. This is the sexual method of regeneration in which the
new plant exhibits the characters of both the parents.

• From vegetative parts – This is asexual method of regeneration and the new plant exhibits the characters of
the parent plant only. When regeneration is obtained from coppice, it is called coppice crop, and the latter
develops into a forest called coppice forest.
Natural Regeneration from seed
Natural regeneration from seed goes through the following four processes, namely
(1) Seed production
(2) Seed dissemination
(3) Germination
(4) Establishment
3.1 Seed Production
The most important prerequisite of natural regeneration is the production of adequate quantities of fertile seeds by the trees of the
area or immediate neighborhood. Seed production depends on
(a) species
(b) age of the tree
(c) soil conditions
(d) climate
(e) crown
(f) other external factors.
Species- Seed production is primarily a specific character. That is, all species do not seed annually and in equal abundance. For
example, Teak, Sissoo and Acacias seed almost
every year, whereas it is not so for many other species. For some important species, good seed years occur at
Intervals as shown below.
Sal-3 years
Terminalia- 2 years
Cedrus deodara- 4-5 years

Age of the tree - Best seeds are produced from middle- aged to medium-sized parent trees. Young as well as very
old trees produce seeds with less germinating capacity and reduced vigour.

Soil condition - Seed production is favored in soil having sufficient bases, adequate nitrates and higher C/N ratio.

Climate - In general, a warmer climate favours early and heavy seed production

Crown - Large well developed lighted crowns bear more seeds and of bigger size than trees with poor and ill-
lighted crowns

Other external factors - Other external factors which influence seeding are (i) fire injury, fungus and insect
attack and (ii) girdling.
Seed dissemination

Seed dissemination or seed dispersal is caused by the following agencies

• Wind – Seeds which are dispersed by the wind are either winged or hairy. Winged seeds are found in
Dipterocarpus, Termenilias, Conifers, Holoptelia, Dalbergia, Acer, Pterocarpus, Adina, Betula, Rhododendron,
and Oroxylon. Hairy seeds are found in Bombax , Populus, Salix, Family Eupetorium and grasses e.gSaccharum
and Imperata.

• Water – Examples of water dispersed seeds are most mangrove species, Teak, Dalbergia, Trewia, and most of the
wind dispersed seed, if they can retain their viability in water.

• Gravity – Seeds are dispersed by gravity in case of the following species, namely, Acorns of Oaks, Juglans regia,
Diospyros and other heavy seeded species on sloping ground.

• Animals – Seeds of the following species are dispersed by birds- Prunus, Mulberry, Loranthus etc. Seed dispersals
of following species are caused by animals- Acacia arabica, Prosopis Juliflora, Ziziphus, Anthocephalus etc.
Seed germination

The process that follows seed-fall is the germination of seeds. This process is dependent upon (i) Internal
factors (ii) External factors.

Internal factors- Internal factors are the factors pertaining to the seed itself. Internal factors affecting
germination are

 Permeability of water – A hard seed-coat prevents germination through lack of contact of the seed with
moisture.

Permeability to Oxygen- Oxygen is necessary for seed germination. Factors which inhibit moisture reaching
the seed also prevent oxygen reaching it.

 Nature of Embryo- The embryo should be fully developed at the time of seed fall, otherwise the seeds
will have to go through a period of dormancy till the embryo is fully developed.

 “After ripening process”- This is the most common cause of delayed germination due to the embryo
being chemically unready. Such seeds germinate only when they have undergone a process of after ripening.
• Viability- Viability is the potential capacity of a seed to germinate. Seeds of some species retain their
viability for a long period while those of certain other species lose their viability very soon. If the
environmental conditions are not suitable during the short period of viability, such seeds do not germinate.
For example, on the normal conditions Sal seeds remain viable for about a week. So if the monsoon is
delayed, most of the seeds that fall on dry ground die.

 Size of seed – Very minute seeds are washed away in the rain water, whereas very big seeds do not get
properly covered by soil or humus, and do not germinate.

 Germination capacity – Since all the seeds that fall on the ground do not germinate, natural regeneration is
affected by germination capacity of seed, which is defined as the percentage, by number, of seeds in a given
sample that actually germinate, irrespective of time.
 Germination capacity of some species is given below

Germination Species
capacity
10-20 Abies pindrow, Anthocephalus cadamba

20-30 Cassia fistula

30-50 Bombax ceiba, Tectona grandis, Cypressus torulosa

50-70 Acacia Arabica, Dendrocalamus strictus, Terminalia

tomentosa, Toona ciliata
70-90 Acer campbellii, Butea monosperma, Acacia catechu,
Albizzia procera, Juglans regia, Shorea robusta
90-100 Albizzia lebbek, Artocarpus chaplasha, Cassia
siamea, Dalbergia sissoo.
(Source: L S khanna 1999 Principles and Practice of Silviculture)
• Plant percent – All the seedlings that come up after successful germination do not survive owing to adverse
environmental factors. An important indicator of how many seedlings will eventually establish themselves is
the Plant Percent. Plant Percent is defined as percentage of the number of seeds in a sample that develop
into seedlings at the end of the first growing season. Following table gives values of plant percent and
germination capacity of some important species.
Species Germination Plant percent
capacity
Acacia arabica 50 26

Shorea robusta 80 66

Tectona grandis 50 25

Terminalia 70 29
tomentosa
Gmelina arborea 85 30

Dalbergia sissoo 90 78
Abies pindrow 13 6

(Source: L S khanna 1999 Principles and Practice of Silviculture)

External Factors – These are factors of environment affecting germination.

 Temperature – Heat is necessary for germination. The range of temperature suitable for germination varies
with the species. However, within this range, higher the temperature the better the germination.

 Moisture – A sufficient supply of moisture is essential for development of the embryo.

 Air/oxygen – Oxygen is essential for rapid respiration which accompanies the process of germination. Water-
logged or ill-ventilated soil is not suitable for germination.

 Light – Most of the species are indifferent to light conditions for germination. However, some species require
light, while some others require shade for germination. Species requiring light – Rhododendron, Albizzia
procera, Cassia fistula. Species requiring shade – Swietenia macrophylla, Santalum album

 Depth of seed covering – If seeds lie on ground with shallow covering of soil, they germinate early. However,
seeds which lie deeper give enhanced germination and establish per cent on account of adequate supply of
moisture.
• Seedling Establishment

Good germination does not necessarily ensure successful regeneration. A good number of seedlings die due
to frost, drought or other climatic factors. Many suffer casualty owing to biotic factors like weeds, grazing,
burning etc. Thus establishment of seedlings is what ultimately matters for successful natural regeneration.
Establishment is defined as the development of a new crop, naturally or assisted, to a stage when the young
regeneration, natural or artificial, is considered safe from normal adverse influences such as frost, drought or
weeds, and no longer needs special protection or tending operations other than cleaning, thinning and pruning.
Following factors affect establishment of seedling.

(a) Development of roots – It is essential that the root system develops rapidly and comes in contact with the
deep lying moist soil before drought period sets in. Thus in the species in which root develops fast, the seedling
mortality is less.

(b) Soil conditions – For their growth, seedlings require water and food, which they draw from the soil.
Therefore, soil conditions are very crucial for establishment of seedlings
(c) Light Condition – Light is necessary for carbon assimilation by photosynthesis, and root development. It is
the limiting factor in the establishment of seedlings in the humid regions.

(d) Other Climatic factors – Extremes of temperature are harmful for establishment of seedlings. Similarly,
moderate rainfall and proper seasonal distribution of rain is beneficial to seedling establishment.

(e) Condition of weed growth – Density of weed growth has a great influence on establishment. The competing
weeds may be grass or shrub or combination of both. A dense growth of grass and when it forms dense mat-like
roots is very harmful to forest crop. Similarly, dense growth of shrubs is very harmful to the desired species, as
these shrubs cut off light.

(f) Grazing, browsing and burning – While light grazing and browsing are not harmful, uncontrolled grazing
and browsing destroy the regeneration. In the same manner, controlled burning does not cause any harm and
rather keeps the growth of shrubs in check. However, uncontrolled burning is very injurious to
establishment.Light requirement, however, varies from species to species
Artificial Regeneration

• Artificial regeneration is defined as the renewal of forest crop by sowing, planting or other artificial
methods. In common parlance such a crop is called ‘plantation’. It is interesting to note that while the practice
of sowing or planting has been in use in agriculture and horticulture crops since long, such practices have
been a

• Sowing in artificial regeneration refers to direct sowing. It means sowing of seed directly on an area where a
crop is to be raised, and not sowing in nursery. Planting refers to transferring of seedlings or plants in the
area to be regenerated after they have successfully passed the critical phase of germination and initial
development. The planting stock is generally raised in a nursery.adopted in forestry recently, and still more
recently on a larger scale.
• Objectives

Artificial regeneration is carried out for the following two objects.

(1) Reforestation – It means restocking by artificial means of a felled or otherwise cleared woodland.

(2) Afforestation – it means establishment of a forest by artificial means on an area from which forest vegetation has always or long been
absent.

Reforestation is carried out for

• Supplementing natural regeneration

• Replacing natural regeneration, where natural regeneration of the desired species has not been successful or cannot be accomplished within
reasonable time and cost.

• Changing the composition of the crop by increasing the proportion of more valuable species.

• Introducing valuable exotic species

Afforestation is carried out for fulfilling one or more of the following objectives.

• Productive purpose, i.e. for raising a particular kind of forest crop – examples: afforestation of wastelands, afforestation of grass infested
area.

• Protective purpose, i.e. for conservation of soil and water – examples: afforestation of catchment areas, afforestation of swampy areas.
Artificial vs. natural regeneration

The choice between natural and artificial regeneration is governed by the following considerations.

• Risk of deterioration of soil – The points to be considered are that natural regeneration involves minimum
exposure of soil, while artificial regeneration exposes the soil for a longer period. Long exposure of soil may invite
soil erosion, particularly in slopes, and affect fertility of soil.

• Crop composition – Natural regeneration does not give the desired proportion of valuable species, whereas in
artificial regeneration one can manipulate the crop composition. Artificial regeneration has become the standard
practice to enrich the crop with larger proportion of valuable species and increase the productivity.

• Crop quality – In natural regeneration despite exercising the best control, one is never sure that regeneration
comes from only genetically superior trees. But in artificial regeneration one has the option to use seeds and clones
from genetically superior trees and produce a quality crop.

• Risk of damage by pests – In general, mixed crops resulting from natural regeneration are far more resistant to
attack by insect pests than those resulting from artificial regeneration. Physical separation of food plants in mixed
natural forests inhibits the spread of insect pests.
• Time factor – Time is the factor that overrides, most of the time, other factors in deciding between natural and artificial
regeneration. Natural regeneration is a long, and at times, uncertain process. In a delayed process, the gaps may be invaded by
weeds, or the sites while remaining exposed may undergo serious deterioration through intensive leaching, erosion and
desiccation. On the other hand, artificial regeneration can bring vegetal cover quickly in open barren areas. One great advantage
of artificial regeneration is that it is independent of occurrence of good seed years and can continue every year if there is good
stock of seeds.

• Cost – This is definitely an important factor of consideration. Artificial regeneration is apparently a costly method, as it involves
elaborate operations like procurement of seeds, creation of planting stock, maintenance of nursery, carriage of seedlings, fencing,
planting , tending etc. all of which require spending on account of material and/or labour. In contrast, natural regeneration does not
involve any initial cost of formation except slash disposal and fencing, where necessary. However, in natural regeneration the
weeding and shrub cutting may have to continue for a very long time and may turn out to be very costly. Cost has also implication in
the operation of harvest. In natural regeneration removal of mature trees has to be deferred till regeneration has been obtained on
ground. As a consequence, some of the mature trees may become overmature and unsound, resulting in financial loss. Besides, in
natural regeneration, harvest of mature trees is done over a number of years in several stages, and it is done after taking due care of
not damaging the young regeneration. This makes the operation of logging and extraction costly. Artificial regeneration allows
removal of mature trees without any loss in the value of timber. Besides, logging and extraction becomes short and simple operation
without any chance of damage to young reproduction.
Reference
• L S Khanna 1999 Principles and Practice of Silviculture, Milton Book Company Dehra Dun
• A B Lal 1967 Indian Silviculture Jugal Kishore & Co Dehra Dun
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