Forest rehabilitation in Tam Dao National Park

Focus on the use of native tree species

(Experiences from four years of implementation 2006-2009)

By Lutz Lehmann, DED adviser for forestry

Creation started on 26 March 2009

Last update on 31 July 2009

Table of contents

1 Introduction..................................................................................................................2

1.1 Framework of forest policy in Vietnam....................................................................2

1.2 Scope of the Tam Dao National Park and Buffer zone Development Project (TDMP)...................................................................................................................2

1.3 Natural conditions of the project area.....................................................................2

2 Approach to forest rehabilitation...............................................................................3

2.1 Why to carry out forest rehabilitation?....................................................................3

2.2 Analysis of previous forest planting activities in Tam Dao national park.................4

2.3 Experiences from other projects.............................................................................5

2.4 Regeneration capacity of forests in the Tam Dao area...........................................6

2.5 Analysis of options for implementation...................................................................7

3 Implementation steps..................................................................................................8

3.1 Analyzing the natural forest types...........................................................................8

3.2 Exploring sources for seed procurement................................................................8

3.3 Seedling production..............................................................................................11

3.4 Selection of pilot planting plots.............................................................................12

3.5 Contracting of labour, maintenance and protection efforts...................................12

3.6 Planting design.....................................................................................................13

3.7 Monitoring of planting sites...................................................................................13

3.8 Cost calculation - Budget used.............................................................................14

4 Results achieved........................................................................................................15

4.1 General remarks...................................................................................................15

4.2 Overall figures achieved.......................................................................................16

4.3 Survival and growth performance of tree seedlings..............................................16

4.4 Strong points.........................................................................................................17

4.5 Problems and shortcomings encountered............................................................18

5 Lessons learnt and suggestions..............................................................................19

6 Annex: List of tree species: amount of seed collected and seedlings planted.............22

1

1 Introduction

1.1 Framework of forest policy in Vietnam

A range of documents i.e. laws, decrees and regulations deal with the protection and use of forests. Among many others only some important key documents will be cited here that are to consider for the forest rehabilitation strategy.

Law on forest protection and development (amended 2004)

Decision No. 08/QD-TTg dated 11/01/2001: regarding the Regulation on the management of special use forest, protection forest and production forest which is natural forest

Government Programme 661: DECISION 661 BY THE PRIME MINISTER, On Objectives, Tasks, Policies and Organization for the Establishment of Five Million Hectares of New Forest

They include paragraphs that state that e.g.:

Special use forests area used to protect biological (gene) resources

Special use forests have ecological rehabilitation sub-zones, where the forest protection shall be complemented by regeneration and enrichment planting

Implement the 661 programme is to increase forest cover and protect biodiversity

Special references to tree propagation, the use of seeds and tree species for afforestation, shall concentrate on locally adapted indigenous tree species

Given all the permitted activities it is astonishing to see how few stakeholders follow these principles. General thinking is still too much focused on mass production of some “proven” tree species, the economic factor nearly everywhere seen in the foreground.

1.2 Scope of the Tam Dao National Park and Buffer zone Development Project (TDMP)

Tam Dao National park is supported since 2003 by the German funded TDMP project to help develop and improve concepts for a range of fields concerning the conservation, protection and management of its ecosystems with their rare plant and animal species, tourism and livelihood improvement for the people living adjacent to the national park. For this the capacity of the administration of the national park as well as those of the other partner agencies in provinces and districts shall be strengthened. In order to link the removal of threats to biodiversity with an improved living of buffer zone people a method of resource use planning was introduced by the project.In 2006 the concept of improved methods of afforestation was introduced by the project, focusing on the use of native tree species in mixed plantations and therefore being more suitable for the national park.

1.3 Natural conditions of the project area

The Tam Dao mountain range stretches from the Southeast at the outskirts of Soc Sön/ Northern Hanoi northwestwards to the district town of Sön Dzüong/ Tuyen Quang province.

2

Its highest mountain peaks reach up to around 1,500 m NN. It is a single mountain range surrounded by flat land, not connected to other mountainous areas. On the northern tip some hills continue to the north, intersected by valleys. On the northwestern tip an area of limestone karst is nearby.

Slopes of the mountains are steep. Its main parent rock is granite. Some mineral deposits such as tungsten, barite and tin occur.

The microclimate on both sides of the mountain range is somewhat different. Eastern winds prevail in North Vietnam. Therefore the western side receives less rain than the eastern side. Evidence of that is the tea growing area that can be found on the lower slopes of the whole eastern side of the mountain but is lacking on the south-western one. Higher altitudes receive more rain than the flat areas around, are often shrouded in mist and temperatures are cooler.

TDNP is home for tropical plant species occurring in the southeast Asia (Beltzert et al. , 2001), sub-tropical species from south China and high mountain sub-tropical species from east Himalaya. Initially, 8 forest types available in TDNP are identified:

Closed evergreen tropical rainforests: cover the major part of Tam Dao mountain range and distribute mainly at the altitude of under 800 m with species of high value such as Shorea chinensis, Michelia sp, Cinamomum iners and Paviesia annamensis and others

Closed evergreen sub-tropical rainforests on low mountains: distribute at the altitude of over 800m, comprising Lauraceae, Fagaceae, Theaceae, Magnoliaceae, Hamamelidaceae, etc. .From the altitude of over 1000 m, appear species of gymnospermae such as Dacrycapus imbricatus, Fokienia hodginsii, Podocarpus neriifolius, Nageia fleuryi, etc. Under this forest canopy are various species such as Vau Dang bamboo, Sat gai bamboo, shrub species such as Rubiaceae, Myrsinaceae, Euphorbiaceae.

Dwarf forests: comprise Ericaceae, Lauraceae, Fagacae, Iliciaceae, Aceraceae, etc. Those species are mainly predominant on high peaks of over 1000 m where the climate is very harsh.

Bamboo forests: distribute at the altitude of over 800 m (c.900 ha) with dominant species such as Vau Dang bamboo, Sat Gai bamboo, at lower altitude (500-800 m ) is Giang bamboo and under 500 m is Nua bamboo.

Rehabilitated forests: appear after shifting cultivation and over-exploitation. From under 400 m, previously were production forests where forest enterprises over-exploited timber, only exhausted forests and upland field could be seen. Now forests are gradually rehabilitating.

2 Approach to forest rehabilitation

2.1 Why to carry out forest rehabilitation?

Areas designated as national parks often still contain areas with low biodiversity, lost through long-term degradation by human impact. Often mountain massifs with considerable areas in higher altitudes are chosen as protected areas because they still contain less disturbed habitats in the remote and les accessible parts. However, on the lower slopes and foothills of those mountains the original forest has mostly been removed

3

and replaced by plantation monoculture forests and agricultural use, partly abandoned. Still, those areas are nearly always included in the boundary of the national parks.Through zoning those areas are designated eco-rehabilitation zones, though the natural process of forest regrowth with multiple tree species coverage is slow. Here the assisted process of forest restoration or forest rehabilitation is introduced. Its goal is to reintroduce tree species that have assumedly been present in the original forest ecosystem but reduced or wiped out over time.The operational plan of Tam Dao national park states the enhancement of biodiversity as one of the main goals of the national park management. This is either done by protecting the plants ands animals in their existing ecosystem or by improving the forest condition of areas that have been degraded and lost biodiversity in the past through several factors such as selective logging, practicing of swidden agriculture as well as encroachment for permanent agriculture or cattle grazing.The Resource Use Planning followed the proposed zonation of the national park, as described in government decree 08/2001 for special use forests, according to its present status and described a ecosystem rehabilitation subdivision for TDNP as below:

“Eco-system rehabilitation subdivision: With total area of 17,286 ha, located around the strictly protected area, about 100 m from the foot to the border line of the strictly protected area. This was formerly not belonging to the protected forest of Tam Dao, as consequence this area has been exhausted and it just remains 13,000 ha of natural and plantation forest.

Functions: forest rehabilitation to the destroyed areas for forest ecological system recovery and reducing the impacts of people to the strictly proteced area, enhancing the environment and water resources protection.

Management approach: rehabilitation, take full use of its advantages for natural rehabilitation since the soil is still rich and the sowing of seeds from the cutting, falling trees. Replanting to areas where natural rehabilitation is not available. Domestic-imported trees will be planted prior with fast-growing trees such as: pine tree, acacia and indigenous trees and high economic value trees will then be planted.”

2.2 Analysis of previous forest planting activities in Tam Dao national park

Long time ago, under the reign of French colonialists, the main species of forest plantings were P. massoniana and Erythrophloum fordii those close stands with mature trees can still be seen on the mountain slopes of Vinh Phuc province.

Later efforts to mitigate the lack of forests on the lower altitudes led to a large-scale afforestation through government programmes (327=regreening barren hills, PAM=world bank sponsored), mainly with fast growing tree species that were able to survive on the difficult soil and climate conditions. Main species planted were pine (Pinus massoniana) and several different species of Australian gums / eucalypts (Eucalyptus spp.). Whereas pine can be regarded at least as a tree species native to some forest areas of Vietnam, the gums and the acacias planted with the second wave of afforestation have to be clearly classified as exotic species. Besides these, a number of native species found locally in Tam Dao area was also planted.

4

Since its establishment about ten years ago Tam Dao national park has already undertaken quite extensive afforestation activities in the past decade. Main species for planting were Pinus massoniana in Vinh Phuc as well as Erythrophloeum fordii and Peltophorum tonkinensis everywhere else. Seedlings planted were quite small due to budget constraints, however, survival rate of those species is satisfactory. Since a couple of years a large share of seedlings is comprised by Australian acacias namely A. mangium, A. auriculiformis and the hybrid of them. Planting of rare tree species such as Nageia, Podocarpus, Fokienia, Dipterocarpus, Dalbergia and Camellia has been constrained to the compound of the national park office.

The tree plantations established in the past had some positive effects:

They helped to bring bare soil back under vegetation cover so avoiding soil erosion on steep slopes.

They acted as a pioneer forest copying the process of natural forest succession that would have taken much longer.

They acted as habitat for a number of birds and animals that in turn were favourable for propagating native trees by dispersing their seeds.

They helped to create the necessary environment for other native tree species which are in need of more shade and moisture when still young to be propagated by seed or recovered from rootstock. Now some older pine forests have plenty natural regeneration that can be the basis for forest rehabilitation towards more natural mixed forests.

They contain a reservoir of wood such as timber, poles and firewood that could be utilizied when gradually replacing exotic tree species with native ones.

The monocultures of planted forests are however susceptible to some threats to mention here:

Forest fires, in particular in pine forests. This is due to the high resin content in needles and wood as well as the debris that piles up on the forest floor and only slowly mineralizes, also because of its high resin content.

Pests and diseases e.g. insect attacks from leaf-eating caterpillars and bark beetles (presently to observe with pine forests on lower altitudes through the caterpillars of Dendrolimus sp. moth).

In the bufferzone communes around the national park some more native tree species have been regularly planted in gardens rather than as forest. To them belong Dracontomelum duppereanum, Canarium nigrum and Canarium album, all three of them having their major benefit though bearing edible fruits for self consumption and sale on local markets.

2.3 Experiences from other projects

The most important work in the South-East Asian mainland can be considered done by the Forest Restoration Research Unit (FORRU) in Chiang Mai, Thailand. There, several hundred forest tree species have been tried for propagation and planting in the field. A number of them has been found most suitable for restoring the forest ecosystem, called the framework species. They include mainly trees of fast or medium growth, thus provide early shade and bear blossoms and fruits/ seeds quite early so as to attract animals and birds. Those in turn facilitate the growth of other tree species, propagated by droppings after

5

eating the fruits. It must be mentioned here that the framework species method was first developed in New South Wales, Australia.

In Laos, there area also some experience with the seed collection, propagation and planting of a range of native tree species, mainly facilitated by the DANIDA Indochina Tree Seed Programme.

Some afforestation projects in Vietnam with aid from the German Bank for Reconstruction have included a limited number of tree species in their planting portfolio such as Erythrophloeum fordii, Peltophorum tonkinensis, Castanopsis spp., Canarium nigrum, C. album, Dracontomelum, Chukrasia tabularis, Schima wallichii and Ormosia balansae with some success.

In Vietnam, neighboring Ba Vi national park in Hanoi (formerly Ha Tay province) has already done forest rehabilitation since ten years with good success. It included a similar approach with many local tree species, considering their different functions within the forest succession such as being either pioneer, intermediate or climax tree species. Still now, many tree nurseries in the vicinity of the national park produce high quality seedlings of valuable and rare native trees for delivery to the national park’s reforestation programme that has to cover newly acquired areas, too.

In the commune of Dai Dinh, Tam Dao district, Vinh Phuc province there is a tree species trial established in 2003 by the Australian Council for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR). Several native and exotic tree species with high value timber were planted in small plots, either pure or mixed. Peltophorum tonkinensis, Khaya senegalensis and Canarium album show the best growth, Erythrophloeum fordii, Michelia alba and Chukrasia tabularis medium growth whereas Tectona grandis (Teak) has suffered several die-backs maybe due to low winter temperatures. A Castanopsis species did not develop at all, maybe this one not suited to the low altitude. Erythrophloeum fordii that was planted by the French in the adjacent hilly area grows straight when in half-shade whereas in full sunlight its stem is crooked and often forked.

2.4 Regeneration capacity of forests in the Tam Dao area

Several observations in the field lead to the conclusion that the capacity to self-regeneration of forests in the Tam Dao area is generally quite high. To this contribute:

Climatic conditions with sufficient rainfall Soil conditions on granite rock are generally not bad The absence of aggressive weeds such as Imperata cylindrica grass

So it was observed that A clearcut of Pinus massoniana forest near Dai Dinh tourist area damaged by

insects re-grew with mixed natural regeneration, also partly consisting of climax tree species within one year. Planted seedlings had to compete with the vigorous natural regrowth.

Extensive Acacia clearcuts in the northern Deo Khe region of Tam Dao mountain range were regreening naturally within one year, too so that planted new Acacia seedlings could not be identified from the vegetation carpet.

On many lower slope elevations a mixture of shrubs, treelets and pioneer trees build the stage of plant succession. A small share of climax tree species is also present If undisturbed it can develop into mixed forest.

6

Tea gardens that lie near the forest boundary have abundant natural regeneration of a range of forest trees.

On the other hand there are also areas that have adverse natural conditions so will hardly develop any forest in short time. To them belong:

Slopes with southern aspect, prone to drought Areas with shallow soil, the bedrock being quartz Pasture lands that have been devoid of forest for long time and have degenerated,

compacted topsoil Old tea gardens on mid slopes that lie far from the forest boundary

2.5 Analysis of options for implementation

Giving the circumstances in the area of Tam Dao national park it became obvious that forest restoration work would concentrate on the lower elevations where the natural forest ecosystem is quite degraded or has been completely replaced by plantations of Acacia and Eucalyptus as well as Pinus massoniana, the latter concentrated in the drier Vinh Phuc province. The forest ecosystem in the higher altitudes is less disturbed, except for the vicinity of Tam Dao town. In Dai Tü district of Thai Nguyen province another case is that tea plantations reach quite far up to the midlevel slopes of the mountain range but are nowadays often less intensively managed. So five main cases were considered for forest restoration:

Promotion of natural regeneration in monoculture pine plantations

Enrichment planting in Eucalyptus monocultures

Enrichment planting in Acacia monocultures

Enrichment planting in degraded and poor forest areas

Afforestation of abandoned tea plantations

Seeing similarities in the composition of forest tree species between Vietnam and Thailand, a good share of framework tree species used in Thailand also occur in Tam Dao mountains, so could be used for forest restoration.

Choosing tree species for forest rehabilitation focus is given to trees that produce mostly heavy and fleshy fruits and seeds that are attracting animals and birds. To them belong: Bischofia javanica, Spondias sp. Allospondias lakonensis, Syzygium sp., Castanopsis sp., Lithocarpus sp., Mangifera sp., Garcinia sp., Canarium sp., Dracontomelum duppereanum, Ficus sp., Nephelium sp., Horsfeldia, Aphanamixis and many Lauraceae species. These species are often slower growing and shade needing when young.

Other species bear blossoms that attract birds, butterflies and other insects such as Aleurites montana, Bombax malabarica, Magnoliaceae and many trees of the Leguminosae family such as Erythrina, Peltophorum, Saraca, Cassia, Milletia etc.

Another share of trees should consist of pioneer tree species that grow fast, tolerate adverse site conditions such as drought and infertile soil and bear light and often winged seeds for wide dispersal. Here are to mention: Markhamia stipulata and other Bignoniaceae, Sapium sp., Rhus sp., Euodia meliaefolia, Alangium chinense, Wrightia tomentosa, Engelhardtia spicata and Ailanthus malabarica.

7

3 Implementation steps

3.1 Analyzing the natural forest types

Tam Dao National Park area belongs to the North-Eastern Eco-zone of Vietnam. There are many forest tree species that can also be found in the mountainous areas of whole Northern Indochina as well as in Thailand and some even in India and Nepal Himalayas (e.g. Schima, Castanopsis, Acer, Lithocarpus, Sapindus, Alstonia, Alangium, Spondias, Bischofia, Horsfeldia, Cinnamomum, Camellia, Albizzia).

Forests in the higher altitudes comprise many species of the Fagaceae, Lauraceae and Magnoliaceae plant families. Besides them there are a range of rare conifers such as Fokienia, Calocedrus, Dacrydium, Nageia and Podocarpus.

Forests in the lower altitudes are mixtures of many forest tree species without certain plant families prevailing them. They contain valuable tree species such as Dipterocarpus retusus, Parashorea chinensis, Madhuca pasquieri, Erythrophloeum fordii and Fernadoa. Plant families with many tree species present include Euphorbiaceae, Anacardiaceae, Leguminosae, Bignoniaceae, Burseraceae, Fagaceae, Meliaceae, Guttiferae, Moraceae, Styracaceae.

Diversity of Lithocarpus, Ficus and Canarium species is especially obvious.

In shady and moist ravines and along streams some tree species occur regularly such as Bischofia javanica, Saraca, Allospondias lakonensis, Aphanamixis, Chisocheton, Dracontomelum duppereanum, Pometia pinnata, Celtis sinsis and Ficus spp.

Secondary forests on the lower slopes of the mountain are dominated by pioneer tree species such as Liquidamber formosana, Cratoxylum, Ailanthus malabarica, Alangium chinense, Markhamia stipulata, Engelhardtia spicata, Sapium discolor, Rhus chinensis, Aleurites montana, Styrax tonkinensis, Gonocarium, Wrightia tomentosa, Müc trau, Aporosa, Mallotus and Macaranga.

3.2 Exploring sources for seed procurement

Due to the high diversity of tree species in the original forest no limitations were set to procure seed from native tree species. All seed possible to find was welcome. Whenever the advisor came around some interesting tree species where flowering or fruiting occurred he remembered and looked the species up in the book to find out when the tree would bear ripe fruits and seeds. Then, a follow-up visit was done to verify the written information. Often his intuition led him at the right time to the right spot, just able to collect quantities of seed immediately. The search for sources of tree seed included the following sources:

Forest seed enterprises (Hanoi-Cau Dzien and Phu Thor branch)

This venture proved quite fruitless as there was not a single kind of seed from native tree species except for some Chukrasia tabularis and Ormosia balansae that could serve our purpose.

Tam Dao national park forest

Naturally, this large forest ecosystem can be considered the optimal source for seed procurement with the purpose of forest rehabilitation of the degraded parts of this

8

ecosystem. So, a dedicated forest ranger contributed considerably to seed procurement during his regular patrols.

Other areas of natural forest nearby

Establishing close relations with some villagers living near the forest gave exceptionally good results for seed procurement. First, the DED advisor collected some seeds so making people curious. Then, they approached him if he would be interested if they collect more seed for him. Quickly, a reasonable price was negotiated, phone numbers exchanged and a deal struck. Often after one week, a follow-up visit was paid and the seed purchased. A number of cash-for-commodity on-the-spot deals led to trusting each other. After this, the villagers asked what kind of tree seed the advisor was interested furthermore. The adviser replied if they had some interesting kind then just collect a sample for inspection and I would offer my opinion to it. So some more seed from other tree species could be purchased. Eventually, the villagers offered seed from shrubs, climbers and palms to the adviser, which was not always easy to find out that here was not dealt with wooden forest trees. However, some kind of those seeds was purchased, too for trials. Furthermore, one has to consider that the forest ecosystem does not exclusively consist of woody tree species. Seed from Arenga and Caryota palms were important examples. In the end even fruits and seed from unknown tree species were collected or purchased.

Phüong Hoang watershed protection forest in Cu Van-Dai Tü district became the house forest of the advisor because laying nearby and easy to access. A wide range of common and uncommon forest tree species is to find there such as Spondias axillaris, Nephelium, seven different species of Lithocarpus, two of Castanopsis, Ormosia balansae, Gymnocladus angustifolius, Dipterocarpus retusus, Horsfeldia thorelii and H. amygdalinus, Styrax, Syzygium, Elaeocarpus, Syzygium.

Tan Trao special use forest in Sön Dzüong district contains a large population of old Lysidice rhodostegia trees, otherwise also to find commonly but scattered in Sön Dzüong district. The contact person in tan Trao also collected large quantities of Canarium parvum, C. bengalense, Sapindus rarak, Bischofia javanica and Adenanthera pavonina.

Scattered remaining native trees in the countryside

Especially in the hilly countryside of Dai Tü district people still retain a wide range of native trees in the multipurpose forests above the rice paddies. They include Livistonia palms, bamboo, Canarium and Dracontomelum trees for fruits as well as timber and other trees. This type of ecosystem is an important habitat for Endospermum chinense. On one occasion the DED advisor came around a group of six fruiting trees of Fernandoa sp., a Vietnam red list species. Similarly as mentioned above a deal was struck and enough seed procured to produce around four thousand seedlings of this rare tree.

In My Yen commune there are groups of Garcinia macrophylla left in tea gardens, totaling to about twenty large trees, otherwise very difficult to find in native forest. A substantial quantity of seed was extracted from the fallen ripe fruits.

9

Other common trees used as shade trees in tea gardens include Ailanthus malabarica, Euodia meliaefolia, Aleurites montana, Garcinia oblongifolia, Alangium chinense and Manglietia glauca.

In Sön Dzüong district a good population of old remaining Bombax malabarica trees exists that was used to collect seed.

Near Sön Nam market some rare Cinnamomum balansae trees exist where the advisor could purchase some seed.

Planted trees in the nearby villages

In many villages there some trees regularly planted for medicinal or other purposes such as Melia azedarach and Gleditsia fera.

Public parks and roadside trees in larger towns such as Hanoi capital

Old trees planted decades of years ago comprise a very valuable source of seed from forest tree species that are nowadays difficult to find in the forest in such high populations because mostly logged out. In particular Hanoi was a bonanza for collection of fruits and seeds of the following tree species: Aphanamixis, Milletia, Saraca, Sterculia foetida, Mangifera. Large populations of Bischofia javanica exist, too but climbing trees has to be carried out by professional people. Making contact with locals and convincing them to collect seed was difficult because fear of ever-present policemen. So some seed was collected by the advisor getting up in the early morning and collecting seed that has fallen down overnight as a morning exercise before the cleaning brigades swept it away into rubbish heaps. Other tree species include Celtis, Lagerstroemia, teak, Swietenia mahogany and Khaya African mahogany. However, the large populations of old Dracontomelum trees bear rather few fruits only. On temple grounds there are numerous Cananga odorata trees to find.

Hanoi has some alleys in Ba Dinh district with planted Dipterocarp species from the genera of Parashorea, Dipterocarpus and Hopea.

In most towns there are a lot of Allospondias lakonensis and Alstonia scholaris trees planted for shade and the fruit clusters that make them beautiful during the fruiting season.

Local markets for agricultural products

Some fruits and nuts from forest trees as well as domesticated forest fruit trees are marketed by villagers during the respective season. They mainly include Dracontomelum, Canarium album, C. nigrum and occasionally C. bengalense, furthermore Garcinia cowa, G. oblongifolia, Nephelium sp. (forest rambutan) and Spondias sp. as well as several local Castanopsis species e.g. C. indica.

Purchasing ripe fruits and nuts from markets is more comfortable than to find the trees in the forests. Local people have knowledge about those trees and the season of their products because it contributes income to them.

The year 2007 was an exceptionally good year for collection and purchase of tree seed. It was a rather dry year, lacking regular rainfall until the end of August. This led to the blossoming of many tree species thus producing fruits and seeds in abundance. The main season for harvest was July till November when a majority in species and weight was

10

procured. During this time, runs to all contact persons occupied three days of a week, the remaining two used for deliver it to the two contract nurseries. Heavy loads of up to 50 kg were purchased on a single day, all transported on the back of the advisers motorbike. Only in one instance a load of more than 60 kg fruits was necessary to be hauled by car.

The following year 2008 was a wet year with more than average rainfall. Since the production cycle of the forest tree nurseries was already in full swing, sometimes all available capacity exhausted, seed collection just focused on adding some new species to the list.

Additional to the seed collection, wildlings from some forest trees were dug out in the forest, too.

3.3 Seedling production

Since Tam Dao national park showed commitment to be willing to engage in the field of forest rehabilitation it was natural to expect to involve mainly the tree nursery of Tam Dao national park for the programme’s seedling production. However, the risk of failure when dealing with the production of hitherto unknown tree species was seen to high by the national park management so that two private nurseries were contracted with this task.

The two private nurseries had already established contacts with the national park, producing tree seedlings for the 661 programme. They were willing and interested in this task, also because the project gave them a certain degree of economic security even in the case that some seed from native tree species would not produce seedlings.

Throughout the DED advisor delivered all collected and purchased seed to both nurseries. Most batches of seed were split into two parts in order top minimize the risk of failure if one nursery was not able to achieve good germination results.

Over the year it became obvious that the right sowing technique was crucial for the success of germination. Sowing seed in a layer of sand on top of the normal soil and providing shade by above standing trees or shade nets was considered the best method for most kind of seed. Covering the seeds with straw or leaves to keep moisture and provide shade was not so good as the cover was a physical obstacle to the development of the first leaves of the seedlings. Too much moisture led also to fungus infections. Only some kind of seed needed pre-treatment like scarification or water soaking. Cleaning the seeds out of the fleshy fruits or nuts from their cupula was sometimes labour-intensive.

The right potting mix for the polythene bags was also important. Just filling red earth led to growth of moss on the surface because when watering the percolation inside the polythene bag was slow and led to waterlogging at the top of the soil. A mixture of sand, organic humus and loamy soil was best, allowing good water percolation down to the root as well as water storage. Mineral fertilizer is usually not necessary to add when putting small seedlings into the container. It can be added later once the seedling has established firmly and starts to bear new leaves.

Larger Polythene bag sizes were difficult to come by in Vietnam where the production capacity is aligned to cheap mass production of low quality. However, for the planting success the structure of the root system is more important than a tall stem of the seedling.

Digging the seedlings out some time before transport led to the increase of the woody part of them of the seedlings. This is important as the soft, green stem may crack and break easily during transport. Important examples for this feature are Bischofia javanica and

11

Spondias axillaris those stems tends to lignify quite late compared to seedlings of other tree species of the same height.

Altogether, the seedling quality was still not always optimal despite some improvements compared to state owned nurseries.

Ficus species are difficult to propagate. Fig seeds need special attention when sown in order to germinate. Even then the growth of the seedlings is extremely slow. Cuttings give good results for some fig species but are much more labour intensive to produce the same amounts of plants. Even in nature natural regeneration of figs is hard to find. Ficus hispida may be an exemption.

3.4 Selection of pilot planting plots

Selecting the locations of the forest planting areas was the task of the technical and planning section of the national park. In 2006 twelve plots of a size of about one hectare each were chosen, with the hindsight to include different natural conditions. There were different slope aspects, slope angles, soil and vegetation types. Each plot could be reached only by small access roads with subsequent march uphill on foot.

In 2007 forest rehabilitation work continued with only two communes. One because there was the residence of the most diligent forest contractor out of ten in total, the other had a strategic location at the entrance of a heavily frequented tourism area. This time, protection against cattle was better as that was the main factor of the previous year that forest planting had suffered losses. The 3 locations of 2007 are also less affected by drought because they lay on western to northwestern slopes with higher humidity.

Plantings of 2008 and 2009 were mainly carried out at altitudes of about 400 m. In Höp Hoa commune there was a large area affected by forest fire in 2006 and overgrown by tall Lau grass. This area was a major one for forest restoration.

3.5 Contracting of labour, maintenance and protection efforts

Labour was contracted to local forest caretakers that had already a long-term relationship with Tam Dao national park, e.g. doing the work of planting and caretaking within the 661 tree planting programme.

In 2007 twelve pilot plots lay within ten different communes of three districts, so ten different forest contractors had to be employed. In 2008 and 2009 planting was concentrated in larger blocks of at least four hectares, so only two contractors – the most reliable and diligent – did continue to work with the project. Each contractor employed a number of labourers, mainly from their neighborhood, whom they guided and supervised. Nevertheless, inspection tours revealed that sometimes adjustments had to be made.

Maintenance of the original dozen pilot plots in the second year proved already difficult because of the channel of communication between staff of Tam Dao national park and the forest contractors was not efficient enough to take quick action. Therefore, weeding and replanting in 2008 was done too late at the end of the rainy season in July, instead of its beginning in May. This occurred despite the regular rainfalls throughout the year that had called for early weeding.

Heavy headaches were caused by damage to seedlings done by cattle and buffaloes. Most of the 2006 plots lay within 100-200 m altitude belt, so easy to reach by domestic ruminants. Fence construction did not bring the desired effect as the animals proved too

12

powerful and often broke through after some time. Fence repair was done in intervals but damage to seedlings could not be avoided.

3.6 Planting design

In 2006 the species range of available tree seedlings was limited to about 25, so they were evenly distributed over all plots.Target density was 2,500 seedlings per hectare, meaning a spacing of 2 metres between rows and between plants. Existing natural regeneration of forest trees was left in place, shrubs and climbers removed. Indifferent plants such as forest bananas were left for providing shade. In some instances places with too much shade from overstorey trees were left blank. Planting so was tailor-made to the existing micro-conditions. Seedlings from each planted tree species were clustered into small groups of upto ten seedlings, then a different tree species followed. Pioneer tree species were planted in sunny patches, climax tree species in places with some shade. No scientific approach such as single stem mixing, line mixing etc. was followed.

3.7 Monitoring of planting sites

Monitoring of work progress was a prerequisite for payments to contractors. Since monitoring staff included only three men from the technical and planning section of the national park as well as the DED advisor, capacity to monitor on-time when the work was actually carried out, proved difficult. In most cases areas were inspected after the respective forest contractors had communicated that a certain progress had been reached. The DED advisor made three full inspection rounds in 2007 visiting all twelve pilot plots. In 2008 another two rounds were made. It came out, that the communicated information to the national park staff was not always correct. In instances the message was conveyed that a weeding had been completed in a certain area. However, subsequent inspection revealed that nothing had been done at all. Similar things happened regarding the application of fertilizer which is still visible after some weeks depending on the amount of rainfall meanwhile. Questioned if fertilizer had already been applied forest contractors said yes, last week. But not a single grain of fertilizer could be detected at the planting holes.Reasons for delays were mainly of administrative nature. Writing and signing of contracts by GTZ office Hanoi, transferring money and delivering cash payments took endless time. Financial regulations of GTZ were sometimes hindering smooth implementation. In order to carry out the work at the most appropriate time, which for agriculture and forestry clearly depends on the weather conditions, one cannot wait for a signature or a red stamp before starting. In many cases the forest contractors borrowed money to pay their hired labourers just trusting the project that the money would be paid later. There were time gaps of several months in 2008 between carrying out work or delivering seedlings and payments.

13

3.8 Cost calculation - Budget used

The cost for establishing one hectare enriched forest split into the following budget items:

Cost item Price (VND) Amount per ha Item cost (VND)

Seedling price 1,500-3,000 2,500 3,750,000 – 7,500,000

Transport of seedlings by truck

300-400 2,500 750,000 – 1,000,000

Transport of seedlings on foot uphill

300-400 2,500 750,000 – 1,000,000

Fertilizer and transport dto. 3,000-5,000 2,500 x 0.2 (kg) 1,500,000 – 2,500,000

Labour for site preparation 50,000 30-50 1,500,000 – 2,500,000

Labour for planting seedlings 50,000 50 2,500,000

Labour for protection / fence 50,000 10-20 500,000 – 1,000,000

Labour for weeding 3 times 50,000 30-70 1,500,000 – 3,500,000

Labour for weeding and protection, 2nd year

50,000 30-60 1,500,000 – 3,000,000

Labour for weeding and protection, 3rd year

50,000 30-60 1,500,000 – 3,000,000

Total 1st year 120-190 12,750,000 – 15,750,000

Total 3 years 180-310 21,500,000 – 27,500,000

Prices for seedlings and fertilizer have developed upwards over time, representing inflation and world market prices fluctuations. Labour cost has been remarkably stable over time. Most differences in the cost per hectare are due to different natural conditions of the planting site influenced by slope gradient, amount of natural vegetation and stone content of the soil. Those factors contribute considerably to determine the necessary amount of labour to carry out the work steps according to standard.

14

4 Results achieved

4.1 General remarks

The project organized a study tour to FORRU Chiang Mai in Thailand in order to familiarize project management and leaders of local project partner organizations with the work of using a vast variety of native tree species for forest rehabilitation purposes. They have seen all practical steps necessary to achieve a good result in this work. After that the detailed concept of forest rehabilitation in the national park was endorsed in the planning process.

It was luck to have found two private nursery managers who committed themselves to the task to germinate all the seed that has been collected and raise seedlings out of it.

Luckily there was a coincidence that in the year 2007 was a lot of seed from many different native tree species available when seed collection was important to start the whole production chain of seedlings. Without the continuous efforts of the DED advisor and a forest ranger the excellent result would have been impossible to achieve.

Compared to the originally set objectives there are some planned activities that were not implemented such as:

Involvement of the national park nursery in the production of seedlings of native tree species was not granted. National park management constantly denied access to the nursery facilities so not letting them participate in the forest rehabilitation programme. Staff of this nursery has therefore not received measures of upgrading their capacity in how to germinate seed and raise seedlings of many native tree species. Instead they continue to focus on the mass production of pine. Besides this they produce some ornamental plants such as rhododendron and Camellias for sale and office compound beautification.

Restore forest on tea plantations was not achieved. Selection of one pilot plot was located inside an abandoned tea garden but the forest local contractor shifted it uphill towards the grassland. Nowhere else in the project area deliberate efforts have been undertaken either by communes or by national park or district authorities to convert old tea gardens back into forest. It seems to be a local socio-economic sensitive issue that is better not to touch. No commitment from the local population can be expected if such a venture is proposed. Previous trials failed, too.

In no case an reforestation of a clearcut, in particular Acacia was carried out for trial, nearly all plantations just represent enrichment plantings of degraded forests.

Thinning of pine forests has not been dared to touch either. Fear of superior authorities let the national park management not even try to submit a proposal for a research trial with the objective to facilitate natural regeneration of native trees.

In 2008 the 661 afforestation programme of the national park used about 55,000 seedlings of native tree species for planting, in 2009 another 3,000 for replanting. In the beginning many excuses were sought in order no to use native tree species for 661. There was mentioned that a special permission has to be sought with the forest department and this would be difficult to achieve. 661 forest plantations in the national park area solely focus on pine, acacia and Peltophorum tonkinensis and Erythrophloeum fordii, pine being the

15

cheapest kind of seedling to produce. Seedling quality is generally weak as the seedlings are very short, often less than 20 cm.

The project could not convince national park management and other authorities to have a regular look either at the nurseries or the planting sites in order to see which results with native tree species have been achieved. Unfortunately, all locations are quite remote either from the park office or Hanoi city so that any visit would have involved too much time. Even the project CTA had to be pushed by the DED advisor to have at least one visit to a nursery before the seedlings were planted out otherwise all activities would have gone quite unnoticed.

4.2 Overall figures achieved

2007 2008 2009

950 kg seed of about 120 tree species collected

25 tree species planted 77 tree species planted 53 tree species planted

30,000 seedlings 115,000 seedlings 25,000 seedlings

12 ha 20 ha + 40 ha for 661 8 ha

4.3 Survival and growth performance of tree seedlings

Growth and survival of seedlings strongly depend on the following factors:

Natural site conditions (micro-climate, slope aspect, altitude, soil, vegetation)

Interference of cattle or other raised livestock (buffaloes, goats) and the ability of exclude it from the planted area

Site preparation (slash vegetation, dig planting holes)

Planting technique (size of planting hole, use of fertilizer)

Seedling size and quality, drought stress in seedlings after transport

General adaptability of the tree species to the planting conditions

Time of planting and fertilizing (weather conditions)

Time, technique and intensity of weeding (according to development of weed)

Weather conditions over the year (dry or wet)

Figures from replacement plantings in 2008 and 2009 give an estimation that the survival rate in the first year for most planted plots lie within the range of 80-90 %. Some plots experienced exceptionally hard drought (Dao Tru, below pine), so survival may only be 30 %. Damage to seedlings in Phu Xuyen plot lead to only remaining 10 -20% intact seedlings.

General growth in 2007 was very slow due to dry weather conditions. In 2008 there was more rain, trees developed better. Seedlings on plantations on higher altitudes (around 400m) grew faster than on lower altitudes (100-200 m). Reasons are a more moist micro-climate and better topsoil as well as less influence by damaging domestic animals.

16

The history of events for each plot can change its fortune for seedling growth. There have been plots performing well in the first year but through subsequent events lost success. Timing, frequency and intensity of weeding is certainly one decisive factor in this regard.

Through replacement plantings more tree species were introduced to the plots that in the first year of planting were not available. More experience could be gathered about tree species performance under the specific site conditions.

Species planted in small numbers on a range of plots might have succumbed by chance. This shall not lead to a generalized conclusion that those species cannot be grown under certain circumstances. This was true for the Dipterocarpus retusus and Parashorea chinensis where in 2007 just 50 seedlings each were planted and hardly any of them left in 2009. In 2009 a couple of hundreds of seedlings were purchased from outside and perform well.

Some species perform unexpectedly well on some plots like Spondias axillaries Cinnamomum parthenoxylum and Sterculia foetida under dry conditions in Dao Tru, Fernandoa sp. (Dinh thoi), Syzygium and Cinnamomum balansae (Gu hüong) in Dai Dinh.

A tree species with overall superior growth on all plots are Endospermum chinense and Ailanthus triphysa. Growth of Markhamia stipulata and Sterculia colorata was far below expectations from this pioneer tree species, compared to trees of natural regeneration that grow much faster. Aphanamixis is sturdy and develops well, too but likes partial shade. Spondias axillaris and Allospondias lakonensis develops well on more moist locations, Alstonia scholaris also on drier. Fast growing pioneers are Styrax tonkinensis, Rhus rhetsoides, Alangium chinense. Soapnut Sapindus rarak was found to grow well on all sites.

Some tree species are generally slow growing are all Garcinia (Dzoc, Büa, Tai chua, Nu) species, Saraca, Lysidice, all Lauraceae (Machilus, Litsea, Phoebe).

Bischofia javanica as an ecological important tree species was used widely but in most cases did not perform well.

Species with average to good growth are e.g. Lithocarpus spp., Nephelium (forest rambutan), Horsfeldia spp., Dillenia, Castanopsis spp., Canarium spp., Gymnocladus,

4.4 Strong points

A large number of tree species (more than 100) was included into the programme.

Distribution of seed sources and seed seasons was recorded in all details.

Some rare tree species have been detected and planted.

High number of seedling output was achieved.

Experience of nursery managers in germinating different types of seeds and production of seedlings rose over time.

Good distribution of planting plots around the national park.

Commitment of some participants proved crucial for success.

Good coordination between nursery managers and forest contractors.

17

4.5 Problems and shortcomings encountered

Shortcomings in the whole process have been observed as follows:

Germination percentage below expectation was from the following pioneer tree species where large seed quantities are available: Sapium discolor, Euodia meliaefolia, Alangium chinense

Seed sowing into a germination bed in the nursery was not done correctly: in Hang nursery use of pure sand instead of one layer each of soil below and sand above (too dry)

Use of shade in the nursery not always appropriate, in Hang nursery too little shade for germination and seedlings.

Potting mix for filling polythene bags in Hang nursery with lack of organic manure and sand, too much red soil, negative influence on water storage and percolation capacity, development of moss on surface because of water stagnation.

Seedling size not for all tree species sufficient enough (slow growing species such as Lauraceae and Garcinia spp.).

Seedling transport in plastic bags with up to 50 seedlings cause damage.

Temporary storage of seedlings at house of forest contractor has insufficient shade to overcome drought stress.

Planting holes were dug only superficially.

Radius of weeding around planted seedlings was too small.

Weeding carried out too late when seedlings were already overgrown, but sometimes only shortly before an inspection was announced.

Keeping out cattle has not always be considered a crucial factor, some plot were nearly totally destroyed by cattle and buffaloes (Phu Xuyen, plot of Mr. Vinh).

Fertilizer has not been used at an appropriate time (after seedlings have taken root and start to bear new leaves) but used too early and during dry weather periods caused additional water stress to seedlings.

Damage to seedling roots by termites (Dai Dinh-4 ha plot).

Seedlings of Alstonia scholaris were stolen by local people for use as ornamental trees in their gardens.

Replacement plantings have been carried out with Acacia and Peltophorum instead of other native tree species due lack of communication between forest contractor and nursery manager.

18

5 Lessons learnt and suggestions

General planning

Planning a forest rehabilitation programme must take into account the longevity of it. There need to be at least five subsequent years of planting in order to include as many tree species as possible. The reason is that not all tree species bear fruits and seeds every year, some species only once in 3-4 years. Furthermore, one must consider the duration of seedlings to stay in the nursery before being planted out in the field. Slow growing seedlings of some tree species have to be nursed for 2-3 years before large enough to survive weed competition.

Forest rehabilitation does not stop with the planting event. Effective protection against cattle, buffaloes and goats is essential, otherwise results of previous work steps are easily annulled. Fences, if necessary, have to be sturdy and durable.

Overall, government organizations and institutions have a risk avoiding nature, are reluctant to try something new out in fear of failure and reprimand. Projects must always bear the risk by supplying a budget for everything. Another piece of evidence is that the forest rehabilitation activities were entitled as research programme and not as regular activity to implement so in case of performance below expectation no problem would occur. Even after some successful events of trying those institutions fall back in their old habit as those funds cannot be sustained or no personnel resources can be committed to those new tasks. So sustainability of project activities is much hampered.

Site matching of tree species

As for all things in nature and in particular in forestry, there is the law of the local site conditions. Soil and microclimate features influence the growth of the trees. Water is an important factor. Indicating plants may help to make decisions in which trees are appropriate to plant. Sometimes trees of certain species are still left, indicating that this species once grew here more abundantly. Good observation skills are important to detect those indicator plants and other signs.

Range of tree species for forest rehabilitation

Basically, ther are several dozen if not hundreds of tree species that formed the original forest in the national park and could be reintroduced by planting.

Ecologically, it is important to plant a mix of tree species that belong to different classes with distinct features:

Leguminous tree species

Nut species (oaks and chestnuts, Fagaceae family)

Tree species with edible, fleshy fruits

Tree species that bear distinct flowers and attract insects and birds

Fast growing pioneer tree species

Rare and high value tree species including Dipterocarpaceae

Palms

19

Planting different fruit and nut species will attract many birds and animals that feed on them, making the forest mor eattractive to wildlife.

Furthermore one has to take consideration of micro- and meso-site conditions such as:

High altitude adapted tree species (including submontane species and rare conifers)

Tree species that grow in moist areas and near streams and ravines

Tree species that can sustain dry und sunny conditions

Use many tree species those leaves are not palatable to domestic animals in order to minimize damage caused by them. Here are some promising tree species used: Alstonia scholaris, Ailanthus triphysa, Sapindus rarak, Rhus rhetsoides.

Tree species with a high availablity of seeds, fast germination, a high germination rate of seeds and quick seedling development and growth are favourable conditions to use a tree species on a larger scale for planting (see score in the table). However, in particular the rare species with little seed available are the more interesting and important ones not to exclude from such a forest rehabilitation programme. Speed of lignification of the seedling stem is another criterium. Species with slow lignification of stem need either more care during transport or have to be kept longer in the nursery.

Trials and research

Many people are too cautious with seed before they dare to germinate it. The belief is still widespread that there must be something scientifically special in order to make it happen. Simple observations in nature often give better clues how the germination process works. Many kind of seeds do germinate without special seed treatment, even the ones with a hard testa.

Start research about the propagation of other important and common tree species for propagation such as Sau sau (Liquidambar formosana), Gao (Anthocephalus sp.) and for improved germination of Thoi ba (Alangium chinense).

One has to try to plant many different tree species on different site conditions since there are sometimes surprises that certain tree specie sgrow under conditions where one would expect it.

Information gathering

Timing of operations is another important factor that can decide about success or failure. Doing all steps during appropriate weather conditions is the main key. Fortunately, in North Vietnam the weather allows for a broader time window for planting forest seedlings than in other monsoonal influenced climates. February-March is a good planting season when there are low temperatures combined with fog or drizzling rain. Planting is possible until the end of September when there are still regular rainfalls.

Having established a network of local informants, they can report if a certain tree species bears flowers, indicating that there will probably seeds the following seed harvest season.

One has to do frequent observations of the different tree species to asses their behaviour regarding flowering and fruiting. Sometimes there are lots of flowers but no or only inferior, empty seeds. In some years fruiting is early or later than average, depending on

20

temperature and rainfall pattern. Generally, the main season for seed and fruit harvest of forest trees is from July to November when a vast number of native trees have ripe fruits and seeds.

Some tree species have a lot of natural regeneration below or near their mother seed trees. Often they germinate in heavy shade and come up in high densities but later they will succumb because of lack of light. Under these conditions it is feasible to dig out the wild seedlings and raise them further in the nursery until ready for planting. Sometimes they experience a dieback of the terminal shoot but often recover in some time.

Some tree species have shown a good overall performance of survival and growth. they can be recommended to plant.

No. VN name Latin name Remarks

1 Vang trưng Endospermum chinense

2 Goi Aphanamixis sp.

3 Bo hon Sapindus rarak

4 Vai thieu Nephelium cuspidatum

5 Xoan như Spondias axillaris

6 Dau gia xoan Allospondias lakonensis

7 Soi trang Lithocarpus sp.

8 Soi đen Lithocarpus cerebrina

9 Cưt ngưa nui Archidendron sp.

10 Thanh that Ailanthus triphysa pioneer tree species

11 Sữa Alstonia scholaris

12 Bô đê Styrax tonkinensis pioneer tree species

13 Thoi ba Alangium chinense pioneer tree species

14 Đinh thôi Fernandoa sp. rare tree

15 Trâu Aleurites montana

16 Mỡ Manglietia glauca

17 Ke đuoi giong Markhamia stipulata pioneer tree species

18, 19, 20

Tram đen, T, trang. T. chim

Canarium spp.

21 Sơn ta Rhus rhetsoides pioneer tree species

22 Khao vang Phoebe sp.

23 Cong ma Gymnocladus angustifolius pioneer tree species

24, 25 Mau cho la to/ nho Horsfeldia thorelii, amygdalina

26, 27 Trâm Syzygium cuminii, S. cinereum

21

6 Annex: List of tree species: amount of seed collected and seedlings planted

Planted in 2007

Planted in 2008

Planted in 2009

Seed / fruit

weight

Season Type Score

No. Latin name VN name Plant familyharvest

seedof fruit/

seedgermination,

growthNumber of seedlings In kg month (max=12)

1 Endospermum chinensis Vang trưng Euphorbiaceae 4,240 9,005 504  19.5 8 FL 2-S 12

2 Bischofia javanica Nhội Euphorbiaceae 6,100 2,080 4,951 32.0 11, 12, 1 FL 2-S 12

sowing 30.0

3 Suregada multiflora Mân mây Euphorbiaceae 20 0.3 6 FL 2-S 7

4 Sapium discolor Soi tia Euphorbiaceae 1,000 834 2.0 9 HD 8

sowing 25.0

5 Aleurites montana Trau Euphorbiaceae 330 44 12.0 9 SM 9

6 Bridelia sp. Đỏm Euphorbiaceae No success 2.5 10

7 Trigonostemon sp. unknown Euphorbiaceae No success 1.5 10

8 Hura crepitans (America) Vong đòng Euphorbiaceae 270 1.5 5 HD exotic

9 Manglietia glauca Mơ Magnoliaceae 2,850 5,000 2.0 9, 10 SM 12

10 Chisocheton sp. Quech Meliaceae 20 0.5 11 SM 10

11 Aphanamixis sp. 1 Gôi nep Meliaceae 140 2,010 6.5 5, 6, 7, 8 SM

12 Aphanamixis sp. 2 Goi trằng Meliaceae 540 3.0 5 SM

13 Aphanamixis sp. 3 Goi qua tor Meliaceae 90 1.0 6 SM

14 Melia azedarach Xoan ta Meliaceae 2,500 2.0 11, 12 HD 12

15 Chukrasia tabularis Lat hoa Meliaceae 2,800 0.5 1 W 12

16Swietenia macrophylla (America) Dzai ngüa Meliaceae 60 0.2

4 W exotic, 8

17Khaya senegalensis (Africa) Xa cü Meliaceae 30 0.1

4, 5, 6, 7 W exotic, 12

18 Sterculia foetida Trôm hôi Sterculiaceae 120 240 3.0 4, 5, 6 SM 10

19 Sterculia colorata Bor Sterculiaceae 5,340 20 6.8 5 SM 9

20 Sterculia sp. 3 Săng Sterculiaceae 570 1.8 7 SM 10

21 Sterculiaceae 4,   Sterculiaceae 20 0.8 8 HD

22

cauliflorous

22 Markhamia stipulataKe đuoi giong Bignoniaceae 20 9,820 370 6.4

4, 5 W 11

23 Fernandoa sp. Đinh vang Bignoniaceae 1,900 100 3.0 3 W 9

24Dracontomelum duppereanum Sầu Anacardiaceae 1,200 100 1010  27.0

8 FL 1-H 10

25 Mangifera sp.Queo, Xoai rung Anacardiaceae 120 2.8

6 FL 1-S 10

26 Spondias axillaris Xoan như Anacardiaceae 1,900 17,590 1,706 53.4 8, 9, 10 FL 1-H (5) 11

27 Spondias cytherea Coc chua Anacardiaceae 20 1.0 8, 9, 10 FL 1-S 6

28 Allospondias lakonensis Dau gia xoan Anacardiaceae 70 13,510 100 36.3 8 FL 1-H 12

29 Rhus rhetsoides Sơn ta Anacardiaceae 2,550 6.0 9, 10 HD 12

30 Nothaphoebe sp. 1 Khao qua to Lauraceae 50 0.7 1 FL 1-S 4

31 Nothaphoebe sp. 2 Kháo bóc vỏ Lauraceae 450 14.0 10 FL 1-S

32 Machilus sp. 1 Kháo chùm Lauraceae 150 1.0 7 FL 1-S

33 Machilus sp. 2 Kháo thôi Lauraceae 180 1.5 7 FL 1-S

34 Litsea glutinosa Bời lời nhớt Lauraceae 200 1012 8.5 8 FL 1-S 5

35 Litsea sp. 2 Kháo thơm Lauraceae 60 3.5 6 FL 1-S

36 Phoebe sp. Khao vang Lauraceae 90 571 3.2 12 FL 1-S 7

37Cinnamomum parthenoxylum

Re hương Lauraceae1,000 Purchase

FL 1-S

38 Cinnamomum balansae Gu hương Lauraceae 15 3 0.1 9 FL 1-S

39 Cryptocarya lenticellata Nanh trăng Lauraceae 600 480  wildling

40 Lauraceae 11 Kháo cưng Lauraceae 2,900 60  wildling FL 1-S

41 Lauraceae 12 Kháo vàng Lauraceae 400 0.5 FL 1-S

42 Lauraceae 13 Kháo 4 Lauraceae 140 0.5 FL 1-S

43 Lauraceae 14 Khao 5 Lauraceae 25 0.5 FL 1-S

44 Alstonia scholaris Sữa Apocynaceae 420 491 0.1 3, 4 W 12

45 Canarium nigrum Tram đen Burseraceae 20 2,150 646 19.2 8, 9 FL 1-H 11

46 Canarium album Tram trang Burseraceae 2,100 1,251 35.0 8, 9 FL 1-H 11

47 Canarium bengalenseTram 3 canh, Tram liam Burseraceae 100 50.5

9, 10 FL 1-H 5

48 Canarium parvum Tram chim Burseraceae 2,190 718 27.5 9 FL 1-H 10

49 Canarium sp. 5Tram qua nho Burseraceae 20 0.1

10, 11 FL 1-H 1

23

50 Dalbergia tonkinensis Sưa Leguminosae 1,750 1.0 11, 12 W 12

51 Bauhinia purpurea Mong bo Leguminosae 10 210 3.5 4, 5, 6, 7 12

52Ormosia balansae

Rang rang mít

Leguminosae140 30 2.0

7 ... 2 HD 5

53 Ormosia fordianaRang rang qua day Leguminosae

Still too small 10.0

10 SM 7

54 Gleditsia fera Bô kết Leguminosae 900 2.5 11, 12 HD 8

55Gymnocladus angustifolius

Cong ma Leguminosae150 30 4.0

10, 11, 12

HD 6

56 Lysidice rhodostegia Mý Leguminosae 4,350 1086 28.5 9 SM 7

57 Saraca dives Vang anh Leguminosae 720 536 15.0 7, 8 SM 8

58Adenanthera pavonina

Muong rang rang

Leguminosae60

Seed in stock 2.5

9 HD 5

59 Sindora tonkinesis Gụ lau Leguminosae 20 0.4 9 HD 6

60 Archidendron chevalieriiCứt ngựa, Phân ma Leguminosae 50 6.0

8 SM 7

61 Archidendron sp. 2 Cưt ngưa nui Leguminosae 320 80 20.0 12 SM 9

62 Erythrina sp. Vong nem Leguminosae 30 0.4 10 SM 1

63 Entada phaseoloides Bàm bàm Leguminosae 20 1.0 8

64 Unknown (maybe climber) unknown Leguminosae No success 3.0 SM

65Afzelia xylocarpa (from Laos) Gổ đỏ Leguminosae 70 0.5

1-12 HD exotic, 8

66 Sindora siamensis (Thai) Gu Leguminosae 100 0.5 10 HD exotic, 7

67 Cassia fistula (Thai)Muông hoang yen Leguminosae 60 0.2

1-12 HD exotic, 8

68 Milletia sp. Leguminosae 20 0.1 1, 2 SM 10

69 Dipterocarpus retusus Cho nâu Dipterocarpaceae 20 1.2 5 W 8

50 430 purchase

70 Parashorea chinensis Cho chỉ Dipterocarpaceae 1,500 250  10.0 6 W 10

50 500 purchase

71 Cananga odorataNhoc lan vang Annonaceae 120 170 0.7

5, 6 FL 2-H 7

72 Horsfeldia thoreliiMau cho la to Myristicaceae 150 2.7

5 SM 5

73 Horsfeldia amygdalinaMau chó lá nhò Myristicaceae 1,050 452 11.0

7, 8 SM 5

24

74 Nephelium cuspidatum Vai thieu Sapindaceae 1,350 13.8 5, 6 FL 1-S 8

75 Pometia pinnata Trường Mật Sapindaceae 20 0.2 8 FL 1-H 7

76 Sapindus rarak Bo hon Sapindaceae 10,120 983 29.0 10, 11 HD 10

77 Xerospermum noronhiana

Trường quánh, Vải guốc Sapindaceae 5.0

7

78 Lithocarpus sp. 1 Sôi dẻ Fagaceae 450 13.5 5 HD-N 9

79 Lithocarpus corneus 2 Sồi đá FagaceaeNo

successUnripe seeds 4.5

7, 8 HD-N 6

80 Lithocarpus sp. 3 Sồi đỏ Fagaceae 60 16.0 7, 8 HD-N 3

81 Lithocarpus tubulosus 4 Sồi ong Fagaceae 40 7.5 8 HD-N 3

82 Lithocarpus sp. 5 Sồi trăng Fagaceae 1,510 488 25.0 8, 9, 10 HD-N 8

83Lithocarpus sp. 6, RPH Cu Van

Soi dze hat tor Fagaceae 150 18.0

11 HD-N 2

84Lithocarpus sp. 7, Yen Lang Soi Fagaceae No success 0.7

11 HD-N 1

85Lithocarpus sp. 8, RPH Cu Van Soi dze 3 Fagaceae 100 12.5

11 HD-N 1

86 Lithocarpus cerebrina 9 Soi đen Fagaceae 1213 11.5 5 HD-N 10

87 Castanopsis indica De gai An Do Fagaceae 150 4.7 10 HD-N 6

88Castanopsis sp. 2, TT Tam Dao Dẻ nui cao Fagaceae 492 1.0

12 HD-N 10

89 Quercus semiserrataSoi sen, Dẻ bau Fagaceae 30 4.2

11 HD-N 6

90 Ficus auriculata Wa Moraceae No success 2.0 5 FL 2-S 5

91 Ficus racemosa Sung qua Moraceae No success 3.5 10 FL 2-S 5

92 Ficus benjamina Sanh Moraceae 60 cuttings FL 2-S 5

93 Dillenia sp. Long bang Dilleniaceae 20 7.0 5, 6, 7, 8 FL 2-S 5

94 Bombax malabarica Gạo Bombacaceae 530 0.8 5 W 10

95 Euodia meliaefolia Thôi chanh Rutaceae No success 2.3 9, 10 HD 7

96 Euodia meliaefolia Thôi chanh Rutaceae sowing 13.0

97Ailanthus malabarica/ triphysa Thanh that Simaroubaceae 3,560 2.7

6, 7 W 11

98 Syzygium cuminii Trâm vôi Myrtaceae 750 1.0 6 FL 1-S 10

99 Syzygium cinereum Trâm xám Myrtaceae 70 0.4 8 FL 1-S 10

100 Engelhardtia spicata Cheo Juglandaceae No success 0.3 7, 8 W 4

25

101 Alangium chinense Thôi ba Alangiaceae 380 11.0 7 FL 1-H 8

102 Garcinia xanthochymusNu, Dzoc qua to Guttiferae 650 25.5

9 FL 2-S 6

103 Garcinia oblongifolia Bưa Guttiferae 704 37.0 8 FL 2-S 6

104 Garcinia multiflora Dzoc Guttiferae 150 8.3 11, 12 FL 2-S 6

105 Garcinia cowa Tai chua Guttiferae 40 16.0 7 FL 2-S 6

106 Diospyros lotus Cậy Ebenaceae 30 65 5.2 7, 8 FL 2-H 1

107 Diospyros sp. 2Hồng rừng nho Ebenaceae No success 1.0

10 FL 2-H 1

108 Flacourtia indica Mùng quân Flacourtiaceae No success 1.5 7 FL 2-H 1

109 Nauclea orientalis Vàng kiên Rubiaceae No success 0.1 8 1

110 Gonocarium sp. Cuông vàng Icacinaceae 304 2.5 10 SM 1

111 Styrax tonkinensis Bô đê Styracaceae 2,800 450 1.2 10 HD 11

  sowing 14.0

112 Styrax sp. 2

An tức hương, Bô đê qua tor Styracaceae 30 8.0

10, 11 HD 6

113 Caryota sp. Moc Palmae 400 7.0 10 HD 6

114 Arenga sp. unknown Palmae sowing 6.5 11 HD 5

115unknown-Hung Soen-rambutanlike fruits unknown unknown No success 9.0

10, 11 FL 2-S 1

116unknown-Yen Lang, brown fruits, 1 seed unknown unknown No success 0.1

10 SM 1

117unknown, red berries, 1 seed unknown unknown No success 2.5

10 FL 1-S 1

118unknown-Yen Lang, brown fruits, 2 seeds Kháo mít unknown No success 2.5

10 SM 1

119unknown- -long, black fruits unknown unknown No success 2.0

10 SM 1

120 Tectona grandis (exotic) Tech Verbenaceae 20 30.0 4 HD exotic, 6

121 Nageia fleuryi Kim giao Podocarpaceae 3 wildling FL 1-S 1

122 Acer decandrumThich muoi nhi Aceraceae 30 wildling

W 1

123 Elaeocarpus sp. Côm Elaeocarpaceae No success 1.0 10 FL 1-H 5

124 Vối 540

125 Đải 1,260

26

126 Madhuca pasquieri Sen mat Sapotaceae 510 Purchase FL 2-S

127 Castanopsis sp. Dẻ đâu nứt Fagaceae 350 Purchase HD-N

128 Calocedrus macrolepis Bach xanh Cuppressaceae 300 Purchase HD

129 Burretiodendron hsienmu Nghiến Tiliaceae 50 Purchase

130 Manglietia glauca Gioi xanh Magnoliaceae 400 Purchase SM

131 Aquilaria crassna Tram hương Thymelaceae 350 Purchase SM

Remarks:

Types of fruits and seeds

Description Code

dry fruit; hard, dry seed; nut (hard testa) HD (-N)

dry fruit; soft-medium hard, moist-medium dry seed (soft testa) SM

fleshy fruit (drupe); one seed in one fruit, hard or soft (number of embryos) FL1-H, S (...)

fleshy fruit (drupe); more seeds in one fruit, hard or soft FL 2-H, S

winged, hairy or flat seed W

Suitability score is derived from a maximum of 3 points each for:

Criteria 3 points 2 points 1 point 0 points

Availablity of seed (Quantity, frequency) high medium low no information

Germination speed fast medium slow no information

Germination rate high medium low no information

Seedling development and growth fast medium slow no information

27