Tree farming practices in the bhabar terai of central Nepal

This manual forms a comprehensive and detailed record of the practices recommended for plantation establishment in the bhabar terai, on the basis of seven years experience of the Sagarnath Forest Development Project. The main objective has been high yields of fuelwood on a short rotation. The first two chapters set out the background and the rationale for the project's tree farming strategy, which is described in more detail in Chapter 5. Chapters 3 and 4 describe the results of trials of various species, and recommend species for particular site types. Chapters 5-9 deal with the practical implementation: site clearance, road construction, site preparation, planting, weeding, and protection from grazing, fire, pests and diseases. Chapters 10-15 deal with administration, growth, utilization, equipment, research, and windbreaks. The chapter on growth has three main aspects: a comparison of natural sal with planted eucalypts; the use of an 'effective tree' concept - defined in terms of commercial (but not local) fuelwood supplies; and the estimation of 'productivity' classes (rather than site quality classes, for which there are insufficient data).