Will the management systems for hill Dipterocarp forests stand up?

Abstract

The hill dipteroicarp forests of Peninsular Malaysia are managed under the Selective Management System (SMS), a variant of the Selective Fellings practised in Indonesia and the Philippines. Much controversy prevails over the capacity of the SMS to manage the dipterocarp forests. In this paper we review the silvicultural content of the SMS, recognising that a management system is a good as its silviculture. The silivicultural core of the SMS is the retention of advanced relicts, which grow into the next crop and in additional provide much of the seedling regeneration. There are many limitations as a result: in dipterocarp forests the middle sizes of trees are not well represented; and they may not be superior, and respond rapidly to logging; logging is not sensitive to variations in the stands; logging damage is usually heavier than projected; future regeneration may not be evenly distributed, or adequate; and the selective removal of dipterocarps may mar the sustainability of yield following the second cutting. Several measures can be taken to improve the silvicultural content of the SMS. They include stratifying forest into productive and protection units, improving felling and hauling techniques, leaving seed trees, replanting denuded areas, and tending the young regeneration still surviving.