The increasing demand for wood and paper-based products will likely be met, at least in part, through the establishment of new forest plantations. The area of forest plantations worldwide has been increasing to reach 140 million ha in 2005. Slightly less than half of the world’s plantations are in Asia while exceptionally fast increases were experienced in North America, Central America, Oceania and South America between 1990 and 2000 (FAO, 2006). This trend is expected to continue, especially in developing countries. Forest plantations currently make up 5% of world’s forest cover, but account for 35% of total global industrial wood production. There are advantages and disadvantages that need to be considered when sourcing from forest plantations.
Planted forests (plantations) may not provide the same ecosystem services natural forests provide, but they can play a positive role in other regards:
- By producing wood more efficiently, they may allow other natural forests to be managed for other forest values.
- When established on previously degraded sites they may recover some ecosystem functions and services. Increased recovery of degraded lands will play an important role in meeting future demand for wood and paper-based products and services including carbon sequestration and/or crops for fuels.
However, when forest plantations reduce the production costs for timber, products from natural forests may be at a disadvantage. If natural forests become less economically viable, it could cause owners to convert their lands to other more financially attractive land uses.
Advantages and disadvantages of plantations
| Advantages |
Disadvantages |
| Forest plantations can return degraded or worn out lands to productive use and protect soil from erosion. |
There is often limited biodiversity if the forest is managed in single species plantations, resulting in reduced wildlife habitat and ecosystem value. |
| The rapid growth of forest plantations can produce more wood, faster, requiring less land to produce a specified amount of wood. |
Diseases and pests which target a particular tree species can have devastating impacts in single species plantations. |
| Forest plantations enable landowners to take advantage of the newest forest technology and genetics. This results in greater yields and better prices, strong incentives for private landowners to continue to practice forestry on their lands. |
Forest plantations often receive higher levels of inputs such as fertilizer and chemicals to control vegetative competition. |
| Wood harvested from forest plantations is often very uniform in terms of species and size, thereby improving processing and manufacturing efficiency. |
Run-off, overspray and groundwater contamination can be issues if these practices are not carried out correctly. |
| Focusing wood production in fast-growing forest plantations can allow other native/natural forests to be managed for other uses such as biodiversity, non-wood forest products, and aesthetics. |
Some forest plantations are established using non-native species.
These plantations may not provide suitable habitat for local wildlife. Trees replacing grazing land may also adversely affect groundwater levels. If allowed to escape off-site, some non-native species may out-compete local tree species for available resources, and become a “weed” or invasive species.
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| Greater economic value of plantations can keep forest land in forest use, where a natural forest may not be economically sustainable. |
Rights of local communities and indigenous peoples may be ignored. Forest plantations often take over large areas of land that become unavailable to other users (e.g., fuel-wood collection, non-wood forest products) and can distort income distribution in households and communities. |
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Clearance of natural forests to establish plantations. |
The two principal concerns about forest plantations are:
- They may replace natural forest areas or areas in the forest landscape with unique qualities.
- They may not be established in compliance with local laws regarding land occupation, and with authorization of local and indigenous peoples.
Sources: Boyer, 2006; FAO, 2007B; Nair, 2001.
