Presentation on the Sal tree s silviculture management in west Bengal

1. Silviculture in Shorea robusta in West Bengal (INDIA )

2. Introduction:-
 Forests cover over 11 million hectare in India and
Nepal which occurs on the southern slopes of
Himalaya and distributed in Bangladesh.
 Sal forest silviculture has been evolving since the
beginning of 20th century.
 Sal trees used for timber production, grazing,
collection of fodder, fuelwood , litter and many
other products.
 Broadly Sal's natural range lies between the
longitude of 75 degree and 95 degree East and
latitudes of 20 degree to 32 degree North.
 It extends from few meters to 1500 m above mean
sea level. Natural zone of Sal forests (shaded dots for Sal forests, after
Stainton, 1972 ; FAO, 1985 ).

3. Ecology and productivity of Sal:-
Stand structure:-
 45m height, 25 m clear bole and a girth of 8m.
 Canopy reaches a height of 30-35m and trees have a girth of
4m in favorable localities.
Edaphic factors:-
 Grows on wide range of soil types, except in sandy, gravely soils
adjoining rivers and in waterlogged area.
 It can grow on alluvial to lateritic soils (pH 5.1 – 6.8) and with carbon
content between 0.11 and 1.8%.
 Precipitation ranges from 1000- 2000 mm.
 Tolerates maximum temperature 49 degree and minimum -1 degree .

4. Phenology:-
 Depends on edaphic factors and microclimate.
 Produce seeds every year but a good seed year normally after third
year.
 Leaf starts fall in the mid of February to mid of July.
Progression and retrogression of dry Sal forest (based on Maithani et al., 1989 ).

5. Silviculture practices:- It is an art and science of managing forests for
specific objectives outlined by a landowner. (Smith et al. 1997)
Coppice system:-
Simple coppice system
Coppice with standards
Coppice with reserves.

6. Regeneration:-
Sal regenerates from seed or by coppicing sprouting from root
suckers.
Tree of both coppice and seed origin produce fertile seeds
(there is no difference in the vigor of the seedlings from
coppice or seed origin).
During increase in age, the standing biomass increased in the
Sal plantation and natural stands and non-photosynthetic :
photosynthesis ratio also increased.

7. Artificial regeneration:-
 Clear felled coups by direct sowing.
 Need moist ground.
 Each Sal line consists of 3 rows of seeds, the rows being
15cm apart and 8 cm dibbled.
 In south west Bengal, Sal lies in degraded condition over
a large area and its regenerated by the method of
coppicing.

8.  Liable to damage by drought.
 Vulnerable to damage by large number of
fungi.
 The serious attacks by Hoplocerambyx
spinicornis beetle have been reported from
various part of country.
Injury, damages:-

9. Conclusion:-
 The degradation of Sal forests resulted from heavy and haphazard looping, grazing and fire.
 Ecological processes stand development clearly show rich diversity at the ground level, but decreasing
diversity with height and ultimately Sal dominance at the top canopy.
 Edaphic factors, regeneration, growth characteristics, allocations, and structure are contributors to ecological
processes.
 Leaf shedding creates opportunities to regenerate many species of ground flora.
 Anthropogenic factors are influenced by the livelihoods of the population living in and around Sal forests.

10. References:-
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of_Similipal_Biosphere_Reserve_Odisha_India.
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