PYQ FROM FORESTRY

• Scientific name of Sal wood tree is? – Shorea robusta - AFO 2023
• Trees that grow where river water meets sea water is – Mangrove -AFO
2023
• Scientific Name of Teak tree species is – Tectona grandis – Nab 2022
• The agro-forestry system in which long fodder crops are grown to protect
the soil, mulching and prevent soil erosion is known as? Silvo pastoral-
Nab 2022

Page 1 of 18
Page 2 of 18
 3. SOCIAL FORESTRY
What is Social Forestry?
• Social forestry is defined as "of the people, by the people and for the people." It
means the management and protection of forests and afforestation on barren lands
with the purpose of helping in the environmental, social and rural development, as
against the traditional objective of securing revenue (Negi 1986).
• It the practice of forestry on lands outside the conventional forest area for the
benefit of the rural and urban communities.
• The term was coined by J.C. Westoby. It was first recognized as an important
component of forestry for meeting rural needs in the interim report of the National
Commission on Agriculture (NCA), 1976.
• The objectives of social forestry adopted by the NCA were to fulfill the basic and
economic needs of the community.
• According to the National commission on Agriculture (1976), Social forestry
denotes programmers for raising plants and trees for supply of fire wood, fodder,
and small timber for the community.

Scope of social forestry

• Creation of woodlots in the village common lands, government wastelands and
panchayat lands (Estimated at least 12 million ha).
• Planting of trees on the sides of roads, canals and railways. This, along with
planting on wastelands is known as 'extension' forestry, increasing the boundaries
of forests (Estimated at nearly 1 million ha).
• Afforestation of degraded government forests in close proximity to villages, which
have experienced the unauthorised harvesting of biomass (Estimated at over 10
million ha).
• Planting of trees on and around agricultural boundaries and on marginal, private
lands, constituting farm forestry, or agroforestry, in combination with agricultural
crops (Agricultural land covers about 143 million ha) (Prabhakar 1998).

Objectives of Social Forestry

Page 3 of 18
• Social forestry schemes that have been started all over the country have made a
considerable difference in overall forest cover in a short time. Afforestations are
made outside the conventional forest area for the benefit of rural and urban
communities.
The main objectives are:
• Improves the environment for protecting agriculture from adverse climatic factors.
• Increases the supply of wood fuel for domestic use, small timber for rural housing,
fodder for livestock and minor forest produce for local industries.
• Increases the natural beauty of the landscape and creates recreational forests for
the benefit of rural and urban population.
• Provides jobs for unskilled workers.
• Land rehabilitation and increase in forest cover.
• Enhances the standard of living and quality of life of the rural and the urban people.

Principles of Social Forestry:

1. Principle of democracy: social forestry implies the culturing of trees by the people,
for the people and of the people.
2. Principle of forest area extension: It aims to increase the forest area by
rehabilitating wastelands while producing biomass both for industrial and local uses.
3. Principle of Poverty: It is single largest development strategy to eradicate poverty
by providing the job.
4. Principle of employment: It is a continuous process discouraging the migration of
labour to the urban habitats.
5. Principle of Govt. Based programme: It is primarily a govt based programme.
Sometimes social forestry is also tagged as 'sick land for sick people'.

Social forestry program components

Community forestry, farm forestry and social forestry
The escalating worldwide interest in tree-planting activities during the past three
decades (1970 onwards) resulted in the emergence and popularization of several
terms ending with word 'forestry', viz. Community Forestry, Farm Forestry and
Social Forestry.

Page 4 of 18
In all these, one thing is common, i.e., people's participation in tree-planting
activities not necessarily with agricultural crops or animals as is in agroforestry.
The social forestry is considered to be the practice of using trees or tree planting
specifically to pursue social objectives, to help the poor people to improve their living
and meeting their routine requirements of fuelwood and fodder.
In its report on Farm Forestry, National Commission on Agriculture (1976) remarked
that programme of bund planting and field boundaries by farmers themselves will
constitute farm forestry.
i) Farm Forestry has been defined in so many ways, as given below:
• "An integration of farming with forestry practices on the farm to benefit
agriculture." It does not mean forest tree culture at the cost of agriculture. The
concept originated for making agriculture economically viable."
• "A practice of raising small woods on the farm in addition to normal cultivation to
derive indirect benefits like protection of crops against high winds and control of
erosion besides meeting demands of fuel, small timber, grazing, fodder and leaf
manure".
• "Programmes to promote commercial tree growing by farmers on their own lands
is farm forestry". This approach was described as turning peasants into
entrepreneurs and producers.
• Incidentally, the terms Social Forestry, Farm Forestry, Agroforestry and Extension
Forestry have been alternatively used with similar objectives on almost similar or
different land types.

ii) Community forestry: (Nabard 2022)

• A form of social forestry, refers to tree planting activities undertaken by a
community-on-community land or panchayat land. Similarly, community forest is
"a tree-dominated ecosystem managed for multiple use".
• It is based on the local (community) people's direct participation in the process of
growing trees themselves and processing or utilizing the tree produces locally in a
systematic way.

Page 5 of 18
• Community forestry has been defined as "Community forestry is based on the
local control over, and enjoyment of the benefits from, the local forest resources".
(Nabard 2020 mains exam)
• These benefits are not simply monetary, nor are they derived exclusively from
timber production, but may vary with the many values associated with the forest
ecosystems, including cultural, spiritual, social, medicinal, ecological,
recreational, aesthetic and economic values.
• Unfortunately, this programme is hampered because of one reason that this
plantation is of every one (common property) and there is nobody to care for it.
• It was also given the name 'tragedy of the commons' assuming that the land held
in common will be exploited by all, and maintained by no one.

Other programmes
Rehabilitation of Degraded Forests
As a third component, the interim report of the NCA, 1976 suggested reforestation of
degraded forests to achieve the following objectives:
1. To grow short rotation fuel and timber species for meeting the requirements.
2. To organize fuelwood supplies at reasonable rates, this will prevent pilferage from
neighboring commercial forests.
3. To tie up degraded forest areas with the nearby rural and semi-urban centers for
their requirements of fuelwood.

Recreation Forestry
Recreation forestry is the practice of forestry with the object of raising
avenue/flowering trees and shrubs mainly to serve as recreation forests for the urban
and rural population. This type of forestry is also known as Aesthetic forestry which
is defined as the practice of forestry with the object of developing or maintaining a
forest of high scenic value.

Page 6 of 18
 4. Management Practices in Agro-forestry
For establishment of the regeneration and subsequent development of the forest crop
up to harvesting, several operations are carried out. These operations are carried out
in the forest crop at different stages of growth in order to provide a healthy
environment for their development.

Thinning
➢ Thinning is defined as a felling made in an immature stand for the purpose of
improving the growth and form of the trees that remain, without permanently
breaking the canopy.
➢ Thinning is a tending operation carried out in a crop beyond the sapling stage and
up to the beginning of regeneration period.
➢ Thinning principles are so formulated that these are applicable only to pure even
aged or relatively even, aged crop or even aged groups of the trees in a crop.
➢ Thinning principles have been developed on the basis of natural development of
the stand. Thus, thinning takes place naturally in a density stocked forest under the
law of Survival of the fittest.
It is mainly done:
➢ To improve the hygiene of the crop by removing dead, dying and diseased trees
➢ To ensure best physical conditions of growth
➢ To obtain a desired type of crop
➢ To improve the stand composition and afford protection from the spread of insects
and diseases, to improve the quality of wood.
➢ Increase the net yield and financial return from the crop.

Pruning:
Page 7 of 18
➢ Removal of live or dead branches or multiple leaders from standing trees for
the improvement of the tree or its timber.
➢ It allows the grower to manipulate the growth and development of the trees left
after thinning to improve the quality of the tree and to increase agriculture returns.
➢ Natural; natural death and fall of branches of standing trees grown closely due to
deficiency of light or decay etc.
➢ Artificial Pruning: Removal of branches with sharp tools in a dense crop.
➢ Pruning lower branches close to the trunk of tree makes small knotty core which
gives clear straight grain timber.
➢ Removal of too many branches will retard the growth.
➢ If pruning is left too late, the central core of knotty wood become large thus
reducing value of tree
➢ Removal of branches from the selected portions of the tree by mechanical means
is referred as artificial pruning. Pruning occurs naturally when the crop is dense
enough particularly in younger stage. The process of natural pruning completes in
three stages namely:
i) Killing of branches,
ii) Shedding of dead branches and
iii) Halting over of the entire branch stub

Page 8 of 18
Pollarding:
➢ Pollarding consists of cutting a pole tree at some height above the ground level
so that it produces new shoots from below the cut.
➢ Pollarding is done at a height of 2- 2.5 m above ground level;
➢ e.g., in Salix spp., Hardwickia binata, Grewia optiva, Morus alba, etc.

Page 9 of 18
Lopping:
➢ Removal of one-year shoots or fresh growth from entire crown of the
tree/plant in order to get sufficient fodder for livestock is known as lopping.
➢ Lopping is extensively done in Morus, Grewia, Bauhinia, etc.

Coppicing:
➢ Cutting or heading back of main stem at 30 cm from the ground level.
➢ Strong coppicers: Acacia catechu, Albizia lebbek, Anogeissus latifolia, etc.;
➢ Good coppicers: Aesculus indica, Chloroxylon swietinia, Hardwickia binata, etc.;
➢ Bad coppicers: Adina cordifolia, Bambax ceiba, etc.; and
➢ Non coppicers: All conifers.

Bending:
Page 10 of 18
➢ Restricting the development of bole to allow more food material to new leaf
shoots.
➢ Bending and coppicing are useful when it is desirable to produce large quantity of
foliage close to ground level.

Training:
➢ In agroforestry vertical spread of the tree is a desirable feature, therefore trees
raised in agroforestry systems must be vertically trained to avoid shade and light
competition to underground crop.

Bushing:
➢ Horticulture operation commonly used to increase fruit production at a convenient
height for harvesting.

Other concepts
Shelterbelt:
➢ Shelterbelt is a wide belt of trees, shrubs and grasses, planted in rows which goes
right across the land at right-angle to the direction of the prevailing winds to
deflect air current, to reduce wind velocity and to give general protection to
cultivated areas against wind erosion and desiccating effect of the hot winds in lee-
ward side.
➢ A typical shelterbelt has a triangular cross-section which can be achieved by
planting tall trees in the center, flanked on both sides successively by shorter trees,
tall shrubs and then low spreading shrubs and grasses.
➢ A certain amount of penetrability is desirable in shelterbelts as a result of which
the zone of influence is very much greater and the velocity curve shows a smooth,
slowly declining trend.
➢ The width of shelterbelt depends upon local climatic conditions, wind velocity,
and the soil type.

Page 11 of 18
Windbreaks:
➢ Wind break is a protective planting around a garden, a farm or a field to protect it
against strong winds.
➢ It usually consists of 2-3 rows of trees or shrubs, spaced at 0.5 m to 2.5 m apart,
depending on the species.

Page 12 of 18
 5. TERMINOLOGY RELATED TO AGROFORESTRY
1. Forestry: Forestry has been defined as the theory and practice of all that constitutes
the creation, conservation and scientific management of forests and the
utilization of their resources.

2. Farm Forestry: Farm forestry is the name given to programs which promote
commercial tree growing by farmers on their own land. Farm forestry was defined by
NCA (1976) as the practice of forestry in all its aspects in and around the farms or
village lands integrated with other farm operations.

3. Extension Forestry: It is the practice of forestry in areas devoid of tree growth and
other vegetation situated in places away from the conventional forest areas with the
object of increasing the area under tree growth. (AFO 2022)
It includes the following:
(a) Mixed Forestry: It is the practice of forestry for raising fodder grass
with scattered fodder trees, fruit trees and fuel wood trees on suitable wastelands,
panchayat lands and village commons.
(b) Shelterbelts: Shelterbelt is defined as a belt of trees and or shrubs maintained for
the purpose of shelter from wind, sun, snow drift, etc.
(c) Linear Strip Plantations: These are the plantations of fast growing
species on linear strips of land.

4. Rehabilitation of Degraded Forests: The degraded area under forests needs

immediate attention for ecological restoration and for meeting the socio-economic
needs of the communities living in and around such areas.

5. Recreation Forestry: It is the practice of forestry with the object of raising

flowering trees and shrubs mainly to serve as recreation forests for the urban and rural
population. This type of forestry is also known as Aesthetic forestry which is defined
as the practice of forestry with the object of developing or maintaining a forest of
high scenic value.

Page 13 of 18
6. Protection of Environmental forestry: Protection of land, regulation of water cycle,
Wildlife conservation Modernization of climate conditions, combination of above.
Ex. Buddha Jayanti Park at New Delhi.

7. Commercial or Production forestry: Timber and other raw materials.

8. Community forestry: Raising of forests on public or community land.

9. Urban forestry: Management of public and private owned lands in and adjacent to
urban centres. They have more aesthetic value.

10. Silvopastoral Systems:

• The production of woody plants combined with pasture is referred to
Silvopastoral system".
• The trees and shrubs may be used primarily to produce fodder for livestock or they
may be grown for timber, fuel wood, fruit or to improve the soil.
This system is classified in to three categories:
(a) Protein bank:
In this Silvipastoral system, various multipurpose trees (protein rich trees) are planted
in or around farmlands and range lands for cut and carry fodder production to meet
the feed requirement of livestock during the fodder deficit period in winter. Example:
Acacia nilotica, Albizia lebbeck, Azadirachta indica, Leucaena leucocephala,
Gliricidia sepium, Sesbania grandiflora.
(b) Live fence of fodder trees and hedges:
In this system, various fodder trees and hedges are planted as live fence to protect the
property from stray animals or other biotic influences. Example: Gliricidia sepium,
Sesbania grandiflora, Erythrina sp, Acacia sp.
(c) Trees and shrubs on pasture:
In this system, various tree and shrub species are scattered irregularly or arranged
according to some systemic pattern to supplement forage production. Example:
Acacia nilotica, Acacia leucophloea, Tamarindus indica, Azadirachta indica.

Page 14 of 18
11. Apiculture with trees: In this system various honey (nector) producing trees
frequently visited by honeybees are planted on the boundary of the agricultural fields.

12. Aqua-forestry: In this system various trees and shrubs preferred by fish are
planted on the boundary and around fish ponds. Tree leaves are used as feed for fish.
The main role of this system is fish production and bund stabilization around fish
ponds.

13. Mixed wood lots: In this system, special location specific Multipurpose Trees
(MPTs) are grown mixed or separately planted for various purposes such as wood,
fodder, soil conservation, soil reclamation etc.

14. Avenue: An avenue is the row of trees grown on both sides of roads. Shade and
beauty are the sole criteria to be considered while selecting avenue
trees. The trees should also be selected according to the length and breadth of the
road.

15. Pollarding: This is a process in which the branch of a plant is cut off in order to
produce a flush of new shoots. Pollarding is carried out at a height which is above the
reach of browsing animals.

16. Lopping: It pertains to the cutting of branches or even young stems. This leads to
the development of new shoots.

17. Pruning: Means the cutting of branches from the bole in order to maintain the
quality of timber.

18. Taungya system: It was first evolved in Burma in 1850 as a mode of replanting
vast teak areas. Taungya is a Burmas word. (Toung hill, ya - cultivation). This is a
modified form of shifting cultivation of which the labour has permission to raise crop
on the land, but, with this, they are responsible for planting, of the forest species, also
for protection and well-being of the plantation. After about five years or so, they are
required to move to another patch of land.
Page 15 of 18
19. Coppice: When certain plants or seedling are cut from near ground level, they
produce a flush of fresh shoots. This is known as coppicing.

20. Pricking out: When the seedlings have to be kept in the nursery for more than a
year, it must be transferred to beds, other than the seedling beds. This is known as
pricking out or to transplant small seedlings individually in to nursery beds or boxes.

21. Wind breaks: Is a protective plantation in a certain area, against strong winds. It
is usually comprised of a few rows of trees (or shrubs) spaces at 0.5 to 2.5 m apart.

22. Shelter belts: is a wide zone of trees, shrubs and grasses, planted in rows, usually
at right angles to the direction of the prevailing winds.

23. Tending: Tending is a board terms given to operation which are carried out for
the well-being of forest crops, at any stage of its life, involving operation both on the
crop itself and on its competing vegetation,
e.g. weeding cleaning, thinning, improvement feeling etc. However, tending does not
include operation concerning, regeneration such as regeneration feeling. soil
working, control burning etc.

24. Felling: Felling comprises of removal of trees either singly or in small groups
scattered all over the forest.

25. Afforestation: Establishing a forest by artificial means on an area on which not

forest vegetation has existed for a long time in the past.

26. Reforestation: Re-establishing a forest, by artificial means on an area which

previously bore forest vegetation, and which may have been felled or otherwise
cleared in the recent past.
27. Bole: The main stem of a tree.

28. Log: The stem of a tree or a length of stem or branch after felling and trimming.
Page 16 of 18
29.Logging: Operation comprising felling of trees, limbing, bucking and
transportation of the resulting product out of the forest timber harvesting.

30. Pole: A young tree from the time when the lower branches begin to fall off to the
time when rate of height growth begins to slow down and crown expansion becomes
marked.

31. Raft: An assemblage of logs, timbers or bamboos tied together or enclosed within
a boom for transport by floating.

32.Scrub: Inferior growth consisting chiefly of small or stunted trees and shrubs.

33. Crown: The upper branchy part of the tree above the bowl.

34. Reserved forests: An area so constituted under the Indian Forest Act or other
Forests law.

35. Protected forests: A legal terms for an area subjected to limited degrees of
protection under the provision of Chapter IV of the Indian Forest Act.

36. Stand: An aggregation of trees or other growth possessing sufficient uniformity

in composition, constitution, age arrangement or condition, to be distinguished from
adjacent crops and forming a silvicultural unit.

37. Succession: The gradual replacement of one community by another in the

development of vegetation towards a climax.

Page 17 of 18
Page 18 of 18