Effects of harvesting impacts and rehabilitation of tropical rain forest

Abstract

The tropical forest is decreasing at a rate of 16.9 million hectares per year and forest land is converted to agricultural land, pasture and plantation. Decrease and degradation of the tropical forest affects not only the production of timber but also the global environment. Environmental changes must be initiated by forest harvesting. The felled trees are all large emergents with wide crowns, and when they fall they destroy a considerable amount of the forest's standing trees. Many seedlings are destroyed after harvesting because the tractor trail is constructed at the center of seedling distribution. Severe variations of changes in soil properties are caused by the removal or the deposition of topsoil by a tractor. Carbon and nitrogen loss from topsoil are estimated about 19.1 and 0.05 ton/ha respectively. Seedings and saplings before harvesting can not be expected to grow and alternate dominant individuals. However, tropical rain forest plays a key role in maintaining the global carbon balance. Rehabilitation of logged over forest or afforestation of degraded land must be applied using adequate silvicultural treatments.