Understanding the Impacts of Forest Management in Sal (Shorea robusta) Dominant Forest Stands in the Western Lowlands of Nepal

• Published in: Small-scale forestry Vol. 22; no. 3; pp. 401 - 413
• Main Authors: Belbase, Kajol, Chhetri, Sagar Godar, Upadhaya, Suraj, Poudel, Arun Sharma
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.09.2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Agricultural Economics; Agriculture; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Collaboration; Community; Density; Environmental Economics; Environmental Management; Forest management; Forest products; Forestry; Forestry Management; Forests; Harvesting; Life Sciences; Lowlands; Original Research; Plant species; Regeneration; Seedlings; Seeds; Shorea robusta; Thinning; Timber; Trees; Undergrowth; Vegetation; Nepal; Regeneration; Basal area; Thinned; Unthinned; Collaborative; Growing stock
• ISSN: 1873-7617; 1873-7854
• DOI: 10.1007/s11842-022-09534-8

Sal ( Shorea robusta ) is an economically and ecologically important tree species found in Nepal. Since 2003, Nepal's government has been managing the Sal forest under the Scientific Forest Management (SciFM) scheme. Due to newly implemented approaches, the information regarding the Sal forest condition under regeneration felling and thinning is low. This study aimed to understand the regeneration status after regeneration felling and compare crop stands between thinned and unthinned plots. We selected three years of harvested, thinned, and unthinned blocks in the Tilaurakot collaborative forest. Vegetation sampling was carried out in 63 concentric circular plots. The results show that the number of seedlings and saplings in the harvested blocks was 14,000 and 3368 per hectare, respectively. The growing stock and basal area per hectare in the thinned blocks were lower than in the unthinned blocks. The numbers of trees and poles per hectare were lower in the thinned block than in the unthinned block. Sal's importance valve index (IVI) was higher than other species in all three block types. The study suggests that the regeneration condition was better after the canopy's opening, and thinning promotes the growth of trees and undergrowth vegetation.