Question

How to layout provenance trial in forest plantation

Answer 1

Answer:

Foreword This manual is one in a series produced by the Joint Venture Agroforestry Program (JVAP). The aim of the series is to provide practical guidance to people wishing to establish successful farm forestry enterprises. Farm forestry has made steady advances in recent years and could become an important option for landholders as emissions trading and carbon pollution prevention take on ever greater significance. While knowledge of potential farm forestry species has progressed steadily there are still suitable regions where options have not been well explored or tested. In addition, there are prospective regions where there is little if any experience with farm forestry. To establish a successful farm forestry project, the planner needs information on growth rates, silvicultural needs, and site requirements of different species. All of this needs to be in the context of the planner’s local environment. However, this locally specific information is unavailable for many potentially promising regions across Australia, often prompting community groups and farmers to establish trials (or demonstrations) to collect the information they need. This manual is written to assist these groups and individuals to set up sound trials that deliver reliable results. By definition, trials with forestry species take considerable time so that it is essential that they are well planned and implemented. This manual provides guidance on designing, implementing, managing, measuring and assessing such trials. Another manual in the series (Designing silvicultural research trials by Lott and Wardill; see JVAP website) complements this work by providing guidelines for silvicultural researchers and farm forestry extension providers who might be required to design and document more complex silvicultural field experiments. This project was funded by the Joint Venture Agroforestry Program (JVAP), CSIRO Forestry and Forest Products1 and the Natural Heritage Trust. JVAP is supported by three R&D Corporations - Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC), Land & Water Australia (L&WA), and Forest and Wood Products Research and Development Corporation2 (FWPRDC).