Agriculture and Environment: Wood Pulp

Better Management Practices: Choose Appropriate Sites & Species

Where a plantation is sited can be the single largest contributor to its environmental impact.

This is true both of where the entire site is located (e.g., on sloping land or peat areas) as well as which areas within a plantation are planted and which are left in or returned to native vegetation.

Site selection can also affect plantation tree growth and productivity. Everything else being equal, the impact of a good or superior site on production can range from 28-139% more than the production from a mediocre site, depending on the tree species (Wadsworth 1997).

Some companies have found that y selecting species and varieties for specific sites and microenvironments yields can be increased. Aracruz Cellulose S.A. matches individual varieties with the sites best suited for them, reducing the need for fertilizer, pesticides, and other inputs or activities that have negative environmental impacts (WRI et al. 1998).

More than 100 genetic varieties and clones of 3 major eucalyptus species and hybrids have been developed in order to find the varieties most suited to specific conditions of the sites being planted. Likewise, APP in Indonesia has developed eucalyptus clones that perform better in different circumstances.