Tree Tube Removal

P1120546, a photo by P_Linehan on Flickr.

Tree tubes are frequently used to protect seedlings from deer browsing. Many types of tubes should decompose after a few years when the tree grows out of the reach of the deer. In this case on the Michaux State Forest the tubes did not degrade, even after ten plus years, often causing severe damage to the tree. In this case where the tree grew right into the tube, there is a thick layer of moss, indicating that water was retained.

This past Friday, forest technology students from Mont Alto volunteered to help remove failed tubes on the Michaux State Forest. It's very labor intensive to remove what should have fallen away by itself.

Mass Tree Planting in Indonesia

I heard recently on NPR and the BBC News about a massive tree planting campaign in Indonesia. Governmenta agencies all over the country were planning to plant over 79 million trees! Indonesia is usually known for its deforestation of tropical forests and the overwhelming smog from forest fires.

From the reports I heard, I feel optimistic that this campaign may be successful. First, it is a locally initiated campaign. The people seem to be behind it, rather than having it imposed from outside. They have chosen some interesting species. In addition to teak and other timber species they will be planting fruit trees that people want.

As I saw in Africa, tree planting campaigns will only work if they have popular support. Otherwise it's just too hard to make the tree-planting a success. This doesn't resolve the problem of forest clearing and fires, but it does point in the right direction.