Wood and non-wood forest products of Central Java, Indonesia

Abstract

We investigated herb and woody species at rehabilitated forests planted by mahogany and teak, and original, not rehabilitated forests in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Plant species were classified into five use categories: medicine, food, fodder, ornament, and construction. We registered 142 species belonging to 54 families known as useful species with at least one, often more, use categories. The number of useful species was highest for medicine use (107 species). There was a dominance of exotic herb species used for food and annual herbs used for fodder. The number of useful herbs and exotic woody species was highest in teak stands. The number of woody species used for medicine, food, and construction was higher than those for ornament and fodder. All herb species decreased with time, except annual native, that increased. Around 50% of the useful species occurred only once in one site, and some species showed a distribution restricted to one type of stands. Overall, our results seem to show that rehabilitated stands are doing well with regard to useful herb and woody species. We suggest strategies for plant and ecosystem conservation, especially for rare native plant species and species with restricted distribution.

Multifunctional Forest Restoration in Brazil: A Critical Analysis of the Trends and Knowledge Gaps in the Scientific Literature

“…Several studies have shown that native species can provide better silvicultural performance, such as a higher productivity and good stem quality, compared to pure plantations of exotic species [58,90]. In contrast to previous studies conducted across the Americas and Asia [98][99][100][101], the number of commercial native species identified in this review is significantly higher. Another study conducted in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest produced a comprehensive list of 92 commercially valuable native species, each with the potential to provide a variety of valuable products [102].…”

Role of Tree Vegetation and Associated Environmental Factors on the Understory Herb-Layer Composition in a Reforested Area: A Study from “Kulon Progo Community Forestry”

“…Another finding by Siswo et al [25] revealed that understory species in a pine forest plantation were positively correlated to soil pH and negatively correlated to the dominance level of Pinus merkusii. Accordingly, understory vegetation can also be a good predictor to evaluate the success of restoration activities such as rehabilitation programs related to ecosystem function [25,26], biodiversity [11,14] and provisioning services [27].…”