Abstract
The forests of Taiwan vary from lush subtropical vegetation to subalpine coniferous associations. Topography is exceedingly rugged, and stands border on the verge of silvicultural inoperability. In the 1950s and 1960s, the wood products industry in the Republic of China was of paramount importance; the production of high-quality sawtimber from old-growth cypress (Cupressaceae) stands provided the financial capital that built one of the most prosperous national economies in the modern world. In the 1980s, forestry in Taiwan is a curious blend of old methods and new technologies, as modern silvicultural practices are used to reforest cutover cypress stands, to harvest and reproduce remaining old-growth stands, and to expand the silvicultural importance of other forest types on the island. Many applied research efforts would be promising in application to the forests of Taiwan, such as long-term studies of silvicultural practices on water quality, methodology of natural regeneration applied to cypress and Taiwania cryptomerioides (Taxodiaceae), uneven-aged regulation applied to bamboo, Phyllostachys pubescens (Bambusaceae), growth and yield in coniferous plantations, effectiveness of modern herbicides in controlling competition in young plantations, and application of contemporary economic assessments in the evaluation of silvicultural alternatives.
Recommended Citation
Guldin, James M.; Ku, Timothy T.; and Beasley, R. Scott
(1988)
"Forestry on the Island of Taiwan, ROC - The State of the Art,"
Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science: Vol. 42, Article 13.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas/vol42/iss1/13
