How to manage afforest

[vietnamforestry]

I have graduated from University since 2008 so I have no experiences in my work. Now, I'm in charge of managing afforest. but I don't  know how to start, to make a report, assign duties to everyone....please help me!

[fishpharmer]

If all else fails, Google it.

Someone here can probably help you more than I did, I hope.

[Meadows Miller]

Gday

And welcome to the Foum Vietnam  there will be some Foresters along shortly Mate 

That was alittle rough Fish but I got a Laugh outa it  I was wondering how to reply myself Mate   

Back to the subject Vietnam  What size area are you incharge of and are you incharge of everything accosiated with that area  We need as much info as possible 

If You have only done the Diploma of forestry Science Or/and being Landed with a Large forest area to cover  and having to look after the whole show I can understand why you feel alittle out of you depth As There is a Lage majority of smaller Islands and countrys in the pacific areas that have a big problem with managing their forests areas  also when it comes to Experiance and having enough foresters to cover the area involved 
when my ex was at Melbourne Uni doing her Diploma I found it lacked getting rite into things and to gain a full Grasp on any given area coverd in the subject you had to do a further 2 years to gain the Degree in forest scinece with that being said you could look at doing further parttime studys at melbourneuni.com.au at their school of forestry  as when katrina was there there where also People on scholerships from PNG , Borneo and the Slomon islands as the school of forestry has a Strong intrest in those Forest types 
for 8 weeks to 4 months at a time That might be somthing to look into  Mate 

Reguards Chris

[fishpharmer]

Vietnam, welcome and I didn't mean to be rough on you.  I read it at a weak moment.  Chris you are right, keep me straight.

vietnam, I suppose something may be lost in translation.  You will get good advice here.  Maybe not from me

Come to think of it...I couldn't manage afforest either. 

Hang in there.
Fish

[beenthere]

Welcome to the Forum
If you are in deed in charge, then look for that person to hire that does know how to manage a forest, and put them to work for you.
Don't try to make decisions that you don't know about.
Use your learning to pick the right tools for the job, and here it sounds like it would be a person trained in Forestry.
From your message, you have an education, but not in Forestry.

[ID4ster]

If you can hire someone that knows about forest management that is the best way to go. If you can't than you need to start somewhere. So with that in mind....
1) Do you have any maps of photos of the area where your forest is located?
2) Do you have the time, transportation and money to go out and around the boundaries of your forest?
3) Can you tell us the size of your forest? (ie # of square hectares or kilometers)
4) Where in the world is your forest located?
5) Do you or can you recognize any of the tree and/or brush species? This is important if you don't know this you must acquire a book or hire and learn from someone that does have that knowledge.
6) Do you know any of the people or villages that are located withn your forest?
7) What type of information are you supposed to generate? Tree and species inventory, animal types and numbers, amount of water available, number of roads, etc.?
What types of wood products or lumber is being taken out of the forest now and where is it being sold? Is it charcoal or lumber that is being shipped out of your country and what type of wood? You can go to your market place or shipping port and see what is going out and then find out if that is what you have in your forest.

Give us as much information as you can about yourself and the amount of education you have and where your forest is located and we can help you from that point. If you want to be a forester we can help you. It is a challenge but not an insurmountable one. Good luck.
 

[DanG]

Welcome to the Form vietnamforestry.  You bring an interesting question, and I hope you stay with us as the answers are explored.

ID4ster gave you an excellent answer that should help you proceed, but there are a few things to do even before reaching his beginning point.  First, you need to know if the forest has been managed in the past.  If it has, you should have access to reports that should give you much information.  Second, you need to determine the goals of your landowner.  Without that information, even an experienced Forester would have a difficult time getting started.  You need to know your employer's expectations not only about the forest itself, but about the reports that he expects to see.  Here again, you can learn much from the work of your predecessor, if any.

Good luck in your new adventure.  Your Country has some magnificent forests, and I envy you the opportunity to manage a part of it.

[vietnamforestry]

Thanks everybody ! I learn much from your answers. Now I am managing 30.000 hecta forest land in Northwest Viet Nam , We plan to plant new forest for the purpose of providing material for paper and wood process industry. we focus on growing species of Acacia branch.
I face some problem when I have to prepare a quaterly report., I was wondering If have any software to complete that works?

[ID4ster]

What has to be in the quarterly report? Volume estimates, labor hours, revenues, what? Let us know and we can go from there.

How many people do you supervise and who is growing your seedlings and what is your rotation length? I'm curious now. Maybe Jim from Peru will stop by with some pointers on tropical forestry.

[vietnamforestry]

now, I supervise ten people , among them there are 7 forestry engineers, 1 accountan, 1 driver and department manage. Our rotation is 7 -8 years.,the quartely report request informations about accounts of expense, rate of progress, what is advantages and disadvantages, etc. so I would like to know how to design it clearly .>?

[Ron Wenrich]

I think you could divide up your process into separate compartments.  One would be for planting, one would be for growing, and one would be for harvesting.  Your cycle takes 90-100 months to complete.  If you're planning on a continuous cycle, then you would need to be planting about 300 hectares per month and harvesting 300 hectares per month.

You can keep your planting costs together.  That would include any amount for land preparation, fertilization, and planting.  You'll have different types of expense and different types of manpower that contribute to these operations.  This will be heavy on investment and will offer no return.

Growing would include any type of process that will enhance the growth or account for the growth.  That could be any thinning type, spraying for insects or disease, or cruising to account for current growing stock.  You would have some manpower and possibly some other investment.  Your return would not be a realized return, since it is still tied up in growing stock.

Your harvesting will be heavy in manpower and equipment.  But, you will also realize a monetary return as you convert your standing wood into a useable product.  The rate of your return will be dependent on yield and the types of treatment you have used over the years.

With an area of that size, you could also make many different types of compartments.  Those would be different due to types of soil, distance to mill, and other physical and economic factors.  After you start getting some data, you'll be able to recognize which practices work best for each specific area. 

Some areas may not support much labor or capital input due to growing conditions.  Other areas will give much better return on the investment.  Your job should be to find those areas that are best suited for growing your product and finding ways to reduce costs.  Investing time or money on losing positions makes little sense.

At least, that's the way I would start to look at your project.

[ID4ster]

I don't know if there is one piece of software that will give you all the answers you seek. It sounds to me that you need a combination of accounting software along with some spreadsheet analysis that you would have to develop on your own using Excell or Quatropro. Ron's given you a plan for analyzing and developing your rotation and what to expect at each stage. The best you can do is to pull together what information you have and present it as a baseline at this point. Otherwise tell the people that you report to that a continuous rotation is what is needed and that you are in the process of setting that up and that in the future your reports will show how much cost and investment has occured and how much revenue is being generated at the end of the rotation. Also let them know that you are always working on making the process more efficient and less costly and then go out and do that. Stick with us we'll make you a forester yet. 

[Ron Scott]

I may have missed it, but where in northwest Vietnam is your forest area located, northwest of Hanoi? Do you work for the Directorate of Forest Affairs and does your forest area have an overall forest management plan to start with? Also did you go to forestry school there.

Some more local information of your situation will be of help. U.S. Forest Service foresters under USAID did a lot of work and assistance in developing your national forest area management plans, sawmills, etc. during the late 1960's, but don't know if they got into your area of North Vietnam. 

[vietnamforestry]

I am a former student of Viet Nam Forestry University, now I'm working for a bank ., they have a plan to develope forest in Cao Bang, northwest of Ha Noi. I'm responsible for supervising activities involve plant trees.
this is the first time I take that position, so I would be very confident with Your helps.

[DanG]

VietnamForestry, you have an interesting challenge on your hands.  I hope that our Foresters can be of assistance to you.

I am interested to learn why Acacia has been selected.  Is there some special property in the wood that makes it attractive for a project of that size?  I am not at all familiar with the species, but the pictures I have seen do not look like they would lend themselves well to a plantation setting.

[vietnamforestry]

we chose Acacia because that species can grow fast, have the ability to preserve protein in the atmostphere thanks to the presence of the papule at the root  and they are suitable with the weather anh condition in Cao Bang,  otherwise , with sort rotation the Acacia branch is the best choice to supply material for factories where produce paper and wood product..

[Ron Wenrich]

Is the area you have for planting currently with trees or without trees?  Before you do any tree planting, you will have to do some sort of site preparation.  Since you are planting a fast growing species, and you are growing it as a crop, you'll have to remove all of the current species from the stand.  You'll be converting over to the acacia.

Have you chosen areas that you would like to start to plant?  Is the area suitable for acacia?  Good success means you have to chose the areas that are best suited for your species.  If you chose poorly, your chances for success go down.  If you chose wisely, then you should succeed.

[Ron Scott]

Are there any other working foresters nearby that you can network with and visit active project areas to learn and gain some experience from?

A book that you might enjoy reading about forestry efforts in Vietnam is "A Well Worn Path" by Jay H. Cravens, a very accomplished forester.