Multi-purpose tree and sandalwood silviculture in Indonesia

• Balai Penelitian Kehutanan, Indonesia

This project will address the vital need for a variety of multipurpose trees to allow the development of more robust farming systems in the eastern Indonesian province of Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT). It builds on ACIAR project 8613Fuelwood and Sandalwood Silviculture in Indonesiaunder which some 60 species or provenances of exotic tree species, mainly acacias and eucalypts, were introduced into West Timor for fuelwood and fodder.

As the previous project progressed, the need for multipurpose trees adapted to the difficult-to-handle alkaline soils of the region was appreciated. Farmers there are actively seeking new species to replace Leucaena leucocephalathe most important component of the subsistence agricultural system before it was virtually eliminated by the psyllid insect in 198687. As well, present farming techniques in West Timor are non-sustainablethe return cycle for shifting cultivation is too short, and soil erosion is extensive.

In this project, emphasis will shift away from species trials and focus on management of the more promising species already identified as having potential in the West Timor environment. Species trial work will be concentrated in the relatively dry environment of East Sumba.

The part of the project dealing with sandalwood or cendana (Santalum album) will continue technical assistance begun in the earlier project, with research on the regeneration of this economically and culturally important species. Stocks of the speciesthe largest single export item from West Timorare seriously depleted owing to administrative and land management problems (fire and overgrazing) and lack of a reliable regeneration technique. Nursery and establishment techniques will continue to be refined, and field trials of direct seedingthe most economical method of forest establishmentwill begin.

A reliable and economical establishment technique for S. album, and information on viable silvicultural systems for the species, are also of considerable importance to Western Australia. The State plans to reduce the harvest of indigenous sandalwood (S. spicatum), which is also failing to regenerate owing to grazing by sheep, cattle, goats and rabbits. Growers will replace it with plantation-grown S. album in the Kimberley region. Currently Indian seed is used for Kimberley S. album plantations, but this source of germplasm is not necessarily the best the stem form of Indian sandalwood is often poor compared with that of Timor trees.

The sandalwood research will also continue the program of identification of superior genotypes of S. album by Curtin University, as part of a plan for the conservation of genetic resources. In addition, a program to conserve the germplasm of all remaining sandalwood species in secure seed orchards, both in Australia and elsewhere, will be initiated.

The Department of Conservation and Land Management (CALM), Western Australia, is in an excellent position to undertake the project. It has already gained 3 years' experience in Indonesia with Project No. 8613, and has considerable experience in integrated land management, which is so necessary to the West Timor environment. Furthermore, it has a direct interest in the silviculture of sandalwood and is responsible for the administration of the sandalwood industry in Western Australia.

The selection of multipurpose tree species and the development of management methods for introduced trees to meet the needs of the villagers will be undertaken entirely in NTT by staff of the Bali Penelitian Kehutanan in Kupang, with technical assistance provided by short-term visits from Australian experts. Sandalwood silviculture will be undertaken partly in West Timor and partly in Western Australia, with shadehouse work at Curtin University in Perth and field trials at Kununurra.

Research on the evaluation of long-term hosts for this semi-parasitic tree, direct seeding, and the growth of sandalwood on different sites in the Kimberley will be carried out by a research officer funded jointly by ACIAR, the Sandalwood Research Institute of Western Australia and CALM. The program dealing with sandalwood gene conservation in Timor will be dealt with by Curtin University, and the worldwide sandalwood component will be the responsibility of the Kununurra-based research officer. In-service training of Indonesian research staff will be a feature of the project.

Benefits of the project will be improved, more sustainable land management and eventually a better standard of living for the rural poor of NTT. Successful establishment of sandalwood plantations will also make a significant contribution to the NTT economy.

Australia will benefit mainly from the sandalwood research aspect. Western Australia may in the future be joined by the Northern Territory and Queensland in growing sandalwood commercially. The multipurpose tree research may also provide benefits to Australia's northern beef industry, if the fodder trees developed prove useful for more intensive beef husbandry.