On the road…again!!!
Essays, Stories, Adventures, Dreams
Chronicles of a Footloose Forester
By Dick Pellek

GPS, A Tool That Links Knowledge

Foresters and others who depend upon field data to support their observations and claims need to have a reliable tool that can be used by anyone who wishes to substantiate the circumstances and findings. One powerful tool is GPS data.

When planning a field experiment, say, to investigate which tree species are really suited for a particular soil type, in a geographical region or area that calls for reforestation or afforestation, it will require having enough verifiable indicators of suitability to the task before taking on a subsequently large or complex planting program.   

Plenty of planting failures have occurred when inappropriate species were promoted in sites and in soils that were not ideal.  Getting started with healthy planting stock is not enough because the true test of success of forestation plantings cannot be determined in a short run of a few years. Periodic droughts and negative edaphic factors impact the viability of the plants themselves and may negatively affect the public support needed to continue forestation campaigns in the future.  It is true that some studies have shown that reforestation success in some countries has been as low as 15%; but it is also true that one large tree planting scheme in tropical Haiti has recorded a success rate as high as 65%.  Nothing in nature is 100% successful, and society should not give up on forestation by merely mentioning the losses.

As a chronicler with a personal viewpoint, the Footloose Forester wants to remind detractors that several countries have large and sustainable forestry sectors based on species that were not native to their regions, but have been embraced as time-tested resources that are adapted to their climates and soils.  The non-native Monterrey Pine and several species of Eucalyptus constitute a large portion of the forest industries of Australia, New Zealand, Chile, and several other countries.  Non-native teak has also been grown as a commercial crop in several tropical and sub-tropical countries.

What can be said about the presumptive success of forest tree species can also be said about industrial crop trees such as coffee, mangoes and other fruits which are grown and marketed from several countries.  It is important to note that not all species are commercial successes and not all varieties within species are acceptable as marketable commodities.  Knowing which varieties are marketable should start at the planting stage.

One reason why GPS is an important tool is because it allows independent observers to judge for themselves, at any time, the growth and production characteristics of outplanted genetic materials; and to apprise the edaphic and genetic factors that are either favorable or unfavorable.  In the face of past failures where such considerations were not considered, it makes sense to minimize wasteful attempts.  A regrettable case in point is all about the fruit variety field trials that were conducted by a Ph.D. forest geneticist in Haiti. 

 The precision of GPS is helpful even in an orchard

To my knowledge, nobody knows anything about the outcome of the field trials because the geneticist left Haiti during a time of political upheaval, and without submitting a report that included the location of the trials.  Furthermore, if progress reports or other such information was actually put into records, those records may have been destroyed in a fire that consumed the building where those records were kept.

A simple GPS (digital) notation as a part of field notes should be essential in any field research.  If the geospatial information were available, other researchers would be able to locate and apprize the subsequent circumstances and the growth/development/quality of the fruit trees and their fruits.  Long term monitoring is better than making short term observations the sole basis of decision making. In the case of the Haiti field trials, in all likelihood, all project data and information has been lost or never made public. As a personal recommendation, the Footloose Forester would like to see all present and future field trial data sheets have the following, minimum requirements for evaluation and subsequent reporting:

1. GPS (digital) coordinates of study area(s) and specific plots, if applicable
2. Genetic provenance of planting material
3. Planting date(s) of all seedlings, if planted at different times
4. Initial diameter and height (cm) of planted stock
5. Periodic measurements of diameter, height and development of fruiting bodies
6. A record of mortality and replanting, as appropriate
7. Harvest records upon maturity of fruits.   
8. Soil descriptions, from official soil surveys