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Sustainable Management of Fuelwood Trees in the Caatinga of Northeast Brazil

Frans Pareyn assessing regrowth in the experimental plots

This project was developed to facilitate better management of the native caatinga (dry forest) trees preferred by local people for fuel in Northeast Brazil. It aims to determine which of a series of harvesting techniques (cropping, pollarding and crown thinning) is most appropriate for these species, providing sustainable returns of wood suitable for fuel and charcoal production.

The project began in April 2001 with a botanical survey of several areas of caatinga, and selection of sites supporting mature trees with a high proportion of the target species. Two of the areas selected are located within the Institute for Agronomic Research (IPA) research stations in Pernambuco (Serra Talhada and Sertânia) and the third, involving the local community and schools, is situated in Caroalina. These areas are in the Depressão Sertaneja Meridional transition, close to priority areas for biodiversity conservation established by the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment.

The four species selected were Caesalpinia pyramidalis (catingueira), Croton sonderianus (marmeleiro), Mimosa tenuiflora (jurema preta) and Mimosa ophthalmocentra (jurema de imbira). 5280 trees were surveyed prior to treatment in both the wet season (between March and June) and the dry season (between October and December) of 2002. Monitoring of the re-growth takes place annually, in collaboration with local school children. Data gathered in the field are recorded for statistical analysis, to assess the weight variables and weight per product class (i.e. poles; firewood and kindling), to allow statistical comparison between the areas, to assess the impact of the different types of dry and wet interventions per species, and to observe the success and mortality rate of the species after successive years of regeneration.

All these activities involve local people by means of training, participative research, extension and field days. Other activities developed in the area include soil assessment, comparison of symbiotic micro-organisms in native caatinga, and botanical inventory.

Half of the trees were harvested following three years of re-growth, and the rest will be cut in 2008. Interesting results are already emerging. Mimosa trees (especially M. tenuiflora) cut in the wet season, for example, do not survive as well as those cut in the dry season, whereas Caesalpinia and Croton trees can be cut in either season. These findings have implications for when trees should be cut, depending on whether the land is to be cleared (by cutting in the wet season to remove Mimosa) or used for tree management (by cutting in the dry season).

Wood samples from each of the four species, taken during harvesting/monitoring, are subjected to anatomical studies at the Jodrell Laboratory (Kew).  So far this has been undertaken by a visiting Brazilian researcher and will form the basis of his PhD thesis. Further work will concentrate on measuring re-growth volume and studying the anatomical variation in its wood in relation to that of the original trees. The findings will be disseminated in accessible formats to local communities (e.g. smallholders in the caatinga), to enable them to incorporate our recommendations into land management practices.

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