MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH ON SHOREA JAVANICA

The plantations of Shorea javanica K.&V. (Dipterocarpaceae) in the district of Krui (Lampung province, Sumatra; see Fig. 1 for situation map and main climatic data) are remarkable examples of successful land development after deforestation and shifting cultivation which was mentioned in the Indonesian forestry literature as far back as 1937 (Rappard 1937). This tree is a white Meranti which is locally found in the natural forest and tapped for its beautiful, crystalline resin, or "damar". The local name of the tree is "Damar Mata Kucing", which means "cat's eye resin". One of the traditional cultivation systems in the area is shifting cultivation ("ladang"): rain-fed rice is grown during one or two years and then coffee, other crops, and damar trees are planted to convert the ladang into a permanent agricultural field. The damar trees close their canopies above the other crops after some years and can be tapped for resin after about 15 years and during a rotation of approximately 50 years. They constitute dense stands of 40—50 m high trees called "kebun damar" (damar gardens) which look like a natural rain forest. Seeds for planting stock were formerly obtained from the surrounding natural forest but nowadays they come from the pre-existing plantations which cover an area of approximately 1000 ha (Scholz 1983). Fruiting seasons are occasional and irregular, often several years spaces, so that the farmers manage large nurseries of seedlings which can be maintained for several years and transplanted to the plantations when needed. Transplantation of bare-rooted seedlings is easy. Other useful trees (e.g. clove trees), are simultaneously planted in the ladang at the time of planting the damar trees, so that, although the latter largely dominate, the resulting stand is a multi-layered, mixed one, comprising of different useful plants (fruits, vegetables, medicinal plants, etc.). The whole cultivation system, from the shifting cultivation stage to the establishment of a permanent tree plantation, constitutes an efficient agroforestry system which is extensively described by Michon 1984, 1985; Michon et al 1984; and Torquebiau 1984. The resin of Shorea javanica is traditionally used for torches, caulking boats, batik coloring, etc., and is now exported to industrial countries where there is market for uses such as food additives, cosmetics, paints, varnishes