Protective forest systems in China: current status, problems and perspectives

摘要

The establishment of different protectiveforest systems started at the beginning of the 1950s inChina. Now after 40 years of efforts, the achievementattracts and deserves worldwide attention because of thegenerally successful results and the peculiarmultipurpose nature of these forests. Presently, theestablished net area of protective forests is 30 millionha, with a usable stemwood volume of 850 million m3.Protective forests account for approximately 10-13% ofthe country's afforestation and reforestation, and theysupply a multitude of wood and nonwood products. Inrecent years, the annual increase in their area hasamounted to one million ha. Partly because of thisactivity, the forest cover has continuously increasedin China, with considerable ecological, economic, andsoial benefits. The major constraint in developingprotective forest systems is that most of them are underpoor management, primarily resulting from shortage offunding and training. Better management of these forestscould further increase their economic, social and environmental benefits.