Forest: Journal of Forests and Open Land Management - Volume 13, September 2014 - Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael

Effect of Site Characteristics, Species and Seed Source on Survival and Growth of Cedar Trees in Forest Plantations in Israel

0mri Bonneh*(1), Nir Herr(2) and Roi Har’el(1)
1 Chief Scientist, Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael – Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF), Eshtaol
2 Forest Department, Northern Region, KKL-JNF, Kiryat Haim

* Omrib@kkl.org.il

Planting of cedar trees as an ornamental species began in Israel, in the Jerusalem area, in the second half of the 18th century. Since the 1950s cedar trees, especially of Cedrus atlantica, have been planted also in small stands during afforestation operations. The collapse of planted Aleppo pine stands above 600 m a.s.l. on the Mediterranean ridge, in the snow storms of 1992, triggered the use of cedars in some of the reforestation operations in the damaged forests, and also in new planting sites. Since 1992 more than 100 stands of cedars have been planted, and the total area of pure cedar plantations in Israel reached 220 hectares.

The effort to expand cedar plantations in Israel was accompanied by an intensive study that aimed to define the preferred environmental conditions and the most adaptable cedar species and seed sources for future plantings in Israel.

The field performance of C. libani from Turkey and Lebanon under various environmental conditions was examined and compared with that of the superior seed sources of C. atlantica from Morocco, France and Israel.

This was done in collaboration with other Mediterranean countries, under the framework of “Silva Mediterranea”, and with the support of two FP6 European contracts (MPC and FORADAPT).

A survey of height and diameter growth, as affected by rock/soil characteristics, amount of precipitation, and species was conducted in 80 planted cedar stands. It was found that height and diameter growth of C. libani and C. atlantica were significantly higher on terra rossa and brown rendzina soils that had developed on dolomites and hard limestones and that contained negligible amounts of lime, than those of cedar trees growing on gray rendzina soils overlying soft lime and marly chalk rocks that contained significant amounts of lime (Figs 1, 2and 9). On sites with calcareous soils not only was tree growth significantly slower, but the trees also exhibited chlorosis and decline; it is recommended not to plant cedars on lime-containing gray rendzina soils.

Comparison of the survival and height and diameter growth rates, in Bar'am Forest in Israel (elevation of 675 m a.s.l. and annual precipitation of 750 mm), of 18-year-old C. libani and C. atlantica that originated in various countries, revealed that C. libani, particularly from Turkey, had significantly higher survival (Fig. 3) and height-growth (Fig. 5) rates, and better (but not significantly so) diameter growth (Fig. 6) than C. atlantica.

Among the various countries of origin of C. atlantica, the seed sources from France provided the best performance.

Comparison of the superior seed sources of the various species and countries of origin revealed that trees that originated from the Turkish provenances of C. libani from Hassa in the Amanos Mountains and Pozanti in the eastern Taurus Mountains had higher rates of survival (Fig. 4), and height (Fig. 7) and diameter growth (Fig. 8).

It is recommended to use this seed source in future cedar plantations in Israel.

Tables and figures available in English in full Hebrew version (PDF below)

From Drainage to Conservation of the Hula Wetland – Tracing the Dynamics of Intervention in Nature

Maya Duany, Yad Izhak Ben Zvi, Jerusalem

*mayaduany@gmail.com

The Hula Wetland was located in the Hula Valley, in northern Israel. Its maximum size was 60 square kilometers, but its actual size fluctuated in accordance with the seasons. In 1951, after the establishment of the State of Israel, the Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) carried out the Hula drainage project as a national project of the Government of Israel, with the main objectives of providing additional agricultural land, developing new settlements, and preventing malaria. During the Hula drainage process, a number of environmentalists sought to conserve some of the unique wetland, through establishment of a nature reserve. This was the first time that anyone had lobbied for the creation of a nature reserve in Israel, and their success resulted in the Hula Nature Reserve, which was established in 1957, prior to the enactment of the National Parks and Nature Reserve Law.

The assumption of the present study is that both the Hula drainage project and the establishment of the Hula Reserve represent human activities that involved interventions in nature, which took place within specific historical contexts and reflected contemporary attitudes toward the environment.
In the research literature there is a dispute as to whether the establishment of the Hula Reserve had been inconsistent with the Zionist ideology of "conquest of the wilderness". The conclusion of the present study is that the Hula drainage project was compatible not only with this Zionist ideology, but also with what we know about the drainage of wetlands worldwide at that time, and with the plans to drain the Hula Wetland that were formulated before the establishment of the State of Israel.

The dynamics of establishing the Hula Reserve involved a process of cooperation between the Society for Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI) and the Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF).
However, the cooperative management of the reserve exposed the differing environmental conceptions of the respective bodies toward the establishment of the Hula Reserve. From the point of view of the KKL-JNF, the establishment of the Hula Reserve was intended primarily to glorify the drainage operation and the conquest of the Hula swamp. In contrast, the SPNI saw the Hula Reserve as an environment that, above all, deserved protection.

After the founding of the Nature Reserves Authority (NRA) in 1963, it was reasonable to expect that the Hula Reserve would become the Authority’s showcase, being the first nature reserve in the State of Israel. However, in 1968 the NRA closed the Hula Reserve for reconstruction; it reopened it only in 1979. Since then, the Hula Reserve has been presented as a symbol of the emergence of a nature conservation movement in Israel. The conclusion of the present study is that the Hula Reserve can be considered only as a symbol because, in terms of actual nature conversation, it was indeed a failure. Nevertheless, in light of the almost total destruction of wetland landscapes in Israel, the Hula Reserve still provides a sense of what a wetland could be, with its papyrus reeds, water lilies, and water buffaloes.

Tables and figures available in English in full Hebrew version (PDF below)

Pasture Utilization in the Planted Forests of the KKL-JNF Central Region in Israel

David Evlagon*(1), Shmuel Komissarchik(1), Yehuda Nissan(1), No’am Seligman(2)
1 Forestry Department, Central Region, KKL-JNF, Eshtaol
2 Agricultural Research Organization, Bet Dagan

* Davide@kkl.org.il

This paper describes the first comprehensive estimation of the carrying capacity and utilization of the understorey pasture of planted forests in the Central Forestry Region in Israel (Fig. 1).
The primary role of grazing in the management of the planted forest is to reduce the fire hazard by minimizing the amount of inflammable, dry, mainly herbaceous vegetation during the hot, dry summer. Sheep and cattle primarily graze herbaceous vegetation, but a substantial part of the understorey vegetation comprises shrubby vegetation that gradually accumulates to become an inflammable biomass, unless grazed by goats (Figs.2,3,4).

We conducted a survey of the value of the understorey vegetation of the planted forest as pasture for sheep, cattle and goats, in terms of grazing days per annum (Fig. 5). We also summarized the actual grazing pressure in the Central Forestry Region and estimated the utilization of the calculated understorey by livestock (Figs 6,7,8). The pasture value of each forest stand was calculated as a function of the forest characteristics, as registered in the forest inventory compiled by the forest authority for all stands of the planted forests in the Central Forestry Region. For each forest, the values were summarized in separate maps for grazers (sheep and cattle) and for browsers (goats) (Photo 1). These maps were then combined as maps of the nine forest clusters of the Central Forestry Region.
The total area of the forest clusters is 35,000 hectares. According to our estimates they can maintain 45,000 sheep or 9,000 beef cattle for four months of the year, or 65,000 goats for six months of the year. In 2012, 14,000 sheep, 7,000 beef cattle and less than 3,000 goats grazed the planted forests of the Central Forestry Region for equivalent times. These data indicate moderate under-utilization of the herbaceous understorey vegetation and severe under-utilization of the browse (Figs. 9,10). Consequently, we conclude that the utilization of the understorey vegetation in the planted forests of the Central Forestry Region is sub-optimal for reduction of the fire hazard.

Tables and figures available in English in full Hebrew version (PDF below)

Approval of the Statutory Plan Gimel/17304 “The Forests of the Big Arch”: A Vision Comes True

Omri Bonneh*(1), Pinhas Kahana (2), Shimona Sabag (3) and Hana Yaffe (4)
1 Chief Scientist, KKL-JNF, Eshtaol
2 Planning Division, KKL-JNF, Jerusalem
3 Planning Department, Northern Region, KKL-JNF, Kiryat Haim
4 Formerly Architect of Northern Region, KKL-JNF

* omrib@kkl.org.il

On December 10, 2013 the statutory plan for "The Forests of the Big Arch" was approved by the Israeli National Council for Planning and Building – the outcome of 17 years of intensive efforts on the part of KKL-JNF. The plan protects 31,780 dunams (10 dunam = 1 hectare), the largest complex of planted and native forests in the Lower Galilee.

Within the forest area, on the south-eastern slopes of the Nazareth Mountains, there is a geological transition from the hard limestone that characterizes the Nazareth Mountains to the basaltic plateaus of the eastern Galilee, a transition which results in diverse landscapes and ecology.

The forest area was crossed by ancient roads that connected the Horan in Syria to the coastal plains of Israel; and even today important regional and national hiking routes cross the forest. In the late 1990s, plans for Nazareth Illit to expand eastward into the forest area posed the greatest threat to the integrity of the forest.

Additional, similar threats were posed by: plans of Arab villages bordering the forest to expand at its expense; plans by the Lower Galilee Regional Council to develop a new settlement in the middle of the forest; and plans to build regional roads crossing the forest.
The KKL-JNF conducted a long and intensive campaign to confront these threats and to save the forest. This campaign included: preparation of a master plan and statutory plans for the forest; development of tourist and recreation infrastructure; conducting public-relations activities; and maintaining contacts with the bodies that intended to initiate developments within the forest. In addition, KKL-JNF conducted ecological and visitor surveys and promoted academic research, in order to recognize Beit Keshet Forest as a unique asset – suitable for tourism and recreational activities but not at all for housing.
The approval – against all odds – of the statutory plan for "The Forests of the Big Arch" demonstrates that organizational determination at all levels enabled KKL-JNF gradually to nullify the major threats to the forest integrity, and to minimize or divert most of the minor threats, so that the valuable core of the forest was not negatively affected.

Tables and figures available in English in full Hebrew version (PDF below)

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