Volume 8, September 2006

By Shimon Rubinstein

In July 1915, Eliyahu Krause, Principal of the Jewish Agricultural school, Miqve Israel, was ordered by Djamal Pasha, the Turkish Governor in Jerusalem, to prepare a memorandum about the natural conditions and agricultural possibilities in the Beer Sheva and Northern Negev region. Djamal Pasha, after the first battle against the British army on the Suez canal (Feb.1915) wanted better conditions, namely shade trees, for the thousands of soldiers to be concentrated in Beer Sheva and Nitzanim, places with fresh water, for the future battles.

Addressing Krause arouses a question, because not only was he an enemy country born – Russia – but also had an enemy country nationality, France. Moreover – The school itself was a French ownership.

Four months earlier a locust plague had caused a devastating damage in Palestine-Israel and threatened the food supplies for the residents and the army. Djamal Pasha consulted the Jewish agronomists and Krause was designated to be responsible to solve the problem in the South of the country.

Krause started a research delegation to study the region and consequently sent his paper in Sept. 1915. Djamal Pashsa immediately gave him the permission to start the project of planting trees in the desert, manpower was unlimited of Turkish soldiers.

Plantation was on its way since Oct. 1915 in four places in the Negev between Beer Sheba and Nitsana (Qseime) and even more to the South, where successful wells were excavated. Plantations continued even after the failure in Katya and Rumani battles (Apr and Aug. 1916), when it became clear that the Turks have no chance to conquer the Suez back, and they stopped only after the British conquest of Rafah in Jan. 1917.
The experience of Krause in the arid area of Israel, in the early research visit and throughout the planting project, was of supreme importance for the plans for the development and settlement of the area which took place immediately after the war.

By Zvi Avni, Forest Dept., KKL, Eshtaol, tzvikaa@kkl.org.il

Two laws found in Israel's law books concern the protection of trees: a) the Forest Ordinance of 1926 and its associated regulations; and b) regulations associated with the Law for National Parks, Nature Reserves, National Sites and Memorial Sites of 1998, which declare trees and woody plants as protected natural values.

A detailed survey of proclamations issued according to edicts of the Forest Ordinance of 1926 concerning protected trees and shrubs was conducted. It revealed variations in its use and interpretation depending upon the "spirit of the time". Initial use of proclamations was economically motivated and concerned the protection of fruit trees. Proclamations issued after 1926 were aimed at restoring the degraded Mediterranean forest, improving the rural economy and preventing soil erosion.

Later on, the protection of trees was applied to those planted for forestry purposes. In the 1990's this trend was broadened to include the protection of urban landscaping and street trees. In 2005, the newest proclamation released eucalyptus trees planted as commercial, industrial plantations from regulation.

By Liron Amdur (liron_am@zenovar.com) and Haim Zaban, Zenovar Consultants, Givatayim

Commercial afforestation is defined as growing trees on agricultural lands for the economic purpose of producing wood and other products. This study examines the economic feasibility of commercial forest plantations in Israel, and analyzes the policy instruments required to support it.

Commercial afforestation is a possible means for encouraging cultivation of abandoned agricultural lands (approximately 17% of the arable land in Israel at present); it does not require large continuous inputs and is considered "a minimal alternative to agricultural cultivation".

The main products of commercial forests are wood, honey (produced from the flowers of trees), and recreation. Eucalyptus is the main tree species considered suitable for commercial forestry in Israel as a rain-fed crop.

According to our results, the economic value of commercial forests in Israel is not high, and ranges between US$190/hectare per year (NPV, 3% interest rate) under favorable climatic conditions and US$19/hectare per year under less favorable conditions.

Commercial forests confer environmental benefits, and their planting is supported by the public in many countries. However, in Israel, there are also public disadvantages to commercial forests, as some sectors of Israeli society consider Eucalyptus to be foreign to the local vegetation.

Moreover, arable land in Israel is a scarce resource, which must be preserved for future cultivation. Commercial forestry is an almost irreversible land use, since uprooting Eucalyptus trees is complex and expensive. One may suggest other, more reversible, agricultural alternatives for the non-cultivated arable land, such as field crops or rain-fed olive plantations.

By Zohar Litmanovitch, Alex Fradkin, Tamara Khtema and Michal Katzenelson, KKL Forest Management Department, Kiryat Bialik, Israel

Oak acorn seeding is a natural method for reforestation. It allows the Tabor oak's characteristic deep tap root to grow quickly, reaching soil depths at which moisture levels and constant temperature promote root development. Direct seeding is cheaper and less complex than planting, since there is no need for a planting pit or for nursery seedling preparation.

In the experiments described here, we tested the effectiveness of a number of seeding site treatments: use of tree shelters, mulching with plastic sheeting, summertime irrigation, and the addition of a water- and nutrient-containing polymer (Barbary Plante).

Our results showed that using tree shelters, spreading plastic sheeting, and using Barbary Plante, all significantly improved the survival and development of the seedlings. Use of the sheeting mulch also removed the need for summertime irrigation, even in arid planting sites in southern Israel.

By Naftali Karni (naftalik@kkl.org.il) and Gabriel Schiller(vcgabi@volcani.agri.gov.il), Department of Natural Resources, A.R.O., the Volcani Center, Bet Dagan, Israel

Pinus brutia Ten. is not a native species - it was introduced into Palestine by the Forest Department of the British Mandatory Government in the early 1920s. The first plantings by the Forest Department of the KKL were at Qiryat-Anavim in the Judean Mountains, and the Herzl Forest on the hills bordering the central coastal plains on the east, near the Ben-Shemen Agricultural School. The seedlings were grown from seeds of Cypriot origin.

To verify or refute the assumption of the decline of these 80-year-old Pinus brutia trees growing in the Herzl forest stand, 11 trees, randomly selected out of the 36 trees still growing in the stand, were drilled with a Presler borer. Annual ring widths were measured on the cores extracted with the borer, and the annual course of rainfall in the last 40 years was matched against the annual ring widths.

The results show no unusual decline in annual ring growth, with the trees clearly reacting to annual fluctuations in rainfall amounts.

To preserve these trees as a valuable genetic source, this forest stand should not be used for recreation.

By (1) Zion Madar (Zionm@KKL.org.il), Forest Department, KKL, Kiryat Bialik, Israel; (2) Zvi Solel and Miriam Kimchi, Dept. of Plant Pathology, Agricultural Research Organization, The Volcani Center, Bet Dagan, Israel

Two diseases, Seiridium canker, caused by Seiridium cardinale, and Diplodia canker, caused by Diplodia pinea f. sp. cupressi, inflict severe damage on Italian cypress (Cupressus sempervirens) and related species in Israel. When the infectivity of both pathogens was evaluated, following inoculation under controlled conditions, D. pinea f. sp. cupressi was generally found more aggressive than S. cardinale. The following species suffered severe damage, sometimes resulting in mortality, caused by either of the pathogens: C. benthamii, C. glabra, C. sempervirens, Thuja orientalis, Callitris verrucosa, Tetraclinis articulate, and Cupressocyparis leylandii. In the following species of Cupressaceae and other coniferous trees that were inoculated with either pathogen, canker development was very limited and it was arrested after a short time: Cryptomeria japonica, Taxodium distichum, Cedrus libani, Cedrus deodara. Many of the species of Cupressaceae that were susceptible to S. cardinale under laboratory inoculation, i.e., C. glabra, Thuja orientalis, Callitris verrucosa, and Tetraclinis articulate, did not become naturally infected, when grown adjacent to heavily infected Italian cypress. With regard to Diplodia pinea f. sp. cupressi we found this resistance only in Thuja orientalis and Tetraclinis articulate. When the Cupressaceae species, Cupressus arizonica, C. benthamii, C. funebris, C. torulosa, C. nevadensis, C. guadalupensis, C. cashmeriana, Cryptomeria japonica, Calocedrus decurrens, Juniperus phoenicea, J. oxycedrus, and J. chinensis were grown next to Italian cypress infected by Seiridium and Diplodia cankers, they did not show any disease symptoms, and thus appear to be resistant to both diseases.

By M. Ben-Hur, H. Tenaw and L. Leib, Institute of Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences, ARO, the Volcani Center, Bet Dagan, Israel

Wood chips can be used as a soil cover to prevent seal formation and to decrease runoff and soil loss. The objectives of the present study were: (i) to determine the effects of application of wood chips as a soil cover on infiltration rate, runoff and soil loss in some Israeli soils under simulated rainstorms; (ii) to study the long-term effect of wood chip application on the organic matter content in the soil profile and on the soil saturated hydraulic conductivity. Covering the surfaces of Hamra, Loess and Grumosol soils with 3-cm thickness of wood chips prevented seal formation and significantly decreased runoff and soil loss during rainstorms. Wood chip application was effective on various soil slopes, ranging from 9 to 25%. Covering soil with wood chips for six years significantly increased the soil organic matter content and the soil saturated hydraulic conductivity.

Click here for the article in hebrew with relevant graphs and tables

By Nitsa Saphir (nitzas@kkl.org.il) and Zion Madar, KKL Forest Department, Eshtaol, Israel

In Sept. 2005, a significant population of the woolly pine aphid [Pineus pini (Homop. Adelgidae)] was found on Pinus sylvestris specimens in Jerusalem's botanical garden, with additional foci identified in Jerusalem's city gardens through 2006.

The scale was first identified locally in 1966 at a Jericho forest tree nursery of Aleppo pines (Pinus halepensis). A subsequent visit to Jordanian forests in 1993 located colonies in A-Salt and 'Ajlun. In 1999, a survey of all pines along the Israeli-Jordanian border (the Great Rift Valley) found no infected trees. This pest can damage all pine species planted in Israeli forests and threatens all stands. A research program to introduce natural enemies is currently under way.