Present Situation and Recommendations on the Development of Dalbergia odorifera in Hainan

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Institute of Scientific and Technical Information, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Haikou 571101, China

Supported by the Applied Technology Research and Development Demonstration and Extension Project in Hainan Province (ZDXM2014101).

1 Introduction

Dalbergiaodorifera, also called fragrant rosewood, is a species of legume in the Fabaceae family, ranked one of the five famous trees, and its wood product is precious. It is used as a wood product and in folk medicine. Higher quality furniture from the late Ming and early Qing dynasties were made of this wood. It is one of the international standard 5 genera, 8 kinds and 34 species of mahogany.D.odoriferawas once regarded as the first of the three great tributary trees in the court of the Ming and Qing dynasties[1]. With the development of Hainan international tourism island,D.odoriferais popular, and there will be a huge demand for the wood products and handicrafts fromD.odorifera. According to the present situation about the planting and wood product ofD.odoriferain Hainan Province, this paper puts forward some recommendations for the development ofD.odoriferain Hainan.

2 Present situation ofD. odorifera in Hainan

D.odoriferaoriginated from the lowland plains and hilly areas of Diaoluoshan Mountain, Hainan Island, China. It is mainly planted in the lowland plains and hilly areas below 350 m above sea level. It is mainly distributed in the tropics, the average annual temperature is 21-25℃, the extreme minimum temperature is -1-4℃, the average annual precipitation is 1 000-1 500 cm, and the average annual air humidity is about 70%. In dry season, many leaves fall, but a few grow in the foothills. In the rain forest with good soil moisture, it can keep evergreen, and there are 3-5 d of short-term leaf change only in March-April. It likes high temperature, but is also able to endure light frost and short-term -1℃ extreme low temperature. Now it is planted in Dongfang, Baisha, Changjiang, Ledong, Sanya, Haikou, Wanning, Lingshui, Wenchang, Qionghai, Lingao, Danzhou, Qiongshan, Dingan, Chengmai, Tunchang and other cities and counties in Hainan Island.

D.odoriferais a sun species, with tolerance to drought and barrenness, and has not strict demand on site conditions. It can be planted in steep slopes, ridges, exposed rock, arid and thin land, but it grows well in lateritic red soil which is weathered by granite parent material and by basaltic parent material. After planting, the young trees of HainanD.odoriferahave strong germination ability and grow normally under strong light, and the growth is weak, the crown is sparse, there are many branches, the trunk is obvious and the stem is slightly bent under shading. In the suitable dense stand, it can grow into tall, dry and straight plants, while the growth of young trees is weak in the overshadowed dense stand. The planted trees grow quickly and grow well, and generally change their leaves once a year. When there is a severe drought, the leaves fall at the same time. When the first rain comes, flowers and leaves shoot out at the same time and the fruits get matured from October to December. The growth rate of HainanD.odoriferais the highest in the first three years after planting, and its DBH can be up to 7-8 cm. After four years, the growth is particularly slow, the annual average DBH increases about 0.87 cm, and it takes several decades after planting to produce wood. At present, there is only a small area of newly planted and regenerated forest inD.odoriferain Hainan. The area of planting in Hainan is about 15 000 ha, distributed in the low altitude area of Hainan Island.

Since 2008, the artificial planting area of HainanD.odoriferahas been increasing. Dongfang City has grown 12 million plants, about 7 000 ha, and it is mainly planted by the farmers on a large scale in Donghe, Datian, Tianan and other towns in the eastern part. For example, all the farmers in Nanlang Village, Donghe Town, Dongfang City, growD.odorifera, and now there are 760 people in the village, with a total of over 300 000 plants, 395 plants for each person. Malone Village, Datian Town, is also a famousD.odoriferavillage in Dongfang City, and more than 120 000D.odoriferaplants are grown in the village.

3 The market demand for the wood products made fromD. odorifera in Hainan Province

According to China Tree Records, wildD.odoriferais produced in various cities and counties in Hainan Island except Wanning, Lingshui, Wuzhishan, and Baisha, Dongfang, Changjiang, Ledong, Sanya and Haikou are the main production areas.D.odoriferawood stability is strong, and it does not become deformed, cracked, bending and rotten even after thousands of years no matter how cold and hot it is[2]. In 1963, experts found a small number of wild trees in the deep mountain forest, but soon it was cut down completely, and then the market will be difficult to find the traces of the big wildD.odoriferatrees. The logs and high-grade furniture made ofD.odoriferaare extremely expensive. The wood fromD.odorifera, especially large timber, cannot be supplied normally in the market, and the price of materials is set according to the size of inch[3]. Xiao Liang, president of theD.odoriferaResearch Association in Dongfang City, Hainan Province, also made it clear that according to statistics in 2010, there were only about 1 000D.odoriferatrees over 30 years of age on Hainan Island, and there were less than 50 trees over 50 years of age on Hainan Island.

The growth cycle ofD.odoriferais long, it takes several decades after planting to have heartwood available. A plant ofD.odoriferawith DBH of 15 cm needs more than 100 years of tree age, but its heartwood is less than 3 cm.D.odoriferaplantations have not yet become large timber, so the wood fromD.odoriferatrees are particularly scarce. At present, HainanD.odoriferafurniture and commercial raw materials on the market are mainly old furniture and agricultural tool materials, some hoarding materials from the hands of medicine dealers, as well asD.odoriferalogs collected by the businessman.

4 Recommendations for the development of HainanD. odorifera

4.1BuildingtheD.odoriferaislandThe distribution area ofD.odoriferain Hainan is tropical area, it can keep evergreen after planting, and there are only 3-5 d of short-term leaf change in March-April. The sprouting ability of the plant is strong, and it can germinate new branches after cutting down. It does not require high soil fertility, and it can grow into wood on the red soil and lateritic soil with medium fertility. Hainan is located in the tropics, and the superior tropical climate is suitable for the growth ofD.odorifera. Hainan Island has clear dry and wet seasons, dry season spans five months, and there is a water shortage in dry season. Rainfall in wet season is concentrated, and there are often rainstorm and typhoon. The temperature is high, sunshine time is long, and ultraviolet ray is strong. The alternate climate of drought and flood as well as the growing environment is very suitable for the growth ofD.odoriferain Hainan. The branches broken by the typhoon will slowly heal, and the strong survival ability leads to fine timber quality, high oil content and strong fluorescence. Therefore, according to the unique topography, geomorphology, geology and tropical monsoon island climate of Hainan Island, combined with the growth and ecological characteristics of HainanD.odorifera, it is especially suitable for plantingD.odorifera, and buildD.odoriferaisland in Hainan.

4.2DevelopingHainanD.odoriferaandrevitalizingruralgreeneconomyThe production and planting period of HainanD.odoriferais long. It has many ecological benefits, such as beautifying the environment, purifying the air, adjusting the climate, keeping the water and soil and conserving the water. The green economic benefit of HainanD.odoriferais remarkable. Hainan Island is endowed with unique natural and climatic conditions, and it is suitable to give full play to the "three major advantages" of the country’s best ecological environment, the country’s largest special economic zone, and the country’s only province-level international tourism island. We should vigorously develop HainanD.odoriferaand implement the strategy of rural revitalization of HainanD.odorifera, and let HainanD.odoriferabecome a new industry to revitalize the rural economy and build a beautiful home.

D.odoriferawood is precious, with high economic value. The development of HainanD.odoriferais in line with the general requirements of industrial prosperity, ecological livability, local culture, effective governance and affluent life. It is a fundamental transformation on the idea of coordinated and sustainable development of economy, society, natural resources and ecological environment and the traditional economic development model. We should actively develop HainanD.odorifera, pursue green wealth, and take green industry growth as a sign to achieve low energy consumption, low carbon emission and low pollution, and realize sustainable economic and social development. The forest land area of Hainan Province is 2.11 million ha, the cultivated land area is 710 000 ha, and the construction land area is about 370 000 ha. Some zones can be used to growD.odorifera. By planning and transforming low-yielding forest land, irrigation channels, farmland protection network, rural highways, village roads and roadside land to plantD.odorifera, the development area can reach 100 000-150 000 ha, and the value of each tree will be more than 10 000 yuan 20 years after planting. The economic value can reach 2 trillion yuan after 20 years if the development area ofD.odoriferacan reach 100 000 ha, and the average annual economic benefit can reach 100 billion yuan.

4.3MobilizingfarmerstoplantD.odoriferatoincreasefarmers’incomesteadilyD.odoriferacan be grown in most areas of the plains and hills below an altitude of 350 m in Hainan Island. The quality of the wood is superior to the rosewood of Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand and other countries. Based on the construction of ecological civilization, the government department should focus on the ecological strategic plan, innovate upon the thought. The planting ofD.odoriferashould be popularized in Hainan Island in order to increase the economic resources of forest trees in rural areas, according to the greening project of afforestation and the construction of international tourism island. It is necessary to mobilize farmers to revitalize the rural green economy, beautify the environment, and plantD.odorifera, so as to realize stable increase in farmers’ economic income. In addition, we can also combine the construction of farmland complex and the construction of new rural areas, to build HainanD.odoriferacultural park,D.odoriferaecological civilization demonstration town and model village, and plant HainanD.odoriferaenergetically.

At present, the timber ofD.odoriferais valued with catty, and the economic benefit of developingD.odoriferais considerable. Each farmer can use forestland, wasteland and marginal cultivated land, the land around house, green belt, scattered land and garden plot to growD.odorifera. If every rural household grows 90 plants of HainanD.odorifera, the yield of available timber per plant will be about 50 kg 20 years after planting. According to the price of 300 yuan/kg, the economic value can reach 1.35 million yuan, the average annual economic income is 67 500 yuan, and the average annual income is 750 yuan per plant. According to the population of 4 per household, the annual per capita income of the farmers reaches 16 800 yuan only by plantingD.odorifera.

4.4BuildinguptheprotectionconsciousnessofHainanD.odoriferaandcalloneveryonetoloveD.odoriferaD.odoriferais a national second-class protection plant. The heartwood of tree trunk and root is one of the seven unique southern medicines in Hainan. It is a world-famous multi-purpose tree species for medicinal and wood use. The lignum acronychiae fromD.odoriferahas many kinds of effects, such as removing blood stasis, hemostasis and stopping pain. It belongs to the wild traditional Chinese medicine and has very high medicinal value. It is recorded in thePharmacopoeiaofthePeople’sRepublicofChina. As a wood material, it is the best for making mahogany furniture and handicrafts. Because of its rigidity, compact structure, wear resistance, corrosion resistance, moth resistance, deformation resistance, and variable natural beautiful texture, it is widely used in making high-grade furniture and engraving exquisite art, and the economic value is very high. Therefore, HainanD.odoriferatrees are often stolen and felled. We once carried out a survey ofD.odoriferaand found that the owner erected a tent in aD.odoriferagarden where there were nearly 100 more than 10 years oldD.odoriferatrees in the herbal medicine field of Wupo Town, Tunchang County, Hainan Province, to guard against the theft and felling. According to media reports, the forest police of Haikou City launched a crackdown on illegal cutting ofD.odoriferain mid-May 2011, cleared up 18 cases of illegal sales and cutting of rosewood within four months and arrested 10 suspects. On July 29, 2011, fiveD.odoriferatrees of more than 30 years of age were stolen from Dongfang Gangwu Middle School. On the same day, in the dormitory of one unit 100 m away from Dongfang Gangwu Middle School, twoD.odoriferatrees in iron cage were also stolen and cut. In the same year, a 40-year-old yellowD.odoriferatree was stolen from the municipal government’s compound in the evening.

Hainan is the most suitable planting area and the largest production place ofD.odoriferain China. In order to developD.odorifera, we should focus on the afforestation and the construction of the international tourism island, carry out the publicity work for the whole people to loveD.odorifera, establish the protection consciousness ofD.odorifera; call on everyone to loveD.odorifera, make full use of television, radio, slogans, briefing notes and conferences and other forms, to actively publicize the legal nature and obligation of protectingD.odorifera, and create a strong atmosphere for each family to plant and protectD.odorifera. At the same time, we should strengthen the protection measures of HainanD.odorifera, severely crack down on the damage and theft of HainanD.odorifera, and protect the healthy growth of HainanD.odorifera.

5 Conclusions

D.odoriferahas high economic value, its wood is a precious commodity, and at present,D.odoriferais scarce and expensive. Therefore, the development of HainanD.odoriferahas a good market prospect. The construction of HainanD.odoriferaisland can not only revitalize the rural green economy, but also add splendor to Hainan International Tourism Island. The farmers should make full use of the wasteland, the marginal land and garden green belt to plantD.odoriferaon a large scale, change the wasteland and the inefficient land into the treasure land, so as to increase the green wealth and achieve remarkable economic benefit.

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