Transcript Slide 1
Application of GIS for seed/planting zones and vegetation mapping
Examples from Nepal and Kenya
Jens-Peter Barnekow Lillesø
Forest and Landscape
Denmark
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Purpose of presentation:
Suggest a tool for selection of appropriate genetic planting material of
indigenous plant species - planting zones based on potential vegetation
types
Content
1. Seed zoning principles
2. Elaboration of Nepal map – more empirical approach
3. Elaboration of Kenya map – more analytical approach
4. Lessons learnt
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Seed zoning history and principles
Purpose of seed zoning
To enable selection of the most appropriate seed source for planting areas
to increase productivity of the planted trees and/or to avoid failure of plantings
Why seed zoning is important for tree planting
Identification of the best seed source depends on the environment in which it shall grow.
A TREE SPECIES IS NOT JUST A SPECIES – IT IS A NUMBER OF POPULATIONS
ADAPTED TO THE DIFFERENT GROWING CONDITIONS IN THE AREA OF THE
SPECIES’ DISTRIBUTION
Seed/Planting zone types
General - Thailand, Uganda, Sudan, Indonesia and Burkina Faso – for untested species
Species-specific – tested species in temperate countries
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Genotype by Environment Interaction (G x E)
Genotype by environment interaction (in short GXE), means that seed sources change rank
when compared in different environments (see A) – the same species but different
populations have become adapted to different growing conditions.
In the presence of GXE, one cannot identify and use a universal,
overall best, seed source for planting, but one has to identify ‘the
best seed source for a given type of sites’.
Source 1
Source 2
Source 3
Ex.
Dry
Dry
fff
Wet
Without GXE there is no need for a zoning system from a seed
procurement and domestication point of view, the same seed sources
can in principle be procured and used everywhere (see B).
Source 4
Source 5
Source 6
Ex.
Dry
Sgasdfgagsgdasgsgagasg
Dry
Wet
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Genotype by Environment Interaction (G x E)
GXE reflects that genotypes have different ‘response functions’, i.e. they
respond differently to different environments
Flexibility
Ex. Dry
Wet
In general, the flatter the seed source curves are (larger C) - the larger (fewer) planting zones can be developed
(A) = optimum performance of a seed source at site requirement value (B);
5 thus the
(C) = flexibility of a seed source, equivalent to extent of the zone within which the seed source achieves above 80% of its optimum performance. The flexibility is
range of sites where a seed source has an acceptable performance (in this case 80% of the optimum) (from Lindgren and Ying, 2000).
Genotype by Environment Interaction (G x E)
The G x E patterns of species are unpredictable
Group 1: Possible to have only one seed application
zone covering all the tested locations
Only testing of each species can show
which group it belongs to
Group 2: Several breeding populations required for
good match of seed sources to planting site.
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Local seed sources
What is a local source?
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•
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Local seed sources have grown in environments that are similar to the planting site
(source and planting zone may be geographically close by or far away).
A local seed source may not always be the best performer at a given site.
However, finding an alternative, non-local, better seed source requires substantial
resources and time (range-wide seed collection, establishment of (maybe repeated) trials
in the specific environments, evaluation and analysis).
The long term performance of local seed sources is known and non-local seed sources
should therefore in general only be used as alternative to viable local seed sources if the
choice is based on solid testing
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Using potential vegetation maps
as the basis for planting zones
• There are about 60,000 species of plants and shrubs on our planet
• For around 59,900 species basically no experimental data is available
• Their ‘response functions’ and G x E are unknown
• Practically all tropical species belong to this group (apart from eucalypts and acacias)
• Distribution of vegetation types is an expression of spatial distribution of environmental conditions
• Distribution of vegetation types provides information on distribution of indigenous species
• Vegetation maps can provide the ’best available’ information on potential sources-matching planting sites
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Potential vegetation map Nepal
Ecological Zones
(and population distribution)
Synthesis of vegetation studies
carried out over the past 30 years
in Nepal – synthesis made possible
by GIS
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The process – Nepal Vegetation Map
Vegetation map
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Botanical field work leading to maps by French/Nepali botanists – 1980s
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Production of hardcopy maps (1:250,000) - 1980s
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Digitization of maps and transfer onto a digital elevation model
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Incorporation phytosociological work by other botanists and correcting errors
in maps
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Reducing the number of vegetation types (merging of similar types)
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Verification of map through checking against plots and published quadrant
samples
Climate data
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Updating meteorological information from 261 stations
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New interpretation of climate and vegetation distribution
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Thermal and moisture profiles of ecological zones
Climatic
information
will eventually
provide
indication of
the climatic
envelopes of
individual
species
This is the first table that provides climate data for Nepal in a detailed spatial context
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Moisture Patterns in Nepal
In the literature Nepal is described having a
gradual decrease in rainfall from west to east
E
W
Dry
Wet
Vegetation types and the
new climate data show that
The sequence is dry wet dry wet
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Number of plant species
per vegetation type
Some vegetation types cover large variation in
temperature and moisture in which cases we
suggest subdivisions in the planting zone system
Number of vegetation types
per zone
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Species’ detailed
information from
literature - to be
verified
Example of a species list
(species poor type)
Only preliminary lists
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Delimiting planting zones in Nepal
Example>
Schima-Castanopsis
Forest type
Individual species can be tested in Breeding Seed Orchards
(BSOs) if they are in demand by tree planters
– experimental information will refine planting zones
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Delimiting planting zones in Nepal
Example>
Lower Tropical Sal
(Shorea robusta)
Forest type
Suggested revision based on climate data
Detailed analysis by climate data would
Separate this vegetation type into sub-types
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Delimiting planting zones in Nepal
Vegetation Cover in
Lower Tropical Sal
Updated forest cover shows what is left of the original vegetation
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Delimiting planting zones in Nepal
Most tree species are distributed in more than one vegetation type
This indicates that the species have populations that are adapted to different environments
Bauhinia purpurea occurs in
Schima-Castanopis forest type and Hill Sal forest type
~
Two provenances perhaps with different adaption to the environment
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Elaboration of Kenya map – a more analytical approach
Trapnell and Brunt produced four
sheets of a vegetation map for southwestern Kenya at a scale of 1:250 000
that mapped vegetation as it was in
1960.
We could trace back the large number
of vegetation types to the 18 Potential
Natural Vegetation type (PNV)
Information on climate data were more
scanty.
Infomation on species in vegetation
types were more scanty
We also wanted to do a more thorough
analysis of climate and vegetation
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Kenya PNV map Sheet 1
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Kenya PNV map Sheet 2
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Kenya PNV map Sheet 3
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Kenya PNV map Sheet 4
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18 PNV types
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Kenya map
Interpolated data layers
Utilised
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Ranges and overlap between PNVs Kenya Map
Range in altitude
and precipitation
for the 17
potential natural
vegetation types
length of the segment shows 10% - 90%
width of the box the 25%-75% quantiles
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Ranges and overlap between forest PNVs Kenya Map
Range in altitude and
rainfall for the four
forest potential natural
vegetation types.
length of the segment shows 10% - 90%
width of the box the 25%-75% quantiles
Considerable overlap in environmental conditions for forest PNVs
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Ranges and overlap between PNVs Kenya Map
Range in altitude
and rainfall for the
five bushland or
thicket potential
natural vegetation
types.
Some of the types can be clearly differentiated, others have overlap
Length of the segment shows 10% - 90% quantiles
Width of the box the 25%-75% quantiles
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Elaboration of species lists by PNVs
We used five methods of inferences to obtain vegetation-specific species
lists:
1.
information from the legend of the map;
2. Other information from authors on typical species for forest and bamboo vegetation
types;
3.
information from other sources of literature on the vegetation types;
4.
information from herbarium vouchers available from the East Africa Herbarium
(based at the National Museums of Kenya); and
5.
information from Beentje (1994) and species lists for particular forest surveys.
Test of species in converted PNVs
1.
2.
3.
Current species composition in privately owned land around Mount Kenya resembles the
species composition of the original vegetation types (PNVs)
We recommend that future landscape diversification and tree promotion efforts consider
original species composition, for which information is available from the new maps and
species lists that we produced.
We recommended that future research efforts are dedicated to improving our
understanding of species frequency patterns
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Lessons learnt
Potential natural vegetation (PNV)
1.
If available, PNV provides a strong tool for development of planting zones of untested species
2.
PNV provides more detailed information than the use of remote sensing alone
3.
PNV provide more detailed information than climate data alone (from weather stations or
interpolated)
4.
Due to the coarseness of available climatic data there will often be overlaps and some PNV types
will be difficult to separate climatically – these overlaps should be further investigated
5.
Borders between PNV are variable – some narrow (e.g. on mountains) other gradual (in
lowlands) – these border need to be tested
6.
Species lists of PNVs should be expanded (rapid vegetation transects) and priority species tested
(Breeding Seed Orchards)
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References:
NEPAL MAP:
Lillesø, J-P.B., T.B. Shrestha, L.P. Dhakal, R.P. Nayaju and R. Shrestha. 2005. The Map of Potential Vegetation of Nepal - a
forestry/agroecological/biodiversity classifi cation system. Forest & Landscape Development and Environment Series 2-2005 and CFC-TIS
Document Series No.110
Lillesø, J.P.B., Dhakal, L.P., Shrestha, T.B., Nayaju, R.P., Shrestha, R. and Kjaer, E.D. 2001. Tree Planting Zones in Nepal - an
ecological approach based on vegetation types. DFSC Case Study No.1. TISC Technical Paper No. 103. Danida Forest Centre, Humlebæk.
Tree Improvement and Silviculture Component, Kathmandu.
Shrestha, T.B., Lillesø, J.P.B., Dhakal, L.P., Shrestha, R. 2002. Forest and vegetation types of Nepal. HMG/Ministry of Forests and Soil
Conservation & natural Resources Management Sector Assistance Programme (NARMSAP). TISC Document Series No. 105
KENYA MAP:
Kindt, R., Lillesø, J.P. B., van Breugel, P. and Nyabenge, M., 2006. Potential natural vegetation of south-western Kenya for selection of
indigenous tree species. Sheets 1-4. World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Nairobi.
Kindt, R., van Breugel, P., Lillesø, J.P.B. 2007. Use of vegetation maps to infer on the ecological suitability of species using central and
western Kenya as an example. Part 1: Description of potential natural vegetation types for central and western Kenya. Forest & Landscape
Denmark and World Agroforestry Centre, Kenya. Forest & Landscape Development Series no 6-2007.
Kindt, R., van Breugel, P. and Lillesø, J.P.B. 2006. Use of vegetation maps to infer on the ecological suitability of species using central and
western Kenya as an example. Part II. Tree species lists for potential natural vegetation types for Central and western Kenya. Development
and Environment Series 7-2007.
Roeland Kindt, J.P. B. Lillesø, Paulo van Breugel. 2007. Comparisons between original and current composition of indigenous tree species
around Mount Kenya African Journal of Ecology (OnlineEarly Articles). doi:10.1111/j.1365-2028.2007.00787.x
van Breugel, P., Kindt, R. and Lillesø, J.P.B. IN PREP (2007). Use of vegetation maps to infer on the ecological suitability of species using
central and western Kenya as an example. Part III: Background Study. A comparison of the distribution of potential natural vegetation and
environmental conditions in south western Kenya. Forest and Landscape Development and Environment Series 2007 and World Agroforestry
Centre, Kenya.
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