Day 240 - 24 Apr 96 - Page 32
1 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes.
2
3 MR. MORRIS: Yes, I was reading.
4
5 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Have you read 4.3?.
6
7 MR. MORRIS: Pardon?
8
9 MR. JUSTICE BELL: You have read 4.3.
10
11 MR. MORRIS: Yes, then I was reading 4.4.
12
13 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Start at the beginning of 4.4 again and then,
14 at an appropriate moment, pause and ask the question you
15 wanted to ask.
16
17 MR. MORRIS: Right:
18
19 "Most, if not all, tropical forest types require several
20 hundred years of naturally occurring regeneration before
21 primary tree species become established, and the forest has
22 reached its mature or final phase of successional
23 development. It is in these forest types that generally
24 the high diversity of species are found. Earlier
25 establishment and secondary phases occur over decadeal to
26 century time scales (depending on the species and forest
27 ecosystem type) as does planned and deliberate
28 reforestation."
29
30 Can you just explain that last sentence?
31 A. That sentence has to be understood in the context of
32 what I have written earlier. In any forest type you can
33 recognise different stages of development. The stages of
34 development in a forest ecosystem type are generally
35 referred to as the pioneer phase when you have cleared land
36 for whatever reason and the initial forest tree species are
37 establishing themselves. They tend to be rapid growing,
38 light loving species that may take between 10, 20 years to
39 become established.
40
41 Those species then, as long as there is no adverse impact,
42 give way to longer growing species of tree and shrub which
43 is usually distinguished as the secondary phase. Those
44 tree species that typify the secondary phase of tropical
45 forest development take up to 100 or a couple of hundred
46 years to become mature, and then, in turn, again assuming
47 no adverse impact on the forest area, those secondary
48 species give way to what are known as primary tree species
49 types that take several hundred years to reach maturity and
50 to become established and, by that stage, the forest has
51 reached its mature phase in which no further succession of
52 other tree species occur unless, for one reason or another,
53 the primary tree species die and then, as land is cleared,
54 so the cycle of forest development begins again with
55 pioneer species taking over.
56
57 Q. You said that the pioneer forest would re-establish itself
58 in 10 to 20 years?
59 A. Yes.
60
