Forestry, Land use & Climate Change
1) Thrust Areas 
Carry out research in the fields of
-
Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) and developing Planted Forest Code and Forest certification.
-
Development of mitigation and adaptation strategies to combat climate change
-
Assessment of carbon sequestration potential of different ecosystems and individual tree species
-
Developing strategies for appropriate land use and land-use change
-
Precision silviculture for improving the productivity of plantations
-
Clonal forestry & quality planting stock production
-
Agro forestry and farm forestry
-
Forest sociology including Participatory Forest Management
-
Reclamation and afforestation of environmentally degraded sites
-
Forest economics and ecological economics
-
Forest ecology including forest
-
influences
2) Nursery Activities
Nursery translates the fruits of Tree Improvement activities into quality planting stock. All the efforts taken for increasing the productivity will become null and void if the quality of the planting stock produced is undermined due to faulty nursery operations. Production of quality planting stock with well-developed root system will result in better survival and faster growth resulting in better returns from the plantations. The use of improved potting media containing compost will result in the conservation of topsoil apart from production of disease free seedlings, which subsequently results in better survival rates in the field, after out planting.
Nursery techniques have been standardized for the large scale production of quality planting stock of the economically important tree species viz., Azadirachta indica, Acacia nilotica, Acacia leucophloea, Acacia auriculiformis, Albizia amara, Casuarina equisetifolia, Eucalyptus tereticornis, Tectona grandis, Tamarindus indica, , Dalbergia latifolia, Eucalyptus camaldulensis and Pongamia glabra. Introduction of root trainers for quality seedling production, usage of improved and enriched potting media and the usage of biofertilizers to improve the seedling quality are some of the techniques adopted by the institute to produce the improved quality planting stock over the conventionally produced seedlings.
As part of Planting Stock Improvement Programme of the Institute of Forest Genetics & Tree Breeding (IFGTB), Coimbatore, a model nursery has been established within the Forest Campus, Coimbatore with a capacity to produce 5 lakh seedlings per year including vegetative propagules. A comprehensive training programme for developing a modern root trainer nursery facility with captive clone banks, vegetative propagation facilities, production facilities for the improved and species specific potting media as well as for the production of compost has been developed for use by the different user agencies. These technologies are being transferred to the different user groups’ viz., farmers, staff of the forest departments, forest development corporations, students of forest colleges and the trainees of the State forest service colleges and the Indian Forest Service through lecture sessions as well as though practical training programmes.
3) Vegetative Multiplication Garden
Under the World Bank aided FREE Project’s Vegetative Multiplication Garden component of the Planting Stock Improvement Programme, the Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding, Coimbatore created Clone Banks / Vegetative Multiplication Gardens at suitable locations of Tamilnadu, Kerala and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands - for ushering in clonal forestry on a large scale - with the active participation of the Tamilnadu, Kerala and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands Forest Departments.
The clones of Eucalyptus, Casuarina and Teak, selected by the various agencies involved in tree improvement programmes viz., State Forest Departments, Forest Development Corporations, Forestry Research Institutes and Pulpwood and Rayon industries were procured and assembled in these Clone Bank / Vegetative Multiplication Gardens. For species wherein large numbers of clones were not available, selection of Candidate Plus Trees (CPT’s) was carried out by IFGTB, as in the case of Casuarina equisetifolia.
Amongst the large number of clones assembled under this project, those of the clones tested and known for their genotypic stability were assembled in large numbers, as Vegetative Multiplication Gardens for the purpose of mass multiplication by the user agencies and deployment in operational planting programmes. The untested clones and the recently selected clones were assembled in the clone banks with the objective of including larger number of clones with less number of ramets per clone.
In all, 216 clones of selected CPT’s of Casuarina equisetifolia, 351 clones of selected CPT’s of eucalyptus sp., 129 clones of selected CPT’s of Tectona grandis, 59 clones of selected CPT’s of Tamarindus indica and 11 clones of selected CPT’s of Emblica officinalis have been assembled in these Clone Banks / Vegetative Multiplication Gardens. The location and extent of the Clone Banks/Vegetative Multiplication Gardens along with the number of clones available in them is given in the table below:
Location and extent of Clone banks / Multiplication gardens:
Species
Location
Area
No. Of clones
Purpose
Tectona grandis
Yemangad, Nilambur, Kerala
2.8 ha
90
Clone bank
Yemangad, Nilambur, Kerala
1 ha
36
Clone bank
IFGTB field station, Panampally, Kerala
0.2 ha
63
Clone bank
Eucalyptus sp.
Neyveli, Tamilnadu
4.0 ha
9
Multiplication garden
Neyveli, Tamilnadu
1.0 ha
118
Clone bank
Perungalathur, Tamilnadu
0.5 ha
16
Multiplication garden
Kulathupuzha, Kerala
1.0 ha
197
Clone bank
IFGTB field station, Panampally, Kerala
0.8 ha.
121
Clone bank
Tamarindus indica.
Forest Campus, Coimbatore
0.5 ha.
59
Clone bank
Emblica officinalis.
Forest Campus, Coimbatore
0.3 ha.
11
Clone bank
Casuarina equisetifolia
Neyveli, Tamilnadu
1.0 ha.
160
Clone bank
Kulathupuzha, Kerala
0.5 ha.
99
Clone bank
Nayashar, Andaman & Nicobar Islands
0.5 ha.
92
Clone bank
Forest Campus, Coimbatore
0.2 ha.
143
Clone bank
4) Reclamation of mined areas, mine spoils and other problem areas
a) Utilization of fly ash in Agriculture and Forestry
Under an externally aided project – funded by the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board - aimed at the utilization of fly ash in Agriculture and Forestry, several agricultural crops viz. paddy, tapioca, sweet potato, ginger, turmeric, ground nut, green gram, black gram and medicinal plants viz. senna, jatropha have been found to yield more by mixing 7 – 15 MT of fly ash / Ha. compared to the untreated control. Similarly several forestry species viz. Casuarina, Eucalyptus, Pongamia, Neem, Sandal wood, Rose wood etc has been grown successfully after mixing fly ash of different quantities. Reclamation of fly ash dumps of several meters depths, of both the saline and non-saline environments, is also being attempted with suitable species
. b) Afforestation studies in problem soils of Tamil Nadu
In order to ameliorate the mines overburdens and reduce the pollution caused by them, the Silviculture division of the Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding Coimbatore is carrying out afforestation and productivity studies in the mine overburdens of the Limestone mine dumps and the Quartz sand dumps of the Associated Cement Company at Madukkarai in Coimbatore district and at the magnesite mine dumps of the Burn Standard Company, Salem. Silviculture Division is also involved in the afforestation of Bauxite mine dumps at Yercaud in the Shervaroy Hills.
The Silviculture division is also providing consultancy to the Burn Standard Company, Salem and the Associated Cement Company at Madukkarai in Coimbatore district in their afforestation activities.
Human Resources
Name
Designation
Contact Number
Email ID
R.S.C.Jayaraj, IFS
CF, Head
2484103
jayaraj@icfre.org
K.Ravichandran, IFS
DCF
2484113
kravi@icfre.org
M.Maria Dominic Savio
Scientist - D
2484143
dominic@icfre.org
Dr.C.Buvaneswaran
Scientist - D
2484198
buvanesc@icfre.org
S.Saravanan
Scientist - D
2484142
saravanans@icfre.org
Dr.A.Vijayaraghavan
Scientist - C
2484191
vijayaraghavana@icfre.org
D.Chellasamy
DCF, Asst.Silva & Head Coordinator (F), H.O.
2484111
chellasamy@icfre.org
Shujauddin
Asst.Silva
2484141
shujauddin@icfre.org
Carry out research in the fields of
-
Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) and developing Planted Forest Code and Forest certification.
- Development of mitigation and adaptation strategies to combat climate change
- Assessment of carbon sequestration potential of different ecosystems and individual tree species
- Developing strategies for appropriate land use and land-use change
- Precision silviculture for improving the productivity of plantations
- Clonal forestry & quality planting stock production
- Agro forestry and farm forestry
- Forest sociology including Participatory Forest Management
- Reclamation and afforestation of environmentally degraded sites
- Forest economics and ecological economics
- Forest ecology including forest
- influences
Nursery translates the fruits of Tree Improvement activities into quality planting stock. All the efforts taken for increasing the productivity will become null and void if the quality of the planting stock produced is undermined due to faulty nursery operations. Production of quality planting stock with well-developed root system will result in better survival and faster growth resulting in better returns from the plantations. The use of improved potting media containing compost will result in the conservation of topsoil apart from production of disease free seedlings, which subsequently results in better survival rates in the field, after out planting.
Nursery techniques have been standardized for the large scale production of quality planting stock of the economically important tree species viz., Azadirachta indica, Acacia nilotica, Acacia leucophloea, Acacia auriculiformis, Albizia amara, Casuarina equisetifolia, Eucalyptus tereticornis, Tectona grandis, Tamarindus indica, , Dalbergia latifolia, Eucalyptus camaldulensis and Pongamia glabra. Introduction of root trainers for quality seedling production, usage of improved and enriched potting media and the usage of biofertilizers to improve the seedling quality are some of the techniques adopted by the institute to produce the improved quality planting stock over the conventionally produced seedlings.
As part of Planting Stock Improvement Programme of the Institute of Forest Genetics & Tree Breeding (IFGTB), Coimbatore, a model nursery has been established within the Forest Campus, Coimbatore with a capacity to produce 5 lakh seedlings per year including vegetative propagules. A comprehensive training programme for developing a modern root trainer nursery facility with captive clone banks, vegetative propagation facilities, production facilities for the improved and species specific potting media as well as for the production of compost has been developed for use by the different user agencies. These technologies are being transferred to the different user groups’ viz., farmers, staff of the forest departments, forest development corporations, students of forest colleges and the trainees of the State forest service colleges and the Indian Forest Service through lecture sessions as well as though practical training programmes.
3) Vegetative Multiplication GardenUnder the World Bank aided FREE Project’s Vegetative Multiplication Garden component of the Planting Stock Improvement Programme, the Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding, Coimbatore created Clone Banks / Vegetative Multiplication Gardens at suitable locations of Tamilnadu, Kerala and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands - for ushering in clonal forestry on a large scale - with the active participation of the Tamilnadu, Kerala and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands Forest Departments.
The clones of Eucalyptus, Casuarina and Teak, selected by the various agencies involved in tree improvement programmes viz., State Forest Departments, Forest Development Corporations, Forestry Research Institutes and Pulpwood and Rayon industries were procured and assembled in these Clone Bank / Vegetative Multiplication Gardens. For species wherein large numbers of clones were not available, selection of Candidate Plus Trees (CPT’s) was carried out by IFGTB, as in the case of Casuarina equisetifolia.
Amongst the large number of clones assembled under this project, those of the clones tested and known for their genotypic stability were assembled in large numbers, as Vegetative Multiplication Gardens for the purpose of mass multiplication by the user agencies and deployment in operational planting programmes. The untested clones and the recently selected clones were assembled in the clone banks with the objective of including larger number of clones with less number of ramets per clone.
In all, 216 clones of selected CPT’s of Casuarina equisetifolia, 351 clones of selected CPT’s of eucalyptus sp., 129 clones of selected CPT’s of Tectona grandis, 59 clones of selected CPT’s of Tamarindus indica and 11 clones of selected CPT’s of Emblica officinalis have been assembled in these Clone Banks / Vegetative Multiplication Gardens. The location and extent of the Clone Banks/Vegetative Multiplication Gardens along with the number of clones available in them is given in the table below:
Location and extent of Clone banks / Multiplication gardens:
Species |
Location | Area | No. Of clones | Purpose |
| Tectona grandis | Yemangad, Nilambur, Kerala | 2.8 ha | 90 | Clone bank |
|
|
Yemangad, Nilambur, Kerala | 1 ha | 36 | Clone bank |
|
|
IFGTB field station, Panampally, Kerala | 0.2 ha | 63 | Clone bank |
| Eucalyptus sp. | Neyveli, Tamilnadu | 4.0 ha | 9 | Multiplication garden |
|
|
Neyveli, Tamilnadu | 1.0 ha | 118 | Clone bank |
|
|
Perungalathur, Tamilnadu | 0.5 ha | 16 | Multiplication garden |
|
|
Kulathupuzha, Kerala | 1.0 ha | 197 | Clone bank |
|
|
IFGTB field station, Panampally, Kerala | 0.8 ha. | 121 | Clone bank |
| Tamarindus indica. | Forest Campus, Coimbatore | 0.5 ha. | 59 | Clone bank |
| Emblica officinalis. | Forest Campus, Coimbatore | 0.3 ha. | 11 | Clone bank |
| Casuarina equisetifolia | Neyveli, Tamilnadu | 1.0 ha. | 160 | Clone bank |
|
|
Kulathupuzha, Kerala | 0.5 ha. | 99 | Clone bank |
|
|
Nayashar, Andaman & Nicobar Islands | 0.5 ha. | 92 | Clone bank |
|
|
Forest Campus, Coimbatore | 0.2 ha. | 143 | Clone bank |
4) Reclamation of mined areas, mine spoils and other problem areas
a) Utilization of fly ash in Agriculture and Forestry
Under an externally aided project – funded by the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board - aimed at the utilization of fly ash in Agriculture and Forestry, several agricultural crops viz. paddy, tapioca, sweet potato, ginger, turmeric, ground nut, green gram, black gram and medicinal plants viz. senna, jatropha have been found to yield more by mixing 7 – 15 MT of fly ash / Ha. compared to the untreated control. Similarly several forestry species viz. Casuarina, Eucalyptus, Pongamia, Neem, Sandal wood, Rose wood etc has been grown successfully after mixing fly ash of different quantities. Reclamation of fly ash dumps of several meters depths, of both the saline and non-saline environments, is also being attempted with suitable species
. b) Afforestation studies in problem soils of Tamil Nadu
In order to ameliorate the mines overburdens and reduce the pollution caused by them, the Silviculture division of the Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding Coimbatore is carrying out afforestation and productivity studies in the mine overburdens of the Limestone mine dumps and the Quartz sand dumps of the Associated Cement Company at Madukkarai in Coimbatore district and at the magnesite mine dumps of the Burn Standard Company, Salem. Silviculture Division is also involved in the afforestation of Bauxite mine dumps at Yercaud in the Shervaroy Hills.
The Silviculture division is also providing consultancy to the Burn Standard Company, Salem and the Associated Cement Company at Madukkarai in Coimbatore district in their afforestation activities.
| Human Resources | |||
| Name | Designation | Contact Number | Email ID |
| R.S.C.Jayaraj, IFS | CF, Head | 2484103 | jayaraj@icfre.org |
| K.Ravichandran, IFS | DCF | 2484113 | kravi@icfre.org |
| M.Maria Dominic Savio | Scientist - D | 2484143 | dominic@icfre.org |
| Dr.C.Buvaneswaran | Scientist - D | 2484198 | buvanesc@icfre.org |
| S.Saravanan | Scientist - D | 2484142 | saravanans@icfre.org |
| Dr.A.Vijayaraghavan | Scientist - C | 2484191 | vijayaraghavana@icfre.org |
| D.Chellasamy | DCF, Asst.Silva & Head Coordinator (F), H.O. | 2484111 | chellasamy@icfre.org |
| Shujauddin | Asst.Silva | 2484141 | shujauddin@icfre.org |