The history of tree planting is as old as the history of agriculture. People initially had taken to planting of fruit yielding trees as a source of food. Kautilya's th Arthashastra (4 Century BCE) not only mentions about protection of forests and but also about various types of land-use including grove, plantation of fruit plants, etc. This clearly indicates that while natural forests satisfied certain requirements of the community, planted trees satisfied certain other needs. It is very unlikely that in ancient times trees were planted for timber or firewood, as the same was readily available in the nearby forests. However, planting of trees for fruits and flowers was a common practice. Planting of trees was encouraged and patronized by the rulers, especially in villages and along road-sides for providing shade, and in parks and gardens for recreational and aesthetic purposes. It is said that teak planting was prevalent during the time of Shivaji.
Tree planting as a forestry activity gained momentum in India in the nineteenth century in order to replenish the depleted stock of over-exploited natural forests. As teak was the most sought after timber, its over-exploitation had resulted in its depletion and need was felt to regenerate the species. As and when other timber species were brought to use, their restocking in the forest became necessary. Both natural and artificial regeneration methods were adopted depending on species as well as forest types. Since it was found easier to raise teak artificially, teak plantations were raised in many places all over British India since 1842. Induced natural regeneration by opening of canopy helped in the establishment of kiralbogi (Hopea parviflora) in Mangalore division of Madras presidency. In Kodagu state, the blanks created by selection felling in Ghat forests were made good by dibbling of seeds with fairly successful results. Large extents of dry deciduous forests were clear felled for timber and fuel wood and then regenerated under 'simple coppice' or 'coppice with standards' system.
Tree planting in the country was intensified after the Independence. In order to bridge the wide gap between the supply and demand of forest produce, large-scale plantations of both indigenous and exotic species were raised in almost all the states of the country. Plantations were raised either by reforestation or by afforestation: reforestation refers to replacing the low yielding forests and less valuable species by high yielding and more valuable species; afforestation refers to increasing and improving the tree cover on the barren and degraded lands. The extent of area planted under important species in the country up to the end of 1965 was 9,34,000 hectares comprising of teak (1,91,000 ha), other broad-leaved species (6,42,000 ha), Eucalyptus (80,000 ha) and conifers (21,000 ha).
As regards Karnataka, extensive areas of moist deciduous forests were reforested by clear felling and planting mainly with teak and to some extent with eucalyptus. The dry deciduous mixed forests were also similarly treated but planted mainly with eucalyptus. In the evergreen forests, the silvicultural system adopted was generally selection system followed by artificial planting in gaps with species like, Machilus macarantha, Artocarpus species, Mangifera indica, etc. The dry thorn forests were worked usually under coppice system and were taken up for reforestation with Eucalyptus tereticornis, also known as Mysore gum. Afforestation was taken up on highly degraded forests, denuded hills and rocky sites mainly with Eucalyptus tereticornis.
In Karnataka, plantation activities on forest lands were financed by state sector schemes introduced from time to time. These included, Development of Degraded Forests, Fuel/Fodder scheme, Special Component Plan, Tribal Sub-Plan, Bamboo and Cane Planting, Tending and Exploitation, Devarakadu, Clonal Orchards and Seed Farms, etc. A number of schemes such as Karnataka Forest Development Fund (KFDF)-Teak, KFDF-Matchwood and KFDF-Other Plantations (OP) were implemented since 1975-76 for forest development with funds sourced from Forest Development Tax (FDT) levied on the sale of forest produce. During the last three decades, a number of externally aided projects such as the Western Ghats Forestry and Environment Project (ODA), the Forestry and Environment Project for Eastern Plains (JBIC) and the Karnataka Sustainable Forest Management and Biodiversity Conservation Project (JICA) have supported plantation activities in forest areas. The World Bank aided Social Forestry Project, which was mainly for afforestation outside regular forest areas, had a few components for development of degraded forests. A number of centrally sponsored schemes (CSS) were initiated by the Government of India from time to time to assist the state governments in forest development. These were, Area Oriented Fuel and Fodder scheme, Conservation and Development of Non Timber Forest Produce including Medicinal Plants, Seed Development, Aerial Seeding, Integrated Development of Chamundi Watershed, Association of Scheduled Tribes and Rural Poor in Regeneration of Degraded Forests on Usufruct Sharing Basis, Integrated Wasteland Development Project, Integrated Afforestation and Eco-development Project for Territorial Divisions, Conservation and Management of Mangroves, Modern Fire Control Methods, Integrated Forest Protection Scheme (later named as Intensification of Forest Management), etc. Some of these CSS have since been abolished or transferred to the state sector. Some schemes with similar objectives were later rationalized and merged into one scheme. The National Afforestation Programme (NAP) is one such scheme which is in currency. In addition to the state sector, externally aided and centrally sponsored schemes, a number of schemes/programs such as Drought Prone Area Program (DPAP), Jawahar Rojgar Yojana (JRY) and Integrated Development of Western Ghats Region (IDWGR) schemes had forestry components, and afforestation works were carried out for rehabilitation of degraded forest areas under these schemes. Since 2010-11, the department has been raising compensatory plantations with funds received from the Government of India under the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA).Until recently, the Forest department had been receiving grants from the Government of India for forestry development under the Thirteenth Finance Commission (TFC) and the National Bamboo Mission (NBM). The department receives some funds under the Green India Mission (GIM). The Forest department has also been carrying out extensive plantations on roadsides, urban areas and institutional lands through its territorial and social forestry wings under a number of state sector schemes.
(Source: This is an abstract taken from the chapter, Development of Plantations, from the book "Forestry in Karnataka, A Journey of 150 Years", by Mr. Dipak Sarmah. You can read the book at,
https://bit.ly/2P0jZjM)
