A silvicultural system for natural regeneration of tropical rain forest in Suriname

A polycyclic system is proposed and discussed for the economically accessible mesophytic (evergreen seasonal) forests in Suriname. In this system, known as Celos Silvicultural System, a restricted amount of about 20 m ³quality timber is taken once about every 20 years in a well controlled selection felling operation. This seemed to be the best compromise between economic demands and ecologic constraints in the highly mixed forest growing on chemically very poor soils. It was found that selection felling had to be followed by refinement using arboricides, three times during the cycle, to release commercial species, and provide economically sufficient increment. The system was tested experimentally over more than a decade. Main principles were maintenance of a high level of biomass to prevent leaching of nutrients from the ecosystem, and minimum interference, assuming the original forest is best adapted to ecological conditions.

The results of four big field experiments are given in many tables, graphs and stereophotographs.