THE ROLE OF LAND-USE PATTERN AND PROCESS IN THE DIFFUSION OF VALUABLETREE SPECIES

Evidence is mounting that conventional forestry approaches will not be able to address the extent of deforestation and land degradation unde rway in the tropics at the magnitude with which these problems and ass ociated consequences presently operate. Subsistence populations for wh om woody biomass and food supply is most critical can embrace many dif ficult and complex problems involved in the non-adoption of tree plant ing and tree management practices. The occurrence of the unintentional or inadvertent spread of valuable tree species as a side-effect of ce rtain patterns and practices involved in specific land-uses invites ex amination of the functional aspects involved, and the transferability of these. This paper explores some of the concepts likely to be involv ed in the unintentional diffusion of valuable tree species across huma n-occupied landscapes under the influence of extensive land-uses in th e tropics. The role of these concepts in the formulation of approaches designed to encourage this form of tree dissemination as a form of re forestation is also discussed.