Assisted Reforestation of Eucalyptus Plantations
In the early 1980’s large extents of farmland were leased by private companies for the establishment of Eucalyptus plantations to supply fuel wood for the growing tobacco industry. Thankfully, the tobacco industry has now converted to sourcing 100% of its fuel wood requirement in the form of coconut husks
and therefore no longer needs the Eucalyptus plantations. A project to assist the natural reforestation of these lands has been established under the dedicated leadership of Professor Kithsiri Ranawana from
the Department of Zoology of the University of Peradeniya.
Planting of indigenous species for the establishment of natural forests has been deemed prohibitively expensive. Therefore, the professor advocates the philosophy of ‘Assisted Natural Reforestation’ where harvested patches of Eucalyptus forests are protected from hazards such as forest fires and the encroachment of weeds and undesirable plant species in order to aid and promote the natural regeneration of indigenous forests. This method as proved successful with resent surveys showing a dramatic increase in the biodiversity present in these regenerating forests.