Abstract:
Planted forests account for less than 4% of total forest area globally, but their
importance is increasing along with concerns about the sustainability of harvesting natural forests. In Africa, planted forests covered about 5.7 million ha in
1995, around 5% of the world total. The African countries with the largest
areas are South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia and Libya, together accounting for
over half the total, but another 16 countries have 0.1 million ha or more. As in
other tropical and subtropical regions, Pinus and Eucalyptus are the most
planted genera, but Acacia is also important.
Monocultures of exotic trees are prone to pest attack, and increased global
travel and trade increases the risk of introduction of exotic pests.