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Mainland
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Afforestation on the Mainland is much
less advanced than in Hong Kong.
Afforestation
operations with Pine trees have been carried out
in a few areas but the indigenous flora has been
given little opportunity to develop largely because
of the local customs of grass cutting and burning off
of hillsides. Under the District Officers a system
of Pine tree afforestation for firewood purposes
has been sponsored by Government but the results
cannot be said to be successful from an afforestation
point of view.
3. Future Policy.
The time has arrived to consider the future policy
for forest operations. The aim in past years has been to
obtain a forest cover on Hong Kong Island and to extend the
same process to the New Territories as the opportunity presented
itself. It is thought that present conditions require a more definite and more comprehensive plan of operations. In accord-
ance with this view a brief outline of proposed future activities
is given.
Hong Kong.
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The natural sequence in afforestation
has been that open grass slopes and burnt off areas have been
afforested with Pine trees (Pinus Massoniana Lamb.) These areas
have produced Pine plantations under which the local tree and
shrub flora has been allowed to develop the latter being encour-
aged by broadcasting of seeds of local species. The result is
that in the older plantations the Pines are being displaced
by the local species. By this process an indigenous type of
forest is developing. The ultimate size of the trees thus
produced is not likely to be large on account of typhoon ravages
and the fact that few of the species represented are of a large
tree type. It is considered that it would be a mistake to treat
the whole or the island in this manner either from a forest or
a scenic point of view, while the fact that Pine wood is more
useful as firewood than most of the local trees must be