Paulownia - Forest rescue species

Paulownia is a tree known as the " strategic " tree of the 21st century. It is expected to be a tree that quickly restores forests that have been destroyed in the world. A tree is easy to grow, easy to live, grow fast and valuable in many aspects, of which the most important thing is to get precious wood.

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Paulownia is of Asian origin, has been known for over 2,000 years in China. They have 20 species. Paulownia was imported into Japan and Korea 1,000 years ago, into Europe, South America, Australia in the 19th century. This plant is very suitable for reforestation and has been grown very successfully in New Zealand, Australia, China. The paulownia plantation area of ​​China has so far increased to more than 5 million hectares. The paulownia tree restoration program is supported by the United Nations Development Organization (UNDP). China has now exported finished paulownia and seedlings.

Vietnam also has a paulownia tree, paulownia species, fortune. They are naturally distributed in areas of 300 - 1,000m elevation in the northern provinces such as Yen Bai, Lang Son, Bac Kan, Hoa Binh . In the folklore, this tree is called the artillery and copper-covered tree. , corn plants or hips. According to a document, because people in some northern mountainous provinces use this tree to make sticky rice, so the name of the tree is called a hip tree.

More than . eucalyptus

Paulownia is dubbed the " fast growing champion ". Paulownia is a large tree species, growing fast, broad foliage, many branches, thin leaves, favoring light. They are not picky, just loose soil, easy to drain, especially suitable for hilly areas without flooding. Under normal conditions, each year plants can grow 3 - 4 cm in diameter, in volume increase 0.04 - 0.05 m 3. It means that after 10 years, a normal tree can have a diameter of 0.5m 3. That is not to mention in the optimal conditions, the plant has the ability to grow 8-9cm / year and the volume increases from 0.15 to 0.2m 3 / year.

In 2003, Phu Tho Provincial Forest Protection Department experimented with some hip plants in Thanh Son district. Some plants in Xuan Son National Park, only after 18 months, the diameter has reached 16-22cm, as high as 7-8m. Compared to the most rapidly growing species such as eucalyptus, acacia, and hedge plants, the growth rate is far exceeded.

Fast growth, but paulownia is not " monotonous " in value and " lack of friendliness " with the environment like eucalyptus. They are " multi-valued " species. First of all wood. Paulownia has been growing for three years and has been able to exploit wood for high-end paper, such as printing paper. P 9-year-old aulownia gives precious wood more than fokienia wood, due to hard wood, light, no warping, cracking when temperature changes, smooth and beautiful, high heat resistance. Because it only burns when the temperature is over 400 degrees, people can grow paulownia species into " green runways " against forest fires. Their leaves are bristled so they filter dust, smoke, and minimize environmental pollution. Both leaves and flowers are high in protein, so they can be used as animal feed, increasing soil fertility. These characteristics are also intercropped with crops such as tea, beans, corn . Flowers contain a lot of honey, can develop beekeeping.

Because of the above characteristics, paulownia tree wood is used in many fields such as manufacturing high-quality interior decorations, household items, yachts, aircraft interior . Price of paulownia wood in the world market. is about 600 - 800 USD.

A forest development project

The paulownia tree has 9 varieties for high yield, but only one can survive in Vietnam (Paulownia Fortunie). This variety is supported by the United Nations for successful planting of specialty varieties in Australia. Currently, Vietnam has very good conditions for developing these valuable plants. Land and climate are suitable, moreover, forest planting projects are often very easy to call for funding from organizations around the world.

Dr. Thai Quang Trung, Southeast Asia coordinator of the Seidel Foundation Hanns, C Federal Republic of Germany, there is a project to put paulownia trees into a priority tree in reforestation in Vietnam. The goal of the project is to devote all efforts to turn Vietnam into the "locality" of this plant in Southeast Asia, with an area of ​​5-10 million hectares within 5-10 years.

The immediate objective is to study and create a plant variety suitable to Vietnamese soil, capable of high pest resistance. An applied research center was built to serve the commercial cultivation of this plant. In-depth research to create good quality wood plants, plants that produce good herbs, suitable for intercropping trees.

The project only developed in the whole country after the experiment was successfully planted. Foreign consultants must be available in the pilot phase to quickly create the best varieties. Building a team of experts with a deep knowledge of paulownia tree to serve the trial and development planting in the whole country. Assign planting area and targets. There should be clear regulations on the proper implementation of the tree care process for each household in the area of ​​paulownia plantation .

With paulownia, a green future for Vietnamese forests .

Nguyen Thuy