Within the framework of Project AIN 8748, a training course on “Inventory and Assessment of Plantation Forest Stock and Quality for Smallholders” was held from November 25–26, 2025, at the Quynh Tam Agricultural Cooperative, Nghe An Province. The course was directly instructed by Mr. Nguyen The Can, a silviculture expert.
The training aimed to equip forest owners and stakeholders with fundamental knowledge and skills to assess the growth, development, and stock of plantations—specifically hybrid acacia (Acacia hybrid) and mangium (Acacia mangium)—under the Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) and Forest Certification (FC) groups of the Quynh Tam Cooperative. This enables participants to predict timber yields at harvest age, determine market supply capacity, calculate investment efficiency, and select the optimal harvesting time.
The curriculum combined classroom theory with field practice. In the classroom, the instructor introduced concepts and methods for plantation forest inventory, including how to establish sample plots and measure basic indicators. In the field, participants were divided into groups to directly establish plots, measure trees, record data, and collect information from forest blocks representing various age classes. Subsequently, participants were guided through office-based data processing to calculate forest stock and growth rates.
Participants included representatives of forest owners, logging teams, monitoring teams, and the Project Management Board of Quynh Tam Cooperative. The training followed a “hands-on” approach, ensuring that participants could easily understand and apply the techniques directly to their production activities.
As a result, the class successfully practiced measurements and developed stock data for five sample plots across forest ages of 2, 3.5, and 4 years. Initial findings showed that: 4-year-old plantations averaged approximately 115 tons/ha, 3.5-year-old plantations reached 71 tons/ha, and 2-year-old plantations (with proper care and fertilization) reached 10.7 tons/ha. The common planting density among households ranged from 5,200 to 5,500 trees/ha.
Despite challenges posed by natural disasters and the impacts of Typhoon No. 10, which caused significant damage to middle-aged plantations and limited the selection of field sites, the training achieved its core objectives. The results serve as a vital basis for Quynh Tam Cooperative to develop reference materials on plantation stock by age class, supporting households in production planning, harvesting, and timber trade, toward efficient and sustainable forest management as targeted by Project AIN 8748.
