Gelam conservation, prospects and silviculture management

• Main Authors: Daing Mohamad Nafiz, Daing Idris, Esqander, Johannes, Ruhil Amal, Azmuddin
• Format: Conference or Workshop Item
• Language: English
• Published: Penerbit UiTM 2020
• Subjects: HD Industries. Land use. Labor
• Online Access: http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/29863/1/Gelam%20conservation%2C%20prospects%20and%20silviculture%20management.pdf; http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/29863/

Melaleuca or better known as Gelam (in Malay) can be found in South East Asia and Australia. In Malaysia, Gelam forest is little known, and its numbers are declining due to human activities. A notable number of Gelam forests can be found in the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia, but Gelam can actually live in other areas of Malaysia. Gelam is said to be extremely resilient, with excellent attributes like it can withstand frequent flooding, acidic and low nutrient soils, and mild fires. Many types of Gelam has showy flowers that produce honey and leaves containing fragrant oils that contain a significant source of therapeutic phytochemicals that may lead to the development of beneficial drugs for human. In Australia and Indonesia, Gelam is well known for its medicinal purposes, and Gelam leaves are distilled to extract essential oil that is highly valuable not only because of its ingredients but, more importantly, it helps to accelerate economic development. For long, Gelam has been neglected in Malaysia and its commercial values are underestimated because not many studies have been conducted about its medicinal advantages and economic potential in Malaysia. The silvicultural systems employed for the production of essential oils from plantations fall broadly into two categories, which are high-cost but high-return (HCHR) systems and lower cost but also lower return (LCLR) system. LCLR system might likely be the best silvicultural system that can be adopted in Malaysia, where Gelam plantations must provide a multitude of services for sustainable development, such as inter-row cropping, rather than oil production alone. There are many Agarwood plantations in Malaysia because of its high economic value and Gelam also offers excellent potential to yield high profit. This paper contributes by providing an overview of Gelam conservation, economic prospects of Gelam’s essential oil-based products and Gelam silviculture management based on the authors’ experience.