Forest Protection and Control Practices of Upland Farmers in Ilocos Sur

Abstract

Forests are major components of the global carbon cycle. The forest condition has deteriorated for many reasons which vary from one region to another. It is at this context that this study was conceived and which aimed to discover the forest protection and control practices employed by upland farmers in the province of Ilocos Sur. The study made use ofthe descriptive method of research and quota sampling technique. The data were gathered from twenty (20) upland farmers from each of the municipalities of: Suyo, Sugpon, Alilem, Quirino, Galimuyod, Sigay, Burgos, Salcedo, Del Pilar, Cervantes, Nagbukel, Banayoyo, Lidlidda, and San Emilio, Ilocos Sur.The data gathering tool was the questionnaire and data treatment techniques were the frequency and percentage method. The practices of upland fanners relative to forest protection are planting of trees at the land edges or cementing the land edges and performing riprapping, fencing, cover cropping, terracing, and ditchmaking to avoid land erosion. To prevent big fires in the forest, the upland farmers clean its surroundings and to be sure of less fire proliferation.