Rubber tapping is the process by which the latex is collected from a rubber tree. An incision is made in the tree's bark, which cuts through the latex vessels, from which the product then flows. Timing of the incision must be planned within the planting cycle to optimise the latex yield.
Rubber tapping is an environmentally attractive land use. Jungle rubber is essentially old secondary forest, strongly resembling the primary forest. Its species' richness is about half that of the primary forest. Michon and de Foresta (1994) found that sample jungle rubber sites contained 92 tree species, 97 lianas, and 28 epiphytes compared to 171, 89, and 63, respectively, in the primary forest, and compared to 1, 1, and 2 in monoculture estates. Thiollay (1995) estimated that jungle rubber supports about 137 bird species, against 241 in the primary forest itself. Jungle rubber is expected to resemble primary forest in its hydrological functions. Monoculture rubber tree plantations have far less of an environmental impact than other crops, such as coffee or especially oil palm.
Famous quotes containing the word rubber:
“First, are you our sort of a person?
Do you wear
A glass eye, false teeth or a crutch,
A brace or a hook,
Rubber breasts or a rubber crotch,
Stitches to show something’s missing?”
—Sylvia Plath (1932–1963)