Changes in plant species composition within a planted forest in a deciduous agroecosystem in Ghana

Abstract

Plantations provide a micro-climate that can facilitate the regeneration of other forest species.Often exotic species have been tested for these kinds of functions. To determine the potential for indigenous trees as plantation species for their ability to foster forest species regeneration, this study was undertaken in a mixed indigenous plantation stand. Understories of the stand at 8 years of age were surveyed for plant diversity. The species richness increased by 24% per 1,000 m 2 between 2001 and 2008 and the number of families represented increased by 48%. The Shannon Diversity and Simpson Index values confirm a greater diversity 8 years after the plantation was established. The most abundant species in study plots were Chromolaena odorata and Cedrela odorata, which collectively represent about 54% of all species identified in the plots. The most species-rich families were Fabaceae and Euphorbiaceae representing 31% of the total species recorded. Asteraceae and Meliaceae were the two most dominant families, which collectively represent about 55% of all species identified in the plots. 47 forest tree species were found per 1,000 m 2 but those classified as 'saplings' occurred in low densities. The 47 tree species included pioneer species such as Entandrophragma angolensis, Milicia excelsa, and Ceiba pentandra. Growth rates of planted species were differed, with half of the tested species having similar growth capacity to the exotic species. Generally, planted indigenous species enhanced habitats for other forest tree species in degraded sites. The observed growth of indigenous species, if planted and protected, shows that they may help in biodiversity recovery within agricultural landscapes.

Vegetation assessment of native tree species in Broussonetia papyrifera‐dominated degraded forest landscape in southern Ghana

“…). The species richness and diversity values for the three plantations and the farmland habitat are also comparable with values reported for other native species plantations and Taungya farms in southern Ghana (Appiah ; Akoto et al. ).…”

“…To deal with forest degradation, both government and private developers have initiated rehabilitation and restoration measures, including plantations of native and exotic species (Addo‐Danso et al. ; Appiah ; Akoto et al. ) and the Modified Taungya System (MTS – an agroforestry practice where degraded forest lands are allocated to farmers to inter‐plant trees with agricultural crops for a period of time; Agyeman et al.…”

Enrichment of Central African logged forests with high-value tree species: testing a new approach to regenerating degraded forests

“…In comparison to other plantations of the same age (maximum 10 years), our estimates of mean annual diameter increment were (i) higher for T. scleroxylon (Lapido et al 1951;Dupuy & Koua 1993), (ii) similar for T. superba (Tariel & Groulez 1958;Appiah 2012), and (iii) slightly higher for L. alata (Biwolé et al 2012). For most of the other species, the values we observed were similar or slightly lower than those reported in other studies (Dupuy & Koua 1993;Koumba Zaou et al 1998;Onyekwelu 2007;Addo-Danso 2010).…”

Effects of anthropogenic disturbance on tree population structure and diversity of a rain forest biosphere reserve in Ghana, West Africa

“…Enrichment planting (Lamprecht, ; Doucet et al ., ) could be encouraged as well to replace lost species. However, given the inappropriateness of exotic species for replanting degraded lands in Ghana (McCullough, Decher & Kpelle, ), selective use of native species will be preferred to exotic species (Appiah, ). Selective use of native species will be in concordance with the Forestry and Wildlife policy of Ghana (Ministry of Land and Forestry, ).…”