Effect of coppicing level and Season on stock volume and new sprouting of Eucalyptus globulus trees in the highland part of Northern Ethiopia

Abstract

This study was conducted in the Eucalyptus globulus tree growing area of Wogera district, North Gondar, Ethiopia. The results showed that there was a significant difference in the mean yield/volume of Eucalyptus globulus, ranging from 78.9 ± 51.3 m3 ha-1 (mean ± SD) to 148.6 ± 54.7 m3 ha-1. Coppicing levels, interaction of season and coppicing levels were statistically significant at p < 0.001 and p < 0.05, respectively. We also found that there was a significant difference in the mean basal area of Eucalyptus globulus, ranging from 15.5 ± 7.7 m2 ha-1 (mean ± SD) to 21.3 ± 6.7 m2 ha-1. Coppicing levels, interaction of season and coppicing levels were statistically significant at p < 0.009 and p < 0.006, respectively. The number of trees per hectare varied from 10682 to 15135 trees ha-1. First coppicing had the highest number of trees per hectare with 18400 trees ha-1, followed by second coppicing level 15135 trees ha-1 and third coppicing level 11546 trees ha-1. The number of trees trend showed a decreasing pattern with increasing the level of coppicing. The lowest numbers of trees were found in not coppiced trees. The mean diameter varied from 3.5 ± 0.3 (mean ± SD) to 4.1 ± 0.5 with the first coppicing level and third coppicing levels, respectively. The results indicated that the mean number of re-sprouts/shoots of the study area varied with different coppicing levels. The number of re-sprouts/shoots increased with the increasing of coppicing level. The highest and the lowest number of sprouts/shoots were Mean 309 ± 87.5 trees ha-1 and 223 ± 28.1 in third and the first coppicing levels, respectively.