ISSN 2375-0979
Research Article
African Journal of Wood Science and Forestry ISSN 2375-0979 Vol. 3 (6), pp. 155-164, June, 2015. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
An investigation on the use of woody species by local populations in the classified forests of Dan Kada Dodo and Dan Gado in order to guide their restoration and management
*Dunford Saba1, Aidan Glen2, Leakey Meave3 and Ibrahim Ali3
1College of Agronomy, Abdou Moumouni University, BP 10960, Niamey, Niger.
2Regional Center for Special Education in Agriculture ( CRESA ), Abdou Moumouni University, BP 10960, Niamey, Niger.
3Department of Forestry, School of Agricultural and Agribusiness Studies, Pwani University, Kilifi, Kilifi County, Kenya.
Corresponding author's E-mail: [email protected]
Accepted 07 May, 2015
Abstract
An ethnobotanical survey was carried out on 31 woody species recorded in the protected forests of Dan Kada Dodo and Dan Gado in south-central Niger. Semi-structured interviews with local population were conducted between June and September 2012 in seven bordering villages in which five are predominantly from the Hausa ethnic group and two are from the Fulani ethnic group. A total of 256 people were randomly selected and interviewed. Plant parts and species use-value and preferences were evaluated. Local populations were found to use forest resources for varied and vital needs. The use category wood energy was dominant (20.38%), followed by medicinal uses (19.42%). Wood leaves and roots were the most used parts of the plants. There is significant difference (P<0.01) in use importance between different tree components by the local population. Balanites aegyptiaca (Del), Hyphaene thebaica (L.) Mart., Tamarindus indica (L.), Ziziphus mauritiana (Lam), Sclerocarya birrea (A. Rich) Hochst and Guiera senegalensis (J. F. Gmelin) had high ethnobotanical use-values and were the most preferred by local communities. These important species should be considered for long-term biodiversity conservation and management programmes.
Key words: Quantitative ethnobotany, use category, use-value, multipurpose trees, agroforestry, prioritization, domestication.
Leakey Meave and Ibrahim Ali, Aidan Glen, *Dunford Saba
Page: 155 - 164
https://doi.org/10.46882/AJWSF/1024Research Article
African Journal of Wood Science and Forestry ISSN 2375-0979 Vol. 3 (7), pp. 165-169, July, 2015. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
A study of the performance of two prominent cultivars of Gladiolus grandiflorus and to find the effect of three planting dates on growth, production and quality of flowers
1Taye M.G, 1Negera S.A, 2Iticha Gemada, and 3Tadese F.O
1Department of soil resource and watershed management, Gambella University.
2Department of Geography and Environmental Management, Adama Science and Technology University.
3Department of Natural Resource Management, Gambella University.
Corresponding author's E-mail: [email protected]
Accepted 22 March, 2015
Abstract
The present study was initiated to elucidate the performance of two internationally acclaimed cultivars of Gladiolus grandiflorus, Summer Rose and Friendship and to find the effect of three planting dates on growth, production and quality of flowers. Ethiopia is a grower and exporter of cut flowers but gladiolus has not found a place among the flowers cultivated and traded probably due to inadequacy of planting material and lack of scientific information on the crop. Henceforth, the study was conducted to evaluate two prominent varieties and three planting dates on growth and flowering of gladiolus. The studies revealed that the variety Summer Rose performed excellently well as regards the vegetative and floral characters and is ideal for undertaking cultivation by commercial flower growers for export purposes. The variety Friendship also exhibited good performance in terms of growth and flowering and could be quite suitable for flower production for the Ethiopian domestic markets. Among three planting dates tested, planting corms during mid-April indicated better growth performance and produced good quality flower spikes.
Key words: Gladiolus, varieties, planting dates, growth, flowering.
Negera S.A, Taye M.G, Iticha Gemada and Tadese F.O
Page: 165 - 169
https://doi.org/10.46882/AJWSF/1028Research Article
African Journal of Wood Science and Forestry ISSN 2375-0979 Vol. 3 (8), pp. 178-190, August, 2015. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
A study of variation in F. albida seeds morphological characteristics, germination and early seedling growth
1Wainaina Michuki Mboya, 1Moi Ian and 2James Igei
1Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Egerton University, Njoro, Kenya.
2Department of Crops & Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Egerton University, Njoro, Kenya.
Corresponding author's E-mail: [email protected]
Accepted 22 May, 2015
Abstract
Faidherbia albida is an important agroforestry tree species widely distributed across parklands and agricultural systems in Africa. The demand to scale it up in similar agroecologies outside their natural distribution range in agricultural systems in Eastern Africa is increasing. The demand is caused by the observed enhancement of crop yields under mature F. albida trees canopies. There are around 132 provenances of F. albida in Africa all displaying differences in seed, germination and seedling growth characters and therefore recommending which provenance (s) for where is a big challenge. Therefore understanding seed morphology, germination and seedling growth of some provenances is an important step in helping identify which provenances could be proposed for establishment in Eastern Africa. The purpose of the study was to determine provenance variation in F. albida seeds morphological characteristics, germination and early seedling growth. Six provenances namely Chinzombo, Wagingombe, Taveta, Maseno, Lake Koka and Awassa were used in the study. The study revealed highly significant differences among provenances in all studied parameters except for seedling height at month 2 to 5. Highest variation among provenances in seed traits was observed in seed weight while seed thickness had the lowest variation. Overall mean germination among provenances was 70.2% varying from 32.7 to 93.3%. Significant correlation was found between seed length and collar diameter and between temperature and collar diameter. The observed variation will enable selection of provenances with desired traits for tree improvement and recommendation of specific provenances for different sites. It can be concluded that since the period of this study was short (5 months), further progeny tests should be undertaken on these provenances in the field over a longer period so as to obtain more information on the identified traits before a general conclusion is made.
Key words: Agroforestry systems, germination capacity, germination energy, growth performances, integration, provenance variation, seed characters, seedling traits, selection.
Moi Ian and James Igei, Wainaina Michuki Mboya
Page: 178 - 190
https://doi.org/10.46882/AJWSF/1027Research Article
African Journal of Wood Science and Forestry ISSN 2375-0979 Vol. 3 (9), pp. 198-210, September, 2015. © International Scholars Journals
Full length Research Paper
Depicting forest cover in Grand South of Cameroon: An analysis based on L-band PALSAR 50-m orthorectified imagery
Simon Njeudeng Tenku1*, Xiangming Xiao2 and Jinwei Dong2
1Institute of Agricultural Research for Development (IRAD), Regional Centre for Agricultural Research Nkolbisson (CRRANK), P.O Box 2123, Yaoundé Cameroon
2Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, and Centre for Spatial Analysis, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, USA.
*Corresponding Author: Email: [email protected]
Accepted 14 August, 2015
Abstract
Up-to-date information on forest cover is important for every country. Radar remote sensing technology has considerable potential to acquire cloud-free images in moist tropical forests due to frequent cloud cover. The objective of this study was to investigate the potential of Phased Array Type L-band SAR (PALSAR) imagery for forest cover mapping. 50-m orthorectified mosaic image of 2009 from L-band PALSAR was used for the study. Geo-referenced field photos were taken as ground truth data points and were organized to obtain regions of interest. K-means and decision tree classifications were carried out to discriminate forests from other land covers. Decision tree algorithm was more reliable than K-means and showed an overall accuracy assessment of 91.7 % and Kappa coefficient of 0.86. Decision tree estimated 24.4 million hectares of forests, that is, 12.5 % higher than 21 million hectares reported by ITTO in 2011. L-band PALSAR modelled backscatter output for the difference phase showed a grey tone pattern for forest cover similar to that of decision tree than to K-means; implying a spatial reliability for the modelled phase. Improved PALSAR-based forest cover mapping necessitates data coverage in both rainy and dry seasons.
Keywords: Remote sensing; forest cover mapping; PALSAR 50 m; field photo library; image texture.
*Simon Njeudeng Tenku, Xiangming Xiao and Jinwei Dong
Page: 198 - 210
https://doi.org/10.46882/AJWSF/1026Research Article
African Journal of Wood Science and Forestry ISSN 2375-0979 Vol. 3 (4), pp. 128-135, April, 2015. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
An evaluation of the use of actyva compound fertilizer (N23 P10 K5 3S 2MgO 0.3Zn) on maize farming in the coastal savanna and the humid forest ecologies of Ghana
*Dontoh Adu1, Akomfrah Chris2 and Ampaw Kofi Akosua2
1Department of Silviculture and Forest Management, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ashanti Region, Ghana.
2Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ashanti Region, Ghana.
*Corresponding Author E-mail: [email protected]
Accepted 23 October, 2014
Abstract
Experiments were conducted at Kpong and Kade that, respectively, represent the Coastal Savanna and Humid Forest ecologies of Ghana, to study the response of maize to Actyva fertilizer applications (N23 P10 K5 3S 2MgO 0.3Zn) in the two ecologies. The N23 P10 K5 3S 2MgO 0.3Zn fertilizer was compared with a no fertilizer control and the commonly used fertilizer, 16-6-16 NPK compound fertilizer basal application and top dressing with ammonium sulphate fertilizer or urea. The fertilizers were applied to the maize crop both in single and split applications. Rainfall in Kpong was high and well distributed in the Major Rainy Season but was low and poorly distributed in the Minor Season. At Kade, rainfalls in both the Major and Minor Seasons were high and well distributed. Organic matter content of soils in the Humid Forest ranges from 4.5 to 6% compared with 2% or less in the Coastal Savanna. The Actyva fertilizer applications in the Coastal Savanna gave significantly higher Plant Height, Total Dry Matter at harvest (TDM) and Grain Yield than the unfertilized control. On the other hand, no differences were observed in the Humid Forest, which had growth and yield values that were greater than observed in the Coastal Savanna. Plant Height at tasseling ranged from 317.1 cm to 335.8 cm at Kade, compared with 110 cm to 170.3 cm at Kpong. Grain Yield in the Major Rainy Season in the Humid Forest zone ranged from 3.71 t ha-1 in the control to 4.24 t ha-1 for Actyva at 100 kg N ha-1 (T3), compared with 1.87 t ha-1 to 3.12 t ha-1, respectively, at Kpong. Total Dry Matter was higher under the single fertilizer application than the split application, particularly at the highest levels of fertilizer application (i.e. Actyva at 200 kg N ha-1, T6 and 16-16-16 NPK fertilizer at 100 kg N ha-1, T9). However there was no grain yield difference between the single and split fertilizer applications. The split application of fertilizer thus gave higher Harvest Index than the single application.
Keywords: Coastal savanna ecology, humid forest ecology, actyva fertilizer, major rainy season, minor rainy season, single fertilizer application, split fertilizer application, soil organic matter content.
Akomfrah Chris and Ampaw Kofi Akosua, *Dontoh Adu
Page: 128 - 135
https://doi.org/10.46882/AJWSF/1020Research Article
African Journal of Wood Science and Forestry ISSN 2375-0979 Vol. 3 (5), pp. 136-148, May, 2015. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Mideksa I.A*1, Asfaw A.E2 and Tsegaye Afwerki2
An assessment of traditional use of woody plants and their relationship with rangeland condition parameters in Southeast Ethiopia
1Department of Forestry, Faculty of Agriculture, Adama Science and Technology University, Adama, Ethiopia.
2Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
*Corresponding Author E-mail: [email protected]
Accepted 21 January, 2015
Abstract
Tree play crucial role in arid and semi arid rangeland and pastoralists depend heavily on woody plants for multiple uses. However, there is limited information regarding to woody plants in Rayitu rangeland of South East Ethiopia. The objectives of the study were to document traditional use of woody plants, assess woody plant structure and examine relationship between woody plants density with rangeland condition parameters, bare ground cover, and biomass production. A structured questionnaire (90 households), focused group discussions and field observations were used to gathered data. Data on woody plant composition, density, frequency, canopy cover, plant height, desirability and browsing effect was gathered from 72 belt transects (50mx4m) laid across three grazing types and two elevation zones. The most dominant use of woody plants was for construction (91%), followed by browse (68%) and medicinal purposes (25%). About 80% of the respondents replied the woody plant vegetation cover has declined. Drought (52.8%), deforestation for the expansion of farmland (39.2%) and construction purposes (26.8%) were the major causes. A total of 45 woody species were identified in the grazing area. The mean density of woody species (plants/ha) were (p <0.05) highest in communal (2654) and in enclosure grazing sites (2668) than in benchmark (2042). Both the household and the field vegetation studies confirmed that communal and enclosure rangelands are encroached by bush. Acacia tortilis, Acacia bussie and Commiphora erythraea were the encroaching woody plants in grazing sites. Most of the woody species had the highest abundance in the height class > 2–5 m regardless of grazing type and altitude belt. Emphasis on conservation of desirable plants and control of bush encroachment through selective thinning are recommended.
Keywords: Woody species, bush encroachment, density, multipurpose plants, southeast Ethiopia.
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*Mideksa I.A, Asfaw A.E and Tsegaye Afwerki
Page: 136 - 148
https://doi.org/10.46882/AJWSF/1021