Journal of Forest and Environmental Science

Institute of Forest Science, kangwon National University (강원대학교 산림과학연구소)
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Some Proposed Indices of Structural Regeneration of Secondary Forests and Their Relation to Soil Properties

  • Received : 2020.12.27
  • Accepted : 2021.08.31
  • Published : 2021.12.31
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Abstract

Studies that relate the structure of tropical regrowth vegetation to soil properties are generally lacking in the literature. This study proposes three indices for assessing the structural regeneration of secondary forests. They are: (1) the tree diameter class, (2) the plant life form and (3) the woody/herbaceous plants ratio indices. They were applied to assess the regeneration status of forest regrowth vegetation (aged 1-10 years), derived savanna regrowth vegetation in south western Nigeria, and to secondary forests in different stages of succession in Columbia and Venezuela, Bolivia, Mexico in South and Central America and semi-arid savanna in Ethiopia and seasonal deciduous forest successional stages in India. In all the cases, the indices increased with increasing age of regrowth vegetation and hence, with increasing structural complexity of regenerating vegetation. The tree diameter class index increased from 32.1% in a 9-year secondary forest to 69.0% in an 80-year-old secondary forest in Columbia and Venezuela and from 0.4% in a 1-year fallow to 20.9% in 10-year regrowth vegetation in southwestern Nigeria. In semi-arid savanna in northern Ethiopia, the woody/herbaceous plants ratio index increased from 18.1% in a 5-year protected grazing enclosure to 75.1% in 15-year protected enclosure, relative to the status of 20-year enclosure. The indices generally had correlations of 0.6-0.90 with species richness and Simpson's/Margalef's species diversity, implying that they are appropriate measures of ecosystem development over time. The proposed indices also had strong and positive correlations with soil organic carbon and nutrients. They are therefore, significant indicators of fertility status.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

The plant life form index presented in this paper was proposed by the author in his Ph.D. thesis that was submitted to the University of Ibadan. I wish to thank Professor O. Areola of the Department of Geography, University of Ibadan, for supervising my doctoral research. I also thank Mr. Joseph Olumoyegun for drawing the figure.

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