Comparative Analysis of Understorey Floristic Diversity and Carbon Stocks in Poorly and Intensively Managed Tectona grandis Plantations
The role of forest plantations in carbon sequestration and biodiversity conservation is a topical issue among researchers and policymakers globally. This study compares understorey floristic diversity and carbon stock of a 15-year-old monoculture Tectona grandis plantation under intensive and poor m...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2020-01-01
|
| Series: | International Journal of Forestry Research |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/8868824 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850224540976676864 |
|---|---|
| author | A. Asare W. A. Asante N. Owusu-Prempeh E. Opuni Frimpong D. Adusu |
| author_facet | A. Asare W. A. Asante N. Owusu-Prempeh E. Opuni Frimpong D. Adusu |
| author_sort | A. Asare |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The role of forest plantations in carbon sequestration and biodiversity conservation is a topical issue among researchers and policymakers globally. This study compares understorey floristic diversity and carbon stock of a 15-year-old monoculture Tectona grandis plantation under intensive and poor management in a dry semideciduous ecological zone of Ghana. The study employed a nested plot design with twelve (12) 50 m × 50 m plots laid at 50 m intervals along a diagonal line transect on both study sites for the sampling of Tectona grandis trees. Understorey trees, shrubs, and climbers were sampled within 10 m × 10 m subplot, whilst grasses and herbs were sampled within 1 m × 1 m quadrats. The study revealed a significantly higher understorey species diversity in the intensively managed plantation (Shannon index; species richness) compared with that of the poorly managed plantation. Similarly, total biomass (189.80 ± 1.846 Mg/ha) and carbon stock (94.90 ± 0.92 Mg C/ha) in the intensively managed plantation were observed to be significantly higher than the poorly managed plantation (biomass: 138.54 ± 3.70 Mg/ha; carbon stock: 64.27 ± 1.85 Mg C/ha), whiles the species composition between the two sites was different (Sorenson’s similarity index: 0.47). The study, therefore, concludes that silvicultural forest management interventions improve the understorey floristic diversity and carbon stock in monoculture plantations. Consequently, the study recommends the adoption of silvicultural interventions in plantation management in Ghana to improve their contributions to carbon sequestration and floristic diversity conservation. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-59ea69ee99da4575a965fa3d7becc0ca |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1687-9368 1687-9376 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2020-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Forestry Research |
| spelling | doaj-art-59ea69ee99da4575a965fa3d7becc0ca2025-08-20T02:05:35ZengWileyInternational Journal of Forestry Research1687-93681687-93762020-01-01202010.1155/2020/88688248868824Comparative Analysis of Understorey Floristic Diversity and Carbon Stocks in Poorly and Intensively Managed Tectona grandis PlantationsA. Asare0W. A. Asante1N. Owusu-Prempeh2E. Opuni Frimpong3D. Adusu4Department of Environmental Management, University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR), UENR P.O. Box 214 Sunyani, Sunyani, GhanaDepartment of Silviculture and Forest Management, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, GhanaDepartment of Forest Resources Technology, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, GhanaDepartment of Environmental Management, University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR), UENR P.O. Box 214 Sunyani, Sunyani, GhanaDepartment of Environmental Management, University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR), UENR P.O. Box 214 Sunyani, Sunyani, GhanaThe role of forest plantations in carbon sequestration and biodiversity conservation is a topical issue among researchers and policymakers globally. This study compares understorey floristic diversity and carbon stock of a 15-year-old monoculture Tectona grandis plantation under intensive and poor management in a dry semideciduous ecological zone of Ghana. The study employed a nested plot design with twelve (12) 50 m × 50 m plots laid at 50 m intervals along a diagonal line transect on both study sites for the sampling of Tectona grandis trees. Understorey trees, shrubs, and climbers were sampled within 10 m × 10 m subplot, whilst grasses and herbs were sampled within 1 m × 1 m quadrats. The study revealed a significantly higher understorey species diversity in the intensively managed plantation (Shannon index; species richness) compared with that of the poorly managed plantation. Similarly, total biomass (189.80 ± 1.846 Mg/ha) and carbon stock (94.90 ± 0.92 Mg C/ha) in the intensively managed plantation were observed to be significantly higher than the poorly managed plantation (biomass: 138.54 ± 3.70 Mg/ha; carbon stock: 64.27 ± 1.85 Mg C/ha), whiles the species composition between the two sites was different (Sorenson’s similarity index: 0.47). The study, therefore, concludes that silvicultural forest management interventions improve the understorey floristic diversity and carbon stock in monoculture plantations. Consequently, the study recommends the adoption of silvicultural interventions in plantation management in Ghana to improve their contributions to carbon sequestration and floristic diversity conservation.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/8868824 |
| spellingShingle | A. Asare W. A. Asante N. Owusu-Prempeh E. Opuni Frimpong D. Adusu Comparative Analysis of Understorey Floristic Diversity and Carbon Stocks in Poorly and Intensively Managed Tectona grandis Plantations International Journal of Forestry Research |
| title | Comparative Analysis of Understorey Floristic Diversity and Carbon Stocks in Poorly and Intensively Managed Tectona grandis Plantations |
| title_full | Comparative Analysis of Understorey Floristic Diversity and Carbon Stocks in Poorly and Intensively Managed Tectona grandis Plantations |
| title_fullStr | Comparative Analysis of Understorey Floristic Diversity and Carbon Stocks in Poorly and Intensively Managed Tectona grandis Plantations |
| title_full_unstemmed | Comparative Analysis of Understorey Floristic Diversity and Carbon Stocks in Poorly and Intensively Managed Tectona grandis Plantations |
| title_short | Comparative Analysis of Understorey Floristic Diversity and Carbon Stocks in Poorly and Intensively Managed Tectona grandis Plantations |
| title_sort | comparative analysis of understorey floristic diversity and carbon stocks in poorly and intensively managed tectona grandis plantations |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/8868824 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT aasare comparativeanalysisofunderstoreyfloristicdiversityandcarbonstocksinpoorlyandintensivelymanagedtectonagrandisplantations AT waasante comparativeanalysisofunderstoreyfloristicdiversityandcarbonstocksinpoorlyandintensivelymanagedtectonagrandisplantations AT nowusuprempeh comparativeanalysisofunderstoreyfloristicdiversityandcarbonstocksinpoorlyandintensivelymanagedtectonagrandisplantations AT eopunifrimpong comparativeanalysisofunderstoreyfloristicdiversityandcarbonstocksinpoorlyandintensivelymanagedtectonagrandisplantations AT dadusu comparativeanalysisofunderstoreyfloristicdiversityandcarbonstocksinpoorlyandintensivelymanagedtectonagrandisplantations |