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Volume 19 No 2 (2009)
CONTENTS
A.S. Ondo-Azi, C. Ella Missang And T. Silou
Classification of Dacryodes edulis (G. Don) H.J. Lam by using 99
morphological and physical characteristics of the fruits:
statistical approach
Lalisa Alemayehu Duguma, Herbert Hager And Michael Gruber
The community-state forest interaction in Menagesha Suba 111
area, Ethiopia: the challenges and possible solutions
Mohammad Shaheed Hossain Chowdhury, Md. Abdul Halim,
Nur Muhammed Masao Koike and Shampa Biswas
Indigenous knowledge in natural resource management by 129
the hill people: a case study of the Mro tribe in Bangladesh
A. Karthikeyan, B. Deeparaj and P. Nepolean
Reforestation in Bauxite mine spoils with Casuarina equisetifolia 153
Frost. and beneficial microbes
RESEARCH PAPERS
Kindu Mekonnen, Gerhard Glatzel and Monika Sieghardt
Diversity of farm forestry tree and shrub species, and 167
their socio-economic and soil fertility improving roles
in the Central Highlands of Ethiopia
Idris Musa Adam. Mohamed El Mukhtar Ballal and
Kamal E.M. Fadl
Effect of tapping direction in relation to sun light on 185
gum arabic Acacia senegal (L.) Willd. Yields in
North Kordofan State, Sudan
J. M. S. Rawat, Y. K. Tomar and Vidyawati Rawat
Effect of pretreatments on Myrica esculenta D.Don (kaphal) 191
seed germination and seedling performance
ABSTRACTS
Classification of Dacryodes edulis (G. Don) H.J. Lam by using morphological and physical characteristics of the fruits: a statistical approach
A.S. Ondo-Azi, C. Ella Missang and T. Silou
Abstract
Safous (2270 fruits) picked on 227 safou trees from Franceville (southeast Gabon) were studied for their morphological and physical characteristics including fruit length, fruit width, fruit volume, fruit mass, pulp thickness, pulp mass, specific gravity and pulp mass/fruit mass ratio. All these characteristics showed continuous and considerable variation, the highest coefficients of variation being recorded for fruit mass (36%), fruit volume (39%) and pulp mass (45%). Data were treated by multivariate statistics tools. Principal Components Analysis (PCA) permitted to select three variables (fruit mass, fruit length and fruit width) for safous classification. Three safous classes were defined by Ascending Hierarchical Clustering (AHC) and these three classes were confirmed by Factorial Discriminant Analysis (FDA) with 94.7% of the population correctly classified. One class is composed of small-size fruits and the other two classes, relatively near, corresponded to medium-size fruits. A model to classify new trees is proposed.
The community-state forest interaction in Menagesha Suba area, Ethiopia: the challenges and possible solutions
Running title: Community-state forest interaction
Lalisa Alemayehu Duguma, Herbert Hager and Michael Gruber
Abstract
This study investigates the interaction between the local community and a state forest in Menagesha Suba area. It explores how the interaction is affecting the forest and what the underlying causes are. The work is based on data collected using a questionnaire survey, participatory rural appraisal and direct measurements. It was found that there is disagreement between the forest managers and the surrounding community. As a result, illegal interventions like cutting of trees, grazing, and farming in the forest area are expanding, and together are retarding the development and conservation of the state forest. The root of the problem lies on the state forest expansion in 1984 and the limitation of community use right since then. Population growth, poverty and an unconvincing forest management style were identified as the subsidiary factors exacerbating the forest encroachment. Community participation in the forest management process may lessen the problem.
Indigenous knowledge in natural resource management
by the hill people: a case study of the Mro Tribe in Bangladesh
Mohammad Shaheed Hossain Chowdhury, Md. Abdul Halim, Nur Muhammed Masao Koike and Shampa Biswas
ABSTRACT
The Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHTs) region of Bangladesh, covering a considerable portion of ‘hill forest type’ of the country, is rich in biological diversity; in terms of flora, fauna and ethnicity. A number of aboriginal and tribal communities enrich the cultural heritage of the region. Thanchi upazilla (sub-district) of Bandarban district in the CHTs is the remotest forested area where some tribal groups still lead their subsistence life depending fully on natural resources. This exploratory study was conducted to document indigenous knowledge (IK) employed by the Mro tribe in their everyday activities, highlighting traditional utilization of forests and other natural resources. A total of 36 farms were assessed using different participatory appraisals through semi-structured questionnaire. The respondents were peasants who live on the hilltops in a pristine environment, inside the high ranges of hills and dense forest almost totally beyond the eye-sight of the outer civilized society. They developed IK of their own in practising shifting cultivation (Jhum) and other land use systems along with the utilization of natural resources. In most cases, such IK has become key factors in the sound management of their forest resources with sustainable utilization of biodiversity. But most of the wealth of their IK is being threatened by the settlement of the non-tribal people in the CHTs region. The life style and ethno-forestry perception regulated by IK governing the daily activities of the ethnic communities need to be explored in order to conserve them and to assess the possibilities for conserving the forest resources by utilizing such traditional indigenous concepts.
Reforestation in Bauxite mine spoils with Casuarina equisetifolia Frost. and beneficial microbes
A. Karthikeyan, B. Deeparaj and P. Nepolean
Abstract
Reforestation in mine spoils difficult because the mine spoils are low or lack in beneficial microbial populations. To overcome this problem a field experiment was conducted on bauxite mine spoils with Casuarina equisetifolia Frost and beneficial microbial inoculants (arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, Frankia and phosphobacterium) for reforestation. Under nursery experiments the cultured arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi Glomus aggregatum Schenck & Smith emend. Koske, Phosphobacterium (PSB) and root nodule extract of Frankia have inoculated to C. equisetifolia individually and combinations at nursery level. The mine wastes of bauxite called bauxite mine spoils were collected and used as potting media to grow C. equisetifolia seedlings along with these microbial inoculants. From the nursery experiments it was found that the AM fungi and other beneficial microbial inoculants improved the seedlings in terms of bio mass and growth. The seedlings thereafter were transplanted at bauxite mine spoils and the growth and survival of seedlings were monitored for two years. In field conditions, AM fungi, PSB and Frankia inoculated seedlings of C. equisetifolia showed 90 to 100% survival over the control seedlings. Their growth was also significantly higher than the control seedlings. The nutrient uptake (N, P, K) was also increased in the trees inoculated with AM fungi, Frankia and PSB. From this study it was understood that C. equisetifolia inoculated with beneficial microbes is a suitable tree species for reforestation in bauxite mine spoils.
Research Papers
Diversity of farm forestry tree and shrub species, and their socio-economic and soil fertility improving roles in the central highlands of Ethiopia
Kindu Mekonnen, Gerhard Glatzel and Monika Sieghardt
Abstract
Research work was carried out in Galessa-Jeldu areas from 2004 to 2006 to;-
· identify traditional farm forestry practices in different farm niches;
· rank the tree and shrub species found in some farm forest practices in terms of their fodder value and soil improvement potential;
· evaluate the nutrient content and fodder nutritional value of the foliage of selected tree and shrub species, and
· assess the socio-economic importance of the species in some of the farm forest practices
Traditional farm forest practices and the tree composition of some of the practices were identified through participatory rural appraisal techniques (PRA). Fodder lots, woodlots, contour hedges, scattered trees on croplands, live fences and home garden were the traditional farm forest practices in the study areas. Local farmers also helped to rank the fodder and soil improving tree and shrub species. Soil samples were collected under the farmers’ top ranked indigenous species and analyzed for various soil attributes, and plant samples were collected to determine their macronutrient contents, fodder nutritional parameters and other green biomass quality indicators.
Hagenia abyssinica, followed by Dombeya torrida and Buddlejia polystachya were the three top ranked tree species for animal fodder. Farmers selected Senecio gigas followed by H. abyssinica and D. torrida for soil fertility improvement. The green biomass of S. gigas was rich in important plant nutrients. Chamaecytisus palmensis, D. torrida and B. polystachya had a significantly higher N content than H. abyssinica. The foliage from H. abyssinica and D. torrida had a relatively low content of chemicals that lower palatability and dry matter digestibility. All these species can play an important role in soil management in high altitude areas where soil erosion and nutrient depletion are critical problems.
Effect of tapping direction in relation to sun light on gum arabic Acacia senegal (L.) Willd. Yields in North Kordofan State, Sudan
Idris Musa Adam, Mohamed El Mukhtar Ballal and Kamal E.M. Fadl
Abstract
This study was carried out at El Demokeya Forest Reserve over two seasons (2006/2007 and 2007/2008) to determine the effect of tapping direction in relation to sun light on the yield of gum arabic from Acacia senegal. A randomized complete block design experiment with three replications was conducted. The treatments consisted of tapping on the eastern, western, northern and southern sides of the tree. The number of trees per treatment was 10 and 15 in the first and second seasons, respectively. A highly significant difference between tapping direction (P≤ 0.001) was obtained in all pickings except the third picking in the first season and the first picking in the second season. The gum yield increased by 60 % when the tapping was on the eastern and western sides towards direct sun light. The combined analysis showed significant differences (P≤ 0.05 and P≤ 0.001) on total gum yield (g\tree) and the number of trees yielding gum. Therefore, tapping of Acacia senegal tree on the eastern and western sides is recommended.
Effect of pretreatments on Myrica esculenta D.Don (Kaphal) seed germination and seedling performance
*J. M. S. Rawat, Y. K. Tomar and Vidyawati Rawat
Abstract
Seeds of M. esculenta exhibit dormancy that hampers, rapid and uniform germination. To overcome this dormancy, seeds of this species were pretreated with mechanical scarification by slicing off the end of the seed, soaking in sulphuric acid for 4, 8 and 12 minutes and soaking in hot water for 24, 48 and 72 hours. Some scarified seeds were treated with two concentrations of GA3: 50 and 100 ppm. All pretreatments improved the germination capacity of seeds, the highest being after mechanical scarification with soaking in GA3100 ppm (85.00 %); next highest germination was with the sulphuric acid and hot water soaking treatments. The maximum survival percent (60.00 %) of seedling was associated with 48 hrs hot water soaking. The maximum shoot length (9.50 cm) occurred with GA3 50 ppm treatment of scarified seeds, whereas maximum root length (14.68 cm), number of leaves (11.50), shoot dry weight (0.19 g) and root dry weight (0.26 g) were found with GA3 100 ppm. Soaking in hot water for 48 hours is the treatment recommended as being cheap and easy to apply as scarification results in a high level of damage to the seeds.
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