Sub-Saharan Africa

Suitability of the Taungya System at North Kilimanjaro Forest Plantation, Tanzania

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This study analyses a taungya system in a north Kilimanjaro plantation forest in Tanzania. This study assesses the costs and revenues resulting from this system and the impacts to agriculture.

Research Goals & Methods

Field research was conducted to assess survival, food crop yield, financial feasability.

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Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration: The Niger Experience

BACKGROUND

This paper reviews the farmer managed natural regeneration (FMNR) program introduced in the Maradi region of Niger around 1983 to restore degraded parts of the lands. FMNR was started in response to past failures of restoration projects that were modeled for temperate climates and in societies and cultures different from those in West Africa. This prompted the use of more conventional traditional methods of regeneration from re-sprouts of felled trees without running expensive nurseries.

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The Restoration of Degraded Forests in Ghana: A Case Study in the Offinso Forest District

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This study investigates how density and diversity of key native tree saplings differ in different plantation stand types in plantations adjacent to a degraded forest reserve in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. The influence of overstory species composition on natural regeneration of single exotic (Cedrella odorata and Tectona grandis) and mixed stands (Khaya grandifoliola, Antiaris toxicaria, Ceiba pentandra, Triplochiton scleroxylon, Terminalia superb, Terminalia ivorensis and Anopyxis klaineana) of native species was assessed.

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Forest Succession in Kibale National Park, Uganda: Implications for Forest Restoration and Management

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This sudy examines forest succession in 4 plots in former grasslands adjacent to mature forests in Kibale National Park, Ngogo, Uganda. These plots were located in areas protected from fire for .58,25,9 and 30 years for plots 1,2, 3, and 4 respectively.

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The Socio-Economic Effects of Ghana's Government Afforestation Project on Beneficiary Farmers in the Dormaa District of the Brong Ahafo region of Ghana

Background

Forests play a central role in Ghana's global economy and local livelihoods, yet degradation and overharvesting continue to be an issue. In response, the Ghana government implemented an afforstation program in 2001 to restock forests and help alleviate poverty. 

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Effect of Nursery Practices on Seedling Survival and Growth of Selected Miombo Tree Species, Morogoro, Tanzania

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This study investigates the effects of shade, polythene tube diameter and height, and soil mixtures on seedling survival and growth of five Miombo tree species in Morogoro, Tanzania.

Research Goals & Methods

For each species, two nursery experiments were carried out. That is a) degree of shading, pot diameter and height trial, which adopted a split-split plot design with three replications and b) nursery soil mixtures adopted a completely randomized block design with three replications. 

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A 10-year evaluation of the functional basis for regeneration habitat preference of trees in an African evergreen forest

Background

This study reports on the growth and survival of experimentally planted tree seedlings in the understory over a 10-year period in a moist evergreen forest at Kibale National Park in Western Uganda. 

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Involving Local Farmers in Rehabilitation of Degraded Tropical Forests: Some Lessons from Ghana

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This study is an analysis of  a community-based tree planting project in Ghana using the taungya systems with indigenous trees. The project was sponsored by the Forestry Research Institute of Ghana (FORIG), the government of Ghana, and the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO). The goal of the tree planting in the project was to improve forest rehabilitation as well as local livelihoods.

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Recovery of Plant Species Richness and Composition in Abandoned Forest Settlement Area in Kenya

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This paper examines natural regeneration of tree species in a former forest village settlement that had been cultivated and abandoned in Mau forest, Kenya. Following 19 years of abandonment, the site consists of 3 zones of recovery due to different degrees of degradation before abandonment, continued grazing, selective logging and firewood collection. The zones are grass zone (GZ), transition zone I (TZ I) and TZ II and secondary forests (SF).

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Expediting Reforestation in Tropical Forests Grasslands: Distance and Isolation from Seed Sources in Plantations

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This study investigates the potential use of tree plantations to facilitate regeneration of indigenous trees in successionally arrested grassland. It focuses on how characteristics of the plantations and native species can determine the type of regeneration occurring in Kibale National Park, Uganda.

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