Tree growth and mortality of 42 timber species in central Africa

[en] Tree growth and mortality are two central processes in the functioning of mixed and structurally complex moist tropical forests. The outcome of these processes is usually predicted using estimates of tree growth and mortality rates. Nevertheless, the accurate estimates of these parameters are still scarce which impedes our ability to predict forest evolution and build reliable management plans. To partly fill this gap, we carried out the permanent monitoring of 21,180 trees belonging to 42 species that are exploited for timber production in central Africa. Besides reporting new species-specific estimates of diameter increments and mortality rates, we aimed to evaluate how tree growth varies with tree size and logging history. Additionally, we discussed our results in regards to the reference values of diameter increments, mortality rates and minimum cutting diameters that are used to build forest management plans. Diameter increment was found to significantly depend on tree size for the majority of the studied species. The significant relationships between diameter increment and tree size were mostly hump-back shaped. The trees with a diameter close to or lower than the reference minimum cutting diameter were growing faster than the average. Moreover, we found that tree growth was reduced during 1-2 years after timber exploitation and then spurred during at least 5 years. Such tree growth response to logging was nevertheless species-specific. This study provided new estimates of tree growth and mortality rates that could help performing more accurate forest projections and establish sustainable management plans.

Disciplines :

Environmental sciences & ecology

Author, co-author :

Ligot, Gauthier ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département GxABT > Gestion des ressources forestières et des milieux naturels

Gourlet-Fleury, Sylvie

Daïnou, Kasso ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département GxABT > Gestion des ressources forestières et des milieux naturels

Gillet, Jean-François ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département GxABT > Gestion des ressources forestières et des milieux naturels

Forni, Eric

Doucet, Jean-Louis ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département GxABT > Gestion des ressources forestières et des milieux naturels

Language :

English

Title :

Tree growth and mortality of 42 timber species in central Africa

Publication date :

01 February 2022

Journal title :

Forest Ecology and Management

ISSN :

0378-1127

eISSN :

1872-7042

Publisher :

Elsevier, Netherlands

Volume :

505

Pages :

1-13

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Funders :

FFEM - Fonds Français pour l'Environnement Mondial

Commentary :

Supplementary material (estimates of tree growth and mortality rates per species and treatment as well as supplementary analyses) to this article can be found online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.20 21.119889. Data and scripts are also available at https://doi.org/10.1 8167/DVN1/EBN15.

Available on ORBi :

since 02 September 2021

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