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Alternative silvicultural stand density management options for Chilimo dry afro-montane mixed natural uneven-aged forest using species proportion in Central Highlands, Ethiopia

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Abstract

Chilimo forest is one of the few remnants of dry afro-montane mixed uneven-aged natural forest located in Central Highlands of Ethiopia. Also it has been during the last century one of the most exploited and disturbed forest in the country. Stand density management diagram (SDMD) is a stand-level model that graphically illustrates the relationships between wood yield, density and mortality throughout all stages of stand development. SDMD is a useful tool for designing, displaying and evaluating alternative density management regimes for both even-aged and uneven-aged forest stands. However, information in this regard and other silvicultural management operations are lacking for most Ethiopian forests in general and Chilimo dry afro-montane forest in particular. The purpose of the study is to develop a SDMD model for the existing mixed natural forest using appropriate species proportion for Juniperus procera and Podocarpus falcatus. Two linear equations were simultaneously fitted to relate quadratic mean diameter with stand density and dominant height and relate it to total stand volume with quadratic mean diameter, stand density and dominant height. Moreover, dominant height and quadratic mean diameter were found to be the best endogenous variables for SDMD for Chilimo forest. The relationship between stand density, dominant height, quadratic mean diameter and stand volume is represented in the SDMD graph. Formulating SDMD using species proportion is better than treating each species independently. This SDMD is the first diagram model developed for mixed forest in Africa, and it can serve sustainable management of Chilimo dry afro-montane forest in particular and other dry afro-montane forests in general.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Tekle Hundessa, Balcha Regassa, staffs of the forestry research process of Holetta Agricultural Research Centre and Mekonnen Gemechu, Mesfin Gemechu, Solomon Gezu and Kebede Kefyalew from Chilimo village for their assistance in field work in tree data collection. Lucia Risio from UVA-Palencia and Margaret Penner from Canada for assisting in stand density management diagram data analysis and graph formulation. The Spanish Agency for International Cooperation and Development (AECID) for funding the fellowship under extranheros Program III-B as well as partial waiver of the field work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ethiopian Environment and Forest Research Institute (EEFRI), P.O. Box 24536, 1000, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Mehari A. Tesfaye

  2. University of Valladolid at Palencia (UVa), Avda. Madrid, 44, 34071, Palencia, Spain

    Felipe Bravo

  3. INIA-Forest Research Centre, Ctra A. Coruña, km. 7.5, Madrid, Spain

    Felipe Bravo & Andrés Bravo-Oviedo

  4. Sustainable Forest Management Research Institute, UVa-INIA, Madrid, Spain

    Andrés Bravo-Oviedo

Authors
  1. Mehari A. Tesfaye
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  2. Felipe Bravo
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  3. Andrés Bravo-Oviedo
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Correspondence to Mehari A. Tesfaye.

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Communicated by Dr. Aaron R Weiskittel.

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Tesfaye, M.A., Bravo, F. & Bravo-Oviedo, A. Alternative silvicultural stand density management options for Chilimo dry afro-montane mixed natural uneven-aged forest using species proportion in Central Highlands, Ethiopia. Eur J Forest Res 135, 827–838 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-016-0976-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-016-0976-5

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