Department of Theoretical and Applied Biology
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KWAME NKRUMAH UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLEGE OF SCIENCE DEPARTMENT OF THEORETICAL AND APPLIED BIOLOGY CARBON SEQUESTRATION AND THE EFFECT OF DIFFERENT DENSITIES OF MIXTURE STANDS ON HYPSIPYLA ROBUSTA ATTACKS AND GROWTH OF AFRICAN MAHOGANY BY NANA YAA NYARKO-DUAH BSc. (HONS.) NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT, KNUST JULY, 2012 KWAME NKRUMAH UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLEGE OF SCIENCE DEPARTMENT OF THEORETICAL AND APPLIED BIOLOGY CARBON SEQUESTRATION AND THE EFFECT OF DIFFERENT DENSITIES OF MIXTURE STANDS ON HYPSIPYLA ROBUSTA ATTACKS AND GROWTH OF AFRICAN MAHOGANY A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF THEORETICAL AND APPLIED BIOLOGY IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE MASTER OF SCIENCE DEGREE IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE BY NANA YAA NYARKO-DUAH BSc. (HONS) NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT DECLARATION “I hereby declare that this submission is my own work towards the MSc. and that, to the best of my knowledge, it contains no material previously published by another person nor material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree of the University, except where due acknowledgement has been made in the text”. ……………………………………………… …………………. ……………. Student Name & ID Signature Date Certified by: ……………………………………………… ………………….. ……………. Supervisor’s Name Signature Date Certified by: ……………………………………………… ………………….. …………… Head of Dept. Name Signature Date iii ABSTRACT Establishment of tree plantations, like mahogany, in the tropics has been suggested as a way of reducing the rate of increase in atmospheric carbon providing valuable timber for commercial purposes by decreasing the dependence on natural forests for timber. The African mahogany in plantations is often assailed by a number of pests of which Hypsipyla robusta is the most destructive. Mixed species plantation is likely to be effective in managing H. robusta infestation by hindering the host finding ability of the pest and possible abundance in natural enemies in mixture stands. A ten hectare experimental plot at Sarmartex Timber and Plywood Company limited located in the wet evergreen forest zone of Ghana was planted with Khaya grandifoliola and Khaya ivorensis in mixture stands containing Heritieria utilis, Terminalia superba, and Entandrophragma angolense in densities of 100%, 60%, 50%, 40%, 20% and 10%. Growth measurements and damage by H. robusta was assessed for Khaya grandifoliola and Khaya ivorensis in pure and mixture stands. Amount of carbon which can be sequestrated was also assessed for all species in the mixture stands. Overall, the study showed that Khaya grandifoliola had a better growth performance than Khaya ivorensis. After two years of planting, there were not much difference shown between growths displayed for different planting densities for K. grandifoliola; however, the 10% density mixed stand had the best growth rate. Differences were shown between growths displayed for different planting densities for K. ivorensis trees, with the best growth exhibited by the mixed-species stands. The study also showed that forking occurred in all densities planted with multiply shoots with K. ivorensis having the least number of shoots. For K. grandifoliola, there were no significant difference between attack levels of different planting densities; however, the mixed species stands recorded the lowest level of H. robusta attack. On the other hand, there were clear differences between the attack levels of different planting densities with the pure stands having the highest levels of H. robusta attack for K. ivorensis trees. The presence of weaver ants (Oecophylla longinoda) affected the growth and damage by H. robusta attack for the African mahoganies. The presence of weaver ants on K. grandifoliola and K. ivorensis trees showed that the more weaver ants present, the lower the number of shoots attacked indicating that the presence of weaver ants can help decrease the intensity of H. robusta attack. The mixed species can serve as alternate hosts to the weaver ants which may impede H. robusta infestation with Terminalia superba having the most weaver ants as compared with the other species in the mixture stands. Carbon sequestration was projected for species planted using a forty year tree rotation. K. grandifoliola was shown to sequester more carbon and much earlier than the other species used, followed by H. utilis, T. superba, E. angolense and K. ivorensis. Due to the different species capability to sequester carbon at different rates and time, it indicated that mixed species plantations might have the ability to sequester more carbon than monocultures. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I am very grateful to the Lord Almighty for giving me the strength to undertake and complete this study. My sincere appreciation goes to the ITTO Fellowship Programme (ITTO Fellowship Ref. 023/10A) for financing my research work. I acknowledge the constructive advice and contribution of Dr. Emmanuel Opuni-Frimpong, without whom this work would not have been conceived and executed. I also acknowledge the advice and input of Dr. Ebenezer J.D. Belford, who supervised this study. My sincere appreciation goes to the management and staff of Sarmartex Timber and Plywood Company limited in Samreboi, where this study was conducted. Thanks also to Akosua Agyapong, Annabella Boadi-Misa, Godwin Andoh, Collins Baah Darko, Hilma Sumahya, Samuel Kyere, Daniel Koomson and Phillomena Dufie for assisting me in collecting the data for this study. My most heartfelt gratitude goes to Sandra Acheampong Owusu, who not only introduced me to this project, but also helped me in collecting the data for this study and supported me throughout the study. I am most thankful for the help and support of my loving family; my father, Mr. Kofi Agyeman-Duah; my mother, Gifty Konadu Agyeman-Duah; my brother, Kweku Addae- Duah; and my sisters, Akua Agyeiwaa Duah, Awurabena Konadu Agyeman-Duah and Akosua Adoma Agyeman-Duah. v TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION .......................................................................................................................................... iii ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................................. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ............................................................................................................................. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................................. vi LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................................................... ix LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................................................... x CHAPTER ONE ............................................................................................................................................1 1.1 Background ...................................................................................................................................1 1.2 Goal of the study ...........................................................................................................................4 1.3 Specific objectives .........................................................................................................................4 CHAPTER TWO ...........................................................................................................................................6 2.1 Forest plantations...........................................................................................................................6 2.1.1 Monoculture plantations ........................................................................................................7 2.1.2 Mixed-species plantations .....................................................................................................8 2.1.3 Tree plantations and carbon sequestration .............................................................................8 2.2 Indigenous species .........................................................................................................................9 2.2.1 Heritieria utilis (Sprague) Sprague .......................................................................................9 2.2.2 Terminalia superba (Engl. and Diels) ................................................................................ 11 2.2.3 Entandrophragma angolense (Welw.) C. DC. ................................................................... 12 2.2.4 Khaya grandifoliola (C. DC.) ............................................................................................. 13 2.2.5 Khaya ivorensis (A. Chev) ................................................................................................. 14 2.3 Hypsipyla shoot borer ................................................................................................................. 15 2.3.1 Nature of Hypsipyla robusta infestation ............................................................................. 17 2.4 Control of Hypsipyla robusta shoot borers................................................................................. 18 2.4.1 Silvicultural control of Hypsipyla robusta ......................................................................... 18 2.4.2 Biological control of Hypsipyla robusta ...........................................................................