The restoration of degraded forests in Ghana: a case study in the Offinso forest district

Abstract

Natural regeneration of socio-economic valuable native tree species was studied in plantations and an adjacent degraded forest at Afram Headwaters Forest Reserve in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. The study tested the hypothesis that density and diversity of key native tree saplings differ in the different plantation stand types. A total of 40 plots (15×15 m) were studied in monoculture of exotic species, mixed native species plantations and an adjacent degraded forest. A total of 52 naturally regenerated native tree species were recorded underneath the two plantation stands and the degraded forest with densities ranging between 4711 and 19867 saplings/ha. Eight most valuable socio-economic native sapling species were found to be among this number with densities ranging between 400 and 1022 individuals/ha in the different stands. There was no significant difference among plantation stands with regard to understory socioeconomic native saplings density (at Kruskal-Wallis test, α=0.05). The study also pointed out that no significant differences exist between the diversity of the socio-economic native tree saplings regenerating naturally under the two plantation stand types at Kruskal-Wallis test, α= 0.05. The results support the perception that forest plantations can foster the regeneration of native woody species.