Woody Species Composition, Stand Structure and Regeneration Status of Londiani Forest in Kenya

Abstract

Tropical forests provide habitats for diverse flora and fauna, in addition to playing a crucial role in climate regulation. They are being recognized for their roles as nature-based solutions to many sustainable development challenges, as shown by increased political commitment and global promises to reduce the rates of deforestation and boost the restoration of degraded forest ecosystems. Understanding tropical forest dynamics and their conservation status is therefore important. This study analysed the forest stand structure, the tree species composition and the regeneration status of Londiani Forest. In the three blocks of Londiani Forest, which are Kedowa, Chebewor and Londiani, belt transects that were 25 m wide and 1 km long were established. At every 200 m along the transects, 25 m × 25 m quadrats were set up in which an inventory of all the tree species was determined. Diameter tape was used to measure the diameter at breast height (DBH) 1.3 m above the ground. With the use of a Suunto angular clinometer, the tree height was measured. A nested 5 m × 5 m quadrat within the 25 m × 25 m quadrat was used to sample the saplings, while a 1m × 1 m quadrat was used to sample the seedlings. The quantities of seedlings and saplings were used to determine the state of regeneration. The data were entered into Microsoft Excel. The total stem density, species density, basal area, species basal area, relative density and species diversity were determined and extrapolated per hectare. A total of 1308 distinct trees from 34 different species and 24 families were counted. Kedowa recorded the highest (27) species richness, followed by Chebewor (19) and then Londiani (14). There was a statistically significant difference in the species richness among the three forest blocks (p < 0.05). Within the three forest blocks, there were no statistically significant variations in the basal area distribution (p > 0.005) or in the mean DBH (F = 0.560; p = 0.729) or height class distribution (F = 0.821; p = 0.558). There was a statistically significant difference in the stem density (F = 12.22; p = 0.005) and woody species diversity (F = 0.32; p = 0.001) within the three forests blocks. The similarity index ranged from 0.34–0.47. The presence of substantial numbers of seedlings and saplings in all forest blocks was an indication that there was regeneration.