TY - JOUR
T1 - Effects of Broussonetia papyrifera invasion and land use on vegetation characteristics in a tropical forest of Ghana
AU - Adigbli, David M.
AU - Anning, Alexander K.
AU - Adomako, James K.
AU - Fosu-Mensah, Benedicta Y.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2018, Northeast Forestry University and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.
PY - 2019/8/1
Y1 - 2019/8/1
N2 - The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of Broussonetia papyrifera (paper mulberry) invasion and land use on the floristic composition of a dry semi-deciduous forest in Ghana. Forty-five plots (25 m × 25 m each), distributed among three land uses—selectively logged (SL); abandoned farmlands (AF); and an undisturbed reference (RF)—were surveyed. Results showed lower tree species richness (S), diversity (H′), evenness (S) and basal area (BA) in the SL (46, 0.78, 0.32 and 269.12 m2 ha−1, respectively) and AF (40, 0.53, 0.45, and 131.16 m2 ha−1) sites compared to the RF site (79, 2.66, 0.87, 963.72 m2 ha−1). Similar patterns were found at the shrub layer, but no differences were observed at the herb layer. Non-metric multidimensional scaling ordination revealed distinct species composition among the land uses. The two disturbed habitats, SL and AF, were associated with increased B. papyrifera invasion particularly in the overstory, with importance value index and mean relative density of 45 and 65.03%, and 42 and 53.29%, correspondingly. However, the species was only sparsely represented in the RF site. Tree density of B. papyrifera correlated negatively with H′, S, E, BA, and native tree density and richness. These findings highlight the strong link between human land use (i.e., logging and slash-and-burn farming), invasion, and vegetation characteristics, and suggest the need to limit these disturbances to conserve biodiversity within tropical forest ecosystems.
AB - The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of Broussonetia papyrifera (paper mulberry) invasion and land use on the floristic composition of a dry semi-deciduous forest in Ghana. Forty-five plots (25 m × 25 m each), distributed among three land uses—selectively logged (SL); abandoned farmlands (AF); and an undisturbed reference (RF)—were surveyed. Results showed lower tree species richness (S), diversity (H′), evenness (S) and basal area (BA) in the SL (46, 0.78, 0.32 and 269.12 m2 ha−1, respectively) and AF (40, 0.53, 0.45, and 131.16 m2 ha−1) sites compared to the RF site (79, 2.66, 0.87, 963.72 m2 ha−1). Similar patterns were found at the shrub layer, but no differences were observed at the herb layer. Non-metric multidimensional scaling ordination revealed distinct species composition among the land uses. The two disturbed habitats, SL and AF, were associated with increased B. papyrifera invasion particularly in the overstory, with importance value index and mean relative density of 45 and 65.03%, and 42 and 53.29%, correspondingly. However, the species was only sparsely represented in the RF site. Tree density of B. papyrifera correlated negatively with H′, S, E, BA, and native tree density and richness. These findings highlight the strong link between human land use (i.e., logging and slash-and-burn farming), invasion, and vegetation characteristics, and suggest the need to limit these disturbances to conserve biodiversity within tropical forest ecosystems.
KW - Afram Headwaters Forest Reserve
KW - Broussonetia papyrifera
KW - Forest community characteristics
KW - Human-caused disturbances
KW - Plant invasion
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85047111469&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s11676-018-0691-9
DO - 10.1007/s11676-018-0691-9
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85047111469
SN - 1007-662X
VL - 30
SP - 1363
EP - 1373
JO - Journal of Forestry Research
JF - Journal of Forestry Research
IS - 4
ER -
