Logging effects on seedling regeneration and diversity in a tropical moist semi-deciduous forest in Ghana

• DOI: 10.1080/24749508.2021.1952769
• Publication Date: 2021-07-12T20:06:41Z
• Authors: Frederick Gyasi D...; Ernest Adofo; Akwasi Duah-Gyamfi; Daniel Adusu; Emmanuel Opuni-Fr...
• Keywords: canopy gaps; 0106 biological sciences; QE1-996.5; seedling diversity; Ecology; species colonisation; Geology; pioneer species; 15. Life on land; 01 natural sciences; logging-induced disturbance; QH540-549.5

The effect of time lag after logging on seedling dynamics was assessed in logged and unlogged forest plots located in the Pra-Anum Forest Reserve. Remnant tree attributes were sampled in six plots with sizes of 25 × 25 m in each forest type. Within each forest type, ten subplots with sizes 1 × 1 m were established for sampling seedling regeneration dynamics. Enumerated seedlings were grouped as pioneer, non-pioneer light demander, and shade-tolerant species. Regenerating seedlings were more diverse in the recently logged forest area characterised by Broussonetia papyrifera and Musanga cecropioides, and least in the unlogged forest driven predominantly by Celtis mildbraedii and Baphia nitida. Pioneer species were primarily dominant in the recently logged forest, while shade-tolerant and non-pioneer light-demanding species characterised the logged-over forest. Species richness and canopy openness of remnant stands explained 32 percent of the variations in regeneration richness between the logged and unlogged areas. Twenty-seven percent of the variations in seedling abundance was also explained by remnant trees richness, their size diameter and the degree to which their canopy has been opened. Logging-induced disturbance favours the sporadic emergence of pioneer species in recently disturbed areas which are later replaced by non-pioneer light-demanding or shade-tolerant species as light becomes limiting in the understory.