Managing regrowth of an indigenous savanna tree species (Terminalia sericea) for fuelwood: the influence of stump dimensions and post-harvest coppicepruning

Most African savannas are subjected to harvesting of wood, especially for f uelwood, charcoal and construction timber. A key attribute of the resilienc e and productivity of savannas is the ability of damaged trees to regrow fr om the remaining stump. Survival of the cut stem and growth rate of the res ultant coppice shoots is influenced by several factors, including size of t he tree, cutting height and the root/shoot ratio after felling. Some of the se can be manipulated to maximise subsequent regrowth, but this is little u nderstood for most African savanna species. This study investigated the inf luence of original tree size, height of cut and post-harvest pruning on reg rowth of Terminalia sericea. Regrowth was monitored as the number of coppic e shoots, the mean coppice shoot length and the cumulative coppice shoot le ngth per cut stump over four growing seasons. There was a positive relation ship between cutting height and number of coppice shoots, but height of cut did not significantly affect mean or cumulative coppice shoot length. Larg er stems produced more coppice and had greater mean and cumulative coppice shoot lengths than smaller stems. Post-harvest pruning increased the mean s hoot length, but not the cumulative shoot length. After four growing season s mean shoot length for the single shoot pruning treatment (one shoot left) was 54% greater than for the no prune treatment, whilst the double shoot p runing (two shoots left) was 40% greater. Extrapolated harvest intervals fo r fuelwood poles were 3-4 years for large stems, 4-5 years for medium-sized stems, and 4-9 years for small stems. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All r ights reserved.