Author(s)

Kambale Eloge Muhesi^1,2,3*, Musubao Moïse Kapiri², Jean Lagarde Betti³, Ndongo Din³

¹Department of Water and Forests, Higher Institute of Agronomic, Veterinary and Forestry Studies of Butembo, Butembo, Democratic Republic of Congo.
²Department of Water and Forests, Catholic University of the Graben, Butembo, Democratic Republic of Congo.
³Faculty of Sciences, Department of Biology and Physiology of Plant Organisms, University of Douala, Douala, Cameroon.

Prunus africana is a species of great economic, medicinal and ecological importance. Due to its multiple uses, unsustainable exploitation methods and low regeneration capacity in tropical rainforests, this species is threatened with extinction. Present and exploited in the eastern part of DR Congo, knowledge of the dynamics of post-bark regeneration of Prunus africana remains fragmentary and poorly known. In North Kivu province, this species thrives in both afromontane forest and lowland tropical rainforest habitats. In order to contribute to the rational and sustainable exploitation of Prunus africana in this province, this paper was carried out with the objective of contributing to the knowledge of the dynamics of the regeneration of post-harvest bark of Prunus africana in two exploitation sites (low and high altitude). To achieve this objective, the inventory was conducted on 16 plots of 25 hectares each, with 8 plots per site. Dendrometric parameters (diameter at breast height (DBH), total tree height) and tree growth and regeneration parameters, i.e., stem bark thickness of the unharvested and harvested portions of the trees (bark reconstitution) were measured. A total of 716 barked stems of Prunus africana in 2016 in 25 hectares constituted the study sample. Results show that sites do not influence diameter at breast height of P. africana trees (p > 0.05) or total tree height. The bark diameter of harvested trees and the bark diameter of unharvested trees varied significantly by site (p < 0.05). In contrast, the annual growth rate of bark differed with altitude; the highest rate was observed in trees growing at high altitude (2.97 ± 0.9 mm/yr) compared to 2.23 ± 0.74 mm/yr at low altitude. In view of these results, this study indicates that a half-rotation of 7 years could allow an effective reconstitution of the bark of Prunus africana at the second passage on the remaining side of the same stem.

Dendrometric Parameters, Regeneration Capacity, Tree Reconstitution Rate, Debarking, Prunus africana, DR Congo

Muhesi, K. , Kapiri, M. , Betti, J. and Din, N. (2023) Post Debarking Response of Prunus africana (Hook. F) Kalkman (Rosaceae) Trees at Two Exploitation Sites in North Kivu (Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo). Open Journal of Forestry, 13, 161-181. doi: 10.4236/ojf.2023.132011.