Impact of Timber Logging on Neighbouring Stands in a Forest of the South Western Cameroon - Open Journal of Forestry

OJF > Vol.12 No.2, April 2022

Open Journal of Forestry

Volume 12, Issue 2 (April 2022)

ISSN Print: 2163-0429 ISSN Online: 2163-0437

Google-based Impact Factor: 1.34 Citations

Impact of Timber Logging on Neighbouring Stands in a Forest of the South Western Cameroon ()

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Download as PDF (Size: 4457KB) PP. 248-262

DOI: 10.4236/ojf.2022.122014 237 Downloads 1,174 Views Citations

Author(s)

Kato Samuel Namuene^1*, Andrew Enow Egbe^2,3

Affiliation(s)

¹Department of Forestry and Wildlife, Faculty of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, University of Buea, Cameroon.
²Department of Agronomic and Applied Molecular Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, University of Buea, Cameroon.
³Department of Plant Science, Faculty of Science, University of Buea, Cameroon.

ABSTRACT

During conventional logging operations, there is always some damage to nearby stands. This study therefore assessed the damage caused after logging operations to surrounding stands in a Forest Management Unit (FMU) in south western Cameroon after logging operations. The damages assessed were snapped branches/trunks and uprooted trees. A total of 304 trees with a diameter ≥ 30 cm were cut and a total of 770 neighbouring harvestable and future trees were affected. It was observed that 375 of the neighbouring stand had their trunks snapped, 312 had their branches snapped, and 15 were uprooted. It was noted that 80% of the trees affected were those with diameters between 30 - 50 cm, which were called future trees for the next harvest, while the least damage was on protected/seed trees. Lophira alata caused the highest stand damage due to its abundance and large size, while Distemonanthus benthamianus caused the least domino damage. Damage to future trees negatively affects future concession holders as these trees are supposed to mature before the next harvest, hence the yield will be greatly reduced. Sustainable timber exploitation will greatly reduce residual damage as care will be taken to ensure falling timber causes less damage to the surrounding stand.

KEYWORDS

Timber Exploitation, Domino Damage, Illegal Logging, Annual Cutting Area

Share and Cite:

Namuene, K. and Egbe, A. (2022) Impact of Timber Logging on Neighbouring Stands in a Forest of the South Western Cameroon. Open Journal of Forestry, 12, 248-262. doi: 10.4236/ojf.2022.122014.

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