Pure and Mixed Plantations of Eucalyptus camaldulensis and Cupressus lusitanica: Their Growth Interactions and Effect on Diversity and Density of Undergrowth Woody Plants in Relation to Light

Shiferaw Alem^1*, Jindrich Pavlis¹, Josef Urban¹, Jiri Kucera²

¹Department of Forest Botany, Dendrology and Geobiocenology, Mendel University in Brno, Zemedelska 3/613 00, Brno, Czech Republic.
²EMS Brno, Turisticka 5 621 00, Brno, Czech Republic.

DOI: 10.4236/ojf.2015.54032                

Abstract

Published results on the growth interactions of non-nitrogen fixing mixed plantations species, and their impact on the regeneration of woody plants are scant. This paper addresses the growth interactions of pure and mixed plantations of Eucalyptus camaldulensis and Cupressus lusitanica and their impact on the regeneration of woody plants in relation with light. Data on the regenerated woody plants, individual characteristics of the plantation species and light reaching under the canopies were collected using sample plots (n = 4) with a size of 20 m × 20 m for each plantation type. The result showed that, E. camaldulensis was suppressing the growth of C. lusitanica while its growth was favored when it was mixed with C. lusitanica (p < 0.05). There were no significant differences between the pure and mixed plantations in their diversity and density of undergrowth woody plants (p > 0.05). Density of plantation trees were found not having a significant relationship with diversity of species (p = 0.801). There was a significant but not direct relationship between light reached in the understory of the canopies and diversity of species in the plantations (p = 0.027). Overall, the result indicated that both the pure and the mixed plantations were favoring the recruitment of woody plants.

Keywords

Diversity, Growth, Light, Mixed Plantation, Pure Plantation, Woody Plants

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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