Munessa Forest - Individual Project 1
Silvicultural contributions towards sustainable management and conservation of forest resources in the highlands of Ethiopia
So far there are no sustainable use and management options of Ethiopian forests. In the ongoing DFG-Project, investigations the tree and landscape levels were conducted. However, information at the stand level, necessary for developing appropriate management concepts on scientific basis, is still lacking. The silvicultural research is, therefore, conducted to close the existing gap in the ongoing project and builds to great extent the core of the new investigations. The objective of the silviculture experiment is to provide the necessary knowledge on how forests can be managed in a sustainable way. Based on scientific studies on different management options in plantation and natural forests, the effect of such options on the stands, regeneration, vegetation, and soil can be determined and an evaluation of the options can be made.
The natural forest in the study area is heavily degraded and characterised by many gaps resulting from uncontrolled logging. Therefore, investigation in natural forest includes enrichment plantings of the gaps with five ecologically and economically important indigenous tree species (Syzygium guineense, Podocarpus falcatus, Prunus africana, Aningeria adolfi-friederici and Olea spp.).
The plantation forests in the study area are poorly managed. Therefore, an experiment including three different silvicultural measures at different age classes will be carried out in the most important and frequent plantation forests (Eucalyptus saligna, Cupressus lusitanica, and Pinus patula). As the livestock considerably affects the forests in the study area, the research includes two different variant of protection (non-protection and protection by fencing).
Results will provide a scientific basis for recommendations on the sustainable management of the highland forests in Ethiopia.
Contact person
Prof. Reinhard Mosandl, Technical University of Munich, Institute of Silviculture and Forest Management
mosandl@forst.tu-muenchen.de