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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Article
Author(s)
Susy Lewis1, Lawrence Lewis and Ryan Dey2
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DOI:10.17265/2162-5263/2023.03.004
Affiliation(s)
1. Lecturer 11, Forestry Department, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Guyana, Turkeyen Campus, Georgetown 101110, Guyana
2. Senior Planning Officer, Guyana Forestry Commission, 1 Water Street, Kingston, Georgetown 101110, Guyana
ABSTRACT
Active restoration is a critical component of biodiversity conservation for degraded tropical forest ecosystems caused by artisanal gold mining, and the success of restoration is dependent on native species selection. However, significant knowledge gaps exist regarding when and where to plant trees. This article reports on a revegetation trial undertaken in St Elizabeth, Mahdia, Guyana, to assess the survival and RGR (Relative Growth Rate) of three native woody trees and shrubs planted within three years old Acacia mangium Willd trees pruned and unpruned blocks. ANOVA (Analysis of Variance) for a completely randomized block design with four blocks, two pruned and two unpruned, within A. mangium plots. Biochar treatment was added to the plants during transplanting. Thirty-six (36) wildlings of Humiria balsamifera (Aublet.) (Tauroniro), Goupia glabra Aublet (Kabukalli), and Vismia guianensis (Aublet.) Choisy (Bloodwood) were collected and raised in a tree nursery for two weeks. The native plants were transplanted 3 m apart, survival observations and each seedling’s initial height and diameter were measured and recorded. After the experiment, 13% of seedlings from a population of 720 had died, with the highest mortality being experienced at the 92 days of the experiment (t ≤ 122 days). While the overall survival rates were high, emphasizing the importance of field trials on native and exotic species in different environments is essential to fill the knowledge gaps on suitable species for restoration in degraded areas with other land use histories.
KEYWORDS
Artisanal gold mining, native species survival, Acacia mangium, diameter growth rate.
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