Role of Acacia and Erythrina trees in forest regeneration by vertebrate seed dispersers in Kibale National Park, Uganda

Previous studies suggest that forest regeneration in grasslands is often slow because of grass competition and fire and that regeneration may be dependent on fire‐resistant savannah trees. To examine the potential of savannah trees in facilitating regeneration, species diversity, number and total ab...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:African journal of ecology 2011-06, Vol.49 (2), p.189-198
Main Authors: Majid, Kiwanuka, Gilbert, Basuta-Isabirye, Jeremiah, Lwanga S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abundance
Acacia
forest regeneration
Forests
grasslands
National parks
Plant growth
savannah trees
species diversity
woody plants
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Summary:Previous studies suggest that forest regeneration in grasslands is often slow because of grass competition and fire and that regeneration may be dependent on fire‐resistant savannah trees. To examine the potential of savannah trees in facilitating regeneration, species diversity, number and total abundance of species of woody plants were determined below and away from Acacia sieberiana and Erythrina abyssinica tree crowns. Additionally, crown size and distance from a natural forest were estimated to determine their influence on natural regeneration. Results showed that the environment under tree crowns positively influence diversity compared to that outside crowns: including for biodiversity (3.08 versus 2.82), the number of species and total abundance (P 
ISSN:0141-6707
1365-2028
DOI:10.1111/j.1365-2028.2010.01246.x