Growth, Morphology and Biomass of Arundinaria alpina (Highland Bamboo) (Poaceae) as Affected by Landrace, Environment and Silvicultural Management in the Choke Mountain, Northwestern Ethiopia
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Date
2012-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Arundinaria alpina K. Schum. (highland bamboo) (Poaceae) is the characteristic and definitive dominant species of Afromontane bamboo vegetation. It is found covering about 148,626 ha of land in Ethiopia. The current and potential advantage of this species is enormous. However, among others, lack of research information on the basic structure (morphology), its relation with environmental factors and silvicultural management has become impdement for enhancing productivity and yield of the resource. The objectives of this study, therefore, were to determine the variation in morphology, stand structure, growth and biomass among landraces and investigate the effects of environmental gradients and silvicultural management on stand structure, growth and yield of A. alpina. The result indicated that the rhizome proper of all landraces was nearly vertically positioned, exhibiting sympodial branching pattern and significant variation in rhizome neck length among landraces. Besides, stand structure, growth and biomass of A. alpina varied significantly along environmental gradient. DBH, height, growth rate and biomass (117 t ha-1) of plants was foud to be superior for 40-60% concave slope landform as compared to 5-15% level-slopping. Therefore, superior performance of bamboo on this landform can be an excellent opportunity for the area and the community. Moreover, it was observed that culm yield can be improved to 158-589% through the combined application of soil loosening, selective thinning and removal pof old stumps and protection from encroachment. Evaluation of propagation techniques indicated that culm cutting and branch cutting performed poorly; whereas, three rhizome-based techniques and the whole culm method demonstrated reasonably good performance. The whole culm method can be used to establish a plantation under similar environmental conditions and to produce starting materials for mass production of rooted plants. Rhizome and stump techniques can be directly used at field condition, but improved management than applied in this experiment may produce better survival rate. Finally, it is hoped that the information generated in this research will be used in the future resource development endeavors.
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Biology