Performance of an introduced Central American Hardwood Species in Kakamega and Lugari Forests: International conference on tropical forest resources

Abstract

The Central American hardwood species, Liquidambar styraciflua L., growsto a height of 45 m and diameter at breast height (DBH) of 60 cm in 30·'-40years. It has straight stems, light branching and narrow crown and provides a wide range of products including sawntimber for general construction, firewood, pulp, perfumes and medicine. Ten provenances of . th," e ..s.pecies were established in Ke. nya among other countries in 1986, under an International Provenance Trial Programme coordinated by Commonwealth Forestry Institute. The objective ofthetrial was to test the growth performance oftheprovenances in .Kenya, help increase tree cover and contribute to increase biodiversity. The trial was ., ,- .". .'. . '.'. established on two sites namely Lugari and Kakamega. Results at 17 years showed a significant difference (P<O.OI) in height and DBH among provenances at both sites. Ranking•b.ased.o•.n height..growth .O• f.t•heprove~an~.es•s.•h•owedthe .•best.provenance .·.a. t.L..ugari was FincaLasVicioria ..Guatem<ila,\yith meanheightanclDBHof 22;8m and 23.4cm .resJlectively,while the leading provenance at Kakamega was TacticCoban, Guatemala, with a mean height and DBH of 18.1 m and 16.9 cmrespectively. The provenance with highest mean survival at Kakamega was Frankline, Virginia - USA, with a value of 72.2%. In Lugari, the same provenance had no survival and the best provenance was Finca Las Victoria - Guatemala with a value of29.2%. Provenance by site interaction was significant confirmed by the difference in performance of· provenances between the sites. The implications of these results in Kenya's forestry conservation programmes are discussed.