Regeneration dynamics of woody species in degraded natural forests in western Kenya.

Abstract

Deforestation has become rampant in many areas in Kenya due to pressure on land resulting from human population increase. Efforts to rehabilitate areas that have been deforested have had little success due to the limited knowledge of vegetation community dynamics during regeneration. In this study, we evaluated the effect of repeated site disturbance, habitat quality seed dispersal limitation on woody species regeneration. Study sites were protected or left unprotected in Kibiri, Wire and Homa hills and monitored for 2 - 3 years. The effect of protection was significant for number of stems/ha and rate of height increase. No seeds germinated in the green house from soils collected from study areas. From this study, decision support tools for forest managers will be developed.