Comparative resprouting response of Savanna woody plant species following harvesting: the value of persistence

Understanding the relative ability of favoured fuelwood species to resprout following harvesting is integral to designing strategies for sustainable woodland resource utilisation. Harvester preference for particular woody plant species and plant size was examined in a formerly protected area, severely harvested over a short period of time. The resprouting response of harvested plants was measured five months after harvesting, towards the end of the wet season. Although a large proportion of stems of the dominant species (Terminalia sericea and Dichrostachys cinerea) had been harvested, certain less common species were particularly targeted (e.g., Pterocarpus rotundifolius and Peltophorum africanum). Harvested plants were mostly larger than 4 cm in stem diameter. Almost all harvested plants of all species resprouted. Species differed in whether resprout growth was channelled into many small resprout shoots or fewer large shoots. The species most highly favoured by harvesters produced relatively large resprout shoots. Plant stem diameter was the most important determinant of resprout output, with both shoot number and their composite diameter increasing with increasing plant size. Cut height, although having no significant effect on resprout output, influenced the location of resprouting, with taller stumps having a higher proportion of resprout shoots originating from the stem than from the root crown. For all species, approximately a third of the resprout shoots of harvested plants died during the five months following harvesting. Shoots originating from the stem had a higher dieback than those growing from the root crown. Resprout biomass production over the five month period was considerable, amounting to 989 kg ha−1 (wet mass). An abundance of seedlings of the most common species may be a consequence of woodland thinning through harvesting.