Assessment of Wood Production and Structural Composition of Domboma Community Based Forest in Dasse Chiedom, Moyamba District, Sierra Leone

Abstract

This research was carried out in August and September 2020 in the Domboma community-Based forest of Domboma community in Dasse chiefdom, Moyamba district, southern Sierra Leone. The objective of the study was to assess wood production and structural composition of Domboma community Based-forest in Dasse Chiefdom, Moyamba District. The systematic sampling design was adopted and data were collected in 12 circular sample plots with a radius of 10 m and an area of 0.031 ha. The stand was divided into four transects that were 50 m apart and the interval between sample plots in any transect was 10 m. In total, 12 plots covering a sampling area of 0.38 ha were laid out. In each plot all trees ? 10 cm diameter at breast height (DBH, 1.3 m above ground level) were measured for both DBH and total height, using diameter tape and suunto hypsometer, respectively. The species was identified for every measured tree either directly by botanical name or by local names. The total individual trees enumerated were 147. These individual trees were distributed into four diameter classes as follows; 76 trees in diameter class 1, 33 trees in diameter class 2, 4 trees in diameter class 3 and 34 trees in diameter class 4. The Shannon-wiener index of diversity calculated was 3.38 using natural logarithm for the four diameter classes. The index of dominance was 0.76 and the index of dispersion estimated was 16.0 for all diameter classes respectively. The average (DBH) and height of trees were 51.17cm and 27.06m respectively. The basal area and wood volume were 241.35m2/ha and 31227.62m3/ha respectively and the stocking was 390 stems ha-1. The 26-tree species found in all the 12 plots were listed in IUCN redlist categories as follows; 19.2% as data deficient (DD), 57.7% as least concerned (LC), 3.8% as nearly threatened (NT), 11.5% as vulnerable (VU), 7.7% as endangered (EN) and none of the species was classified as critically endangered.