Quantitative stand structure of woody components of homestead forests and its implications on silvicultural management: a case study in Sylhet Sadar, Bangladesh

Abstract

This study determined existing quantitative stand structure and its implication on silvicultural management of homestead forestry. The results showed that fruit and timber species have importance values of 57% and 43%, respectively, in the study area, which is in contrast to the commonly held view of absolute domination of fruit species. The fruit species were only moderately dominant over timber species in relation to the quantitative stand structure of homestead forests. Two fruit species, Mangifera indica and Artocarpus heterophyllus, contribute about one third of the stand structure, while amongst the timber species Samanea saman and Albizia spp. are the most important species. A simulated evaluation of soil expectation value of homestead forest showed that the existing stand structure would not maximize the financial gain perpetually, in contrast, the quantitative stand structure could be effectively regulated to maximize grower benefit without compromising the existing biodiversity. Optimization of the quantitative stand structure of homestead forests could be achieved by changing the species composition, specifically by increasing the percentage of commercially valuable species like Michelia champaca, Tectona grandis, Artocarpus chapalasha, Gmelina arborea, Litchi chinensis, Citrus grandis, Psidium guajava, Lagerstroemia speciosa, Swietenia mahogany, etc., reducing the percentage of species like Mangifera indica, Artocarpus heterophyllus, Cocos nucifera, Samanea saman, Spondias pinnata, Phoenix sylvestris, etc., and eradicating species like Lannea coromandelica and Ficus benghalensis. It was estimated that the optimal relative density of fruit and timber species that would generate optimal financial benefit would be 40.4% and 59.6%, respectively.