Forest Harvesting Research Articles

Forestry influences on salmonid habitat in the North Thompson River watershed, British Columbia

Freshwater ecosystems that support juvenile salmonids can be degraded by human pressures such as forestry. Forestry activities can alter water temperatures and the delivery and storage of water, nutrients, wood, and sediment in streams, resulting in changes to the habitat, growth, and survival of juvenile salmon. Previous research on forestry impacts on habitat has focused on small, intensively monitored coastal systems. Here, we examined forestry activities, watershed characteristics, physical habitat, and stream temperature for 28 mid-sized tributaries of the North Thompson River to examine relationships between forestry and juvenile coho stream habitat in interior watersheds. Forest harvest had a positive correlation to maximum summer stream temperature. Streams with 35% of the riparian area harvested since 1970 had maximum summer temperatures 3.7 °C higher on average than those with 5% harvested. Stream gradient explained most of the variation in physical habitat and had negative correlations to pool cover, pool depth, and fine sediment cover. Taken together, these results indicate that watershed characteristics drive physical habitat, but forest harvest can be a primary driver of water temperatures.

Working Posture and the Center of Mass Assessment While Starting a Chainsaw: A Case Study among Forestry Workers in Croatia

Motor-manual work with a chainsaw is still an irreplaceable occupational activity in forest harvesting operations in Croatia and in many other countries. Chainsaw workers are exposed to different risk factors, such as noise and vibrations, heavy load lifting, awkward and preflexion postures, repetitive movements, etc. The working posture and the assessment of the center of mass plays an important role in understanding the exposure of forest workers to postural and occupational risks, either as a part of the entire work process or as a part of an individual element of the work technique. Therefore, the aim of this research was to investigate the impact of three different chainsaw starting methods (from the ground, between the knees, and “drop starting”) on the postural load of the chainsaw worker and its association with personal and occupational factors. The field portion of data collection was conducted in the second and third quarters of 2022. For trunk posture assessment (n = 74), the rapid entire body assessment (REBA) tool was used, and for the center of mass measurement (n = 28), the Xsens MVN Link motion capture suit was used, a relatively new technology that allows data collection in real field conditions. Descriptive and inferential statistical methods were used to verify and analyze the field data. Based on the obtained results, almost 50% of the sampled chainsaw workers ignored safety instructions and preferred “drop starting” a chainsaw. The results also showed that there is a significant difference between the three starting methods in the REBA score, as well as in the number of segments scored during the assessment. The obtained mean REBA score for all three methods is between 4 and 7, placing all methods at a medium level of MSD risk. Regarding the analysis of the Center of Mass (CoM) vertical deviation, the statistical difference is noticeable for the body mass index (BMI) group, the group related to experience with the chainsaw, and the age and height group in relation to three methods for starting a chainsaw. The safest method, which implies starting a chainsaw from the ground, resulted also as the riskiest in terms of postural strain, which, cumulatively over the time variable, can contribute to health problems in forest workers. In conclusion, related to the future process of professional training development for chainsaw workers, an integral part of the training must contain the most optimal postural-movement habits that need to be defined by further kinematic research in forestry.

Lifecycle climate impact and primary energy use of electric and biofuel cargo trucks

AbstractHeavy trucks contribute significantly to climate change, and in 2020 were responsible for 7% of total Swedish GHG emissions and 5% of total global CO2emissions. Here we study the full lifecycle of cargo trucks powered by different energy pathways, comparing their biomass feedstock use, primary energy use, net biogenic and fossil CO2emission and cumulative radiative forcing. We analyse battery electric trucks with bioelectricity from stand‐alone or combined heat and power (CHP) plants, and pathways where bioelectricity is integrated with wind and solar electricity. We analyse trucks operated on fossil diesel fuel and on dimethyl ether (DME). All energy pathways are analysed with and without carbon capture and storage (CCS). Bioelectricity and DME are produced from forest harvest residues. Forest biomass is a limited resource, so in a scenario analysis we allocate a fixed amount of biomass to power Swedish truck transport. Battery lifespan and chemistry, the technology level of energy supply, and the biomass source and transport distance are all varied to understand how sensitive the results are to these parameters. We find that pathways using electricity to power battery electric trucks have much lower climate impacts and primary energy use, compared to diesel‐ and DME‐based pathways. The pathways using bioelectricity with CCS result in negative emissions leading to global cooling of the earth. The pathways using diesel and DME have significant and very similar climate impact, even with CCS. The robust results show that truck electrification and increased renewable electricity production is a much better strategy to reduce the climate impact of cargo transport than the adoption of DME trucks, and much more primary energy efficient. This climate impact analysis includes all fossil and net biogenic CO2emissions as well as the timing of these emissions. Considering only fossil emissions is incomplete and could be misleading.

The influence of forest harvesting activities on seismic line tree and shrub regeneration in upland mixedwood boreal forests

Alberta's forests are becoming increasingly disturbed and fragmented by the cumulative effects of anthropogenic disturbances exacerbated by the enduring footprint of seismic lines on the landscape. Forest harvesting and subsequent reforestation activities (e.g., site preparation and tree planting) may facilitate tree growth on seismic lines when forestry companies incorporate them into management areas. In this study, forest regeneration was assessed along transects on and off seismic lines within four cutblocks in northwestern Alberta. Tree, sapling, and shrub characteristics were measured, and tree cookies from a subset of trees on and off seismic lines were used to model height growth. No difference in total tree, sapling, or shrub counts on and off seismic lines was found although trees on seismic lines were growing at slightly slower rates compared to the adjacent cutblock, and Alnus viridis was more abundant on seismic lines. Our results suggest that, despite some species-level differences and modest differences in tree growth rates, trees on seismic lines within cutblocks are regenerating similarly to other trees growing in the post-harvest stand. These findings indicate that forest harvesting, and subsequent reforestation, could represent an important tool in conducting landscape-level restoration in mixedwood forests where seismic lines have not naturally recovered.

Partial cutting of a boreal nutrient-rich peatland forest causes radically less short-term on-site CO2 emissions than clear-cutting

Wide-spread harvesting of forests growing on drained peatlands is foreseen to take place in Finland in the near future. A hot question is if continuous cover forestry utilizing partial cuttings could be used to mitigate carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and the consequent climatic impact compared to traditional clear-cutting and even-aged forest management. To assess the impact of clear-cutting vs. partial cutting, we first measured CO2 exchange with the eddy covariance (EC) method for six years in a mature, nutrient-rich peatland forest in southern Finland. Part of the forest was then partially cut (74% of the stem volume), and part of it was clear-cut, and CO2 exchange of both areas was measured for another six years. Tree growth was recorded before and after the cuttings to separate the contributions of tree stand and forest floor to CO2 exchange. Before the cuttings, the site had an annual CO2 exchange close to zero, but both cutting methods turned it into a CO2 source. However, the first-year emissions from the partial cutting area (800 g CO2 m−2 yr−1) were markedly lower than the emissions after clear-cutting (3100 g CO2 m−2 yr−1). The partial cutting area remained a CO2 source during the first three years but turned into a CO2 sink after that, while the clear-cut area acted as a large, although diminishing, CO2 source for the whole measurement period. The total six-year CO2 balances before and after partial cutting did not differ significantly, while the emissions after clear-cutting were on average 2240 g CO2 m−2 yr−1 larger than before it. Combining the EC data with the tree growth measurements showed that the forest floor was losing C both before and after harvestings. In conclusion, partial cutting resulted in clearly smaller CO2 emissions than clear-cutting at least in the short term.

Conservation by corruption: The hidden yet regulated economy in Nepal's community forest timber sector

Through the case of commercial timber production in Nepal's community forests, we uncover and explain how effective anti-corruption and harvest regulation have produced a kind of ‘allowed’ corruption that promotes forest conservation. An ethnographic study in four community forests and in-depth interviews of nearly 200 actors along the Sal (Shorea robusta) timber commodity chain showed that all actors participated in a highly organised form of collusive corruption. Anti-corruption officials call this practice “corruption without illegality” because it does not involve unauthorised harvest in community forests. Instead, it suppresses producer prices through legally required but rigged timber auctions that generate windfall profits, which sawmill owners share with upstream actors to ensure a steady supply of raw logs. Local-level timber brokers connect community forest user groups to sawmill owners. They also operate as stealth conveyers of unofficial payments to forestry officials and other upstream actors because they can camouflage such cash flows as transaction costs. Anti-corruption authorities enforce formal timber harvesting rules, which deters forestry officials from getting involved in overharvesting schemes. However, these same rules, plus some legal posturing, allow forestry officials to extract rents from legally harvested logs at minimum risk. This is hardly a coincidence because it enables the central administration to regulate difficult-to-control field-level forestry officials' behaviour without curtailing their access to informal incomes. Forest user groups lose out, but they could increase their timber income substantially by exercising their powers to decide whether or not to harvest timber. Elevating timber auction floor prices through state intervention is also feasible.

The impact of mountain pine beetle outbreaks and their treatment methods on the abundance of plant-foods important to caribou and grizzly bears

In Alberta, Canada, mountain pine beetle (MPB) infestations overlap with threatened caribou and grizzly bear ranges. While MPB is a natural part of the ecosystem, increased intensity of infestation due to fire suppression and a changing climate has required mitigating actions in the form of MPB control treatments, including accelerated forest harvesting, prescribed burns, and single-tree cut and burn. However, little is known on how MPB and MPB treatments affect understory shrub and forb forage taxa important to threatened caribou and grizzly bear populations. Using data collected in west-central and north-west Alberta, we investigated how the occurrence and abundance of 25 shrub and forb taxa varied among MPB kill, MPB treatments: single-tree cut and burn, harvesting, fire, and uncut forest strata. We determined that MPB kill and MPB treatments impacted 13 forage taxa preferred by threatened caribou and grizzly bear populations. These caribou and grizzly bear forage taxa generally had a positive response to MPB kill and single-tree cut and burn, a positive response to fire, or a positive response to MPB kill, single-tree cut and burn, and fire. Our results suggest that less-intensive MPB treatments like single-tree cut and burn might balance the threat of MPB against maintaining food resources and habitat for threatened species. As MPB continues to be a significant problem in Alberta and across the boreal forest, the results from our study, combined with ongoing assessments on the impact of MPB on wildlife species will provide essential information for evidence-based landscape management.

Effects of different nutrient compensation treatments following forest fuel extraction on biomass of young Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.)

Whole tree harvesting of forests may require compensation for losses of nutrients and alkalinity. The effects of three different practical ameliorative methods on spruce allometry, total biomass, and nutrient uptake were studied in an experiment in a 3-year-old Norway spruce ( Picea abies (L.) Karst.) stand in south-west Sweden. The treatments were one application of the fine fraction of logging residues, one application of granulated wood ash, two applications of an N-free vitality fertiliser, and untreated control. Analysis of covariance showed that spruce needle and stem allometry depended on treatment. Spruce fine root allometry was very variable, showing no discernible effect of treatment. Fine root distribution was shallower in treatments with higher graminoid biomass (vitality and wood ash). Vitality treatment increased average concentrations of Ca, Mg, and Zn in spruce total biomass. Ash treatment only increased the Zn concentration. The average N concentration was similar between treatments. Spruce total biomass per unit area was inversely correlated with graminoid biomass. Measurements of N uptake in spruce and graminoid biomass indicated that there was competition for N between spruce and graminoids. Thus, the effect of nutrient compensation on competition needs to be considered when predicting the effect on the growth of the target species.

Change in soil carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus after timber harvesting in northern hardwood forests

AbstractQuantifying changes in soil carbon (C) and nutrient stocks after timber harvesting is needed to inform C management and to ensure that forest productivity is sustained over time. Our objective was to assess changes in soil C, nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) 1 year after timber harvesting in temperate northern hardwood forests. We established permanent plots in forest stands for measuring forest attributes before and after harvesting. We collected soils from quantitative soil pits, which were associated with permanent plots, to determine total C, total N, and extractable P stocks and concentrations. Mean post‐harvest fine fraction organic (O) horizon C was less than the pre‐harvest stock, but we did not detect a statistically significant change in total O horizon or mineral soil C stocks. For the fine fractions of the O horizon and mineral soil from the 0–5 and 5–30 cm depth increments of the B horizon, total N and extractable P stocks were positively correlated with total C stocks. For all of these soil components, extractable P stocks and concentrations declined over time, which could be related to post‐harvest stand conditions that favored microbial activity and immobilization of available P. These findings indicate that P availability could be a concern in these forests and that long‐term monitoring is needed to consider potential management actions for ensuring that forest productivity is sustained.

Forest harvesting impacts on small, temperate zone lakes: a review

Small lakes (<1 km2) are physically, chemically, and biologically linked to their watersheds through hydrologic, terrestrial, and aerial delivery of materials. Inputs affecting lake function and structure, such as nutrient, energy, sediment, and large wood subsidies, arrive at the lake on three spatial scales, that is, the lake watershed, lake-inflow streams, and lake riparian areas. Lakes are sinks in the waterscape and integrate cumulative inputs from the landscape. Lakes can, therefore, react to landscape disturbances such as forest harvesting. Forest harvesting and associated activities can induce changes in watershed water yields, inputs of organic and inorganic materials to lakes, and in lake temperatures and wind. These changes result in stressors that can alter the lake’s physical habitat, water quality, and food webs. Here we review the reported impacts of forest harvesting on small, temperate zone lakes. The magnitude of the lake response to harvesting can depend on factors such as the proportion of the watershed harvested, the intensity of this harvesting, silvicultural practices and other activities, and road construction and density. Other additional factors include the proximity of the lake to harvesting and its impact on hydrological pathways connecting perturbed areas to stream and lake systems. The majority of surveyed studies reported short-term increases in nutrient and energy inputs, increased sedimentation due to harvesting, and increases in wind speeds, where about half reported increases in primary production or decreases in zooplankton biomass. Results on benthic macroinvertebrate, fish, and amphibians were less frequently reported and were geographically variable. Variation in the direction and magnitude of a lake’s food web response is likely due to studies of lakes with differences in watershed characteristics and forestry activities that can affect the magnitude of the lake response (i.e., proportion of watershed harvesting, forestry operations methods, hydrological connections to the lake, and site-specific attributes). We also discuss watershed forestry management and the implementation of lakeshore riparian buffers in the context of reducing forestry impacts on lakes. Most studies have been short-term, and the long-term, cumulative effects of forest harvesting on lake ecosystems remain unclear.

Supply Chain Actors’ Perspectives Concerning the Cultivation of Specialty Wood-Decay Mushrooms in Finland

The objective of this paper was to understand the perspectives of multiple stakeholders on the adoption of specialty wood-decay mushroom cultivation on stumps in connection with timber harvesting in Finland. The perspectives of supply chain actors, i.e., forest owners, forest harvesting entrepreneurs, forest professionals, and natural product entrepreneurs, were assessed using web-based questionnaires. Forest professionals (34%) were most interested in specialty mushroom cultivation in co-operation with companies selling cultures or buying mushrooms, whereas about one-fourth of the forest owners (23%) indicated that interest. Forest owners were willing to do the cultivation by themselves and to lease their forests for mushroom cultivation. Compared to household users, forest owners who had commercialised the non-timber forest products (NTFPs) of their forests or were willing to sell licences for NTFP picking and gathering permits were more interested in mushroom cultivation. Additionally, background information on forest owners, such as part-time forestry entrepreneurship, younger age, male gender, and higher education, significantly increased the odds of indicating interest in participating in the supply chain. One-fourth of the harvesting entrepreneurs (25%) indicated an interest in marketing and providing specialty mushroom cultivation services to forest owners in timber harvesting. Specialty mushrooms were already used by 26% of natural product entrepreneurs, and 40% indicated that specialty mushrooms could be used in the future. The shortage of information on, for example, cultivation success, yield, and costs, as well as profitability analyses, was acknowledged by all supply chain actors as the most serious barrier inhibiting their partnership in the production and utilisation of specialty mushrooms.

A Preliminary Validation and Assessment of a GIS Approach Related to Precision Forest Harvesting in Central Italy

There has been a growing awareness of the need for sustainable forest management among forest engineers during the last decades. The selection of the best harvesting system for logging operations plays a fundamental role in this effort. Nowadays, in the decision-making process, forest engineers rely on their own experience, and it is to be expected that their evaluation of the level of appropriateness may be biased. There may be a potential solution to this problem in the implementation of AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) in the GIS (Geographic Information System) environment. The application of AHP gives objective information and thus reduces the level of bias in deciding which logging harvest system is best to use. The aim of this study was to evaluate the reliability of a GIS-AHP approach applied to the development of the harvesting plan of a public forest estate in Central Italy. Three extraction methods were considered: forwarder, cable skidder, and all-terrain cable yarder. Thus, the GIS-AHP model was run by relying on the basic data attainable from the local forest management plan and then on detailed information provided by field data collected from 10 harvested blocks. Among these, in three blocks, the logging harvest method was changed from forwarder to cable skidder. Statistically significant differences were found between the suitability values obtained from the forest management plan and those retrieved from the field surveys for the forwarder and cable skidders but not for all-terrain cable yarders.

Landscape disturbance alters the composition and diversity of the diet of moose, a generalist herbivore

Human-caused landscape disturbance is one of the major threats to large herbivores, globally. Across central British Columbia (BC), Canada, industrial forest harvesting has resulted in rapid change to forest structure and composition. Concurrent with the increase in forest harvesting, moose (Alces alces) populations across central BC have declined, some dramatically. We studied moose diet across three seasons in two regional study areas that represented a range of logging intensity and rate of apparent starvation of moose. We used microhistological analysis of pellets to identify the proportional consumption of major plant groups that were known forage for moose across the study areas, as well as the diversity of the diet of moose. We used regression models to test whether the composition and diversity of moose diet in two study areas were consistent with the Niche Expansion Hypothesis or the Niche Shrinkage Hypothesis. In areas of increased density and size of clearcuts, moose consumed fewer shrubs and fir trees and their diet was more diverse. Where application of herbicides was common, moose consumed fewer forbs and their diet was more diverse. Both responses were consistent with the Niche Expansion Hypothesis. In areas of increased disturbance by wildfire, moose consumed less fir and more shrubs. Our results suggest that landscape disturbance in the form of extensive and rapid forest harvesting can influence the composition and diversity of the diet of moose.

3-D network routing of Brazil nut harvesting in tropical forests

3-D network routing of Brazil nut harvesting in tropical forests

Sediment delivery ratios from forest road networks and harvesting operational features by physiographic region in the southeastern United States

Sediment delivery ratios from forest road networks and harvesting operational features by physiographic region in the southeastern United States

FORESTRY DEVELOPMENT IN NGHE AN PROVINCE: THE CURRENT STATUS AND POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

Nghe An has the biggest area of forest and forestland in the North Central region and play an important role in environmental protection, biodiversity conservation, poverty reduction and social stability. Nghe An forestry sector has achieved many results in forest protection and development, forest cover is increasing, biodiversity is preserved, the economic structure of the industry has changed positively. However, the management and protection of forest resources and the organization of forestry production currently have many limitations and shortcomings, and have not brought into full play the potential and advantages of the sector. The study was conducted to assess the status of forestry development in the period 2016-2020 and to propose policy recommendations to develop the province's forestry sector in the 2021-2030. The main research method is to collect and analyze secondary data sources from related units. In addition, primary data and information were collected from individual interviews and group discussions with officials and local people in the province. The results have assessed the status of forestry development in the period 2016-2020 in terms of forest protection and natural conservation, concentrated new forest plantation, timber and NTFPs harvesting, forest interprises, wood processing, payment for forest environmental services, and a number of recommendations has been made to promote forestry development in Nghe An province.

НЕЙРОСЕТЕВАЯ МОДЕЛЬ ДЛЯ СЕГМЕНТАЦИИ КОСМИЧЕСКИХ СНИМКОВ В МОНИТОРИНГЕ ФАКТОРОВ ОБЕЗЛЕСЕНИЯ ТЕРРИТОРИИ

The article deals with the important problem of applying neural network models in the tasks of monitoring the condition of forest areas using optical satellite images. Objective. The objective of this research was to develop a neural network model of forest felling suitable for automation of decoding multispectral Sentinel-2 satellite images in forest monitoring tasks in the example of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug. Materials and Methods. The basis of the developed model was the forest harvesting satellite images segmentation procedure based on the convolutional neural network of deep learning. Sentinel-2 data interpretation was done using the modern QGIS geoinformation system. Over 990 pairs of multi-temporal space images of the forest territories of Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug in winter (snow) period of 2018–2022 were processed to prepare the training data set. More than 70 000 images of the training data set and corresponding masks of forest cutting contours were generated with these images. Results. As a result of this work, a neural network model of forest felling was created, which implements efficient segmentation of space images, which allowed automating the labor-intensive procedure of interpretation of multispectral Sentinel-2 images in order to identify forest logging contours. The set of training data totally 70 000 frames was divided into the training, validation (test) and test (control) samples, the amount of which for the deve¬lopment of the neural network model of forest felling was 58 000, 10 000 and 3600 frames respectively. The novelty of the model is determined, on the one hand, by the use of winter (snow) satellite images for training the neural network and, on the other hand, by the use of pairs of images acquired before and after forest felling. Recall, Precision and F-measure metrics were used as the criteria to evaluate the accuracy of the trained neural network model, and the values were calculated from the test sample. The calculated accuracy of felling detection using the proposed model on the test sample of data on different metrics reaches 85–87%. Conclusion. The developed neural network model of forest felling can be used for monitoring and mapping of forest resources of the northern forestry territories of Russia using multispectral Sentinel-2 satellite images.

Exploring the relevance of community forest operational plan: users’ perspective and implementation status

Community Forestry has long been considered an epitome of decentralized forest management in Nepal. The management of Community Forests are guided by their Operational Plans (OPs), the mandatory technical document. Their preparation demands substantial human and economic inputs. However, their extent of implementation and the significance of these plans to local user are topics of debate. In this context, this study analyzes users' perception about the OP and their implementation status. We took case study approach and conducted key informant interview (n=25), focus group discussion (n=16) and purposive household survey (n=246) in 15 Community Forest User Groups to compile required data. The perceptions were analyzed using qualitative methods. The results revealed that the users have poor understanding of their plans and considered the plan as technical legitimate documents. The implementation status of the plans was of sub-standard. Silvicultural operations prescribed in the operational plans were insufficiently carried out. We found that the users are adopting only the forest product harvest and utilization aspects of the plans. Provided the poor understanding of OPs among the users and quality of plan implementation, this study questions the relevance of current operational plans and emphasizes the need of reviewing the planning process so that their high-standard implementation can be assured.

Changes in multiple ecosystem services and their influencing factors in Nordic countries

Understanding changes of ecosystem services and their influencing factors is crucial for more sustainable ecosystem management and conservation of nature contributions to people, especially in regions suffering high pressure from climate change and human activities, such as the Nordic countries. In this study, we assess multiple ecosystem services and their influencing factors in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. We analyze changes in ecosystem services such as habitat quality, sediment retention, water yield, carbon sequestration, crop and roundwood production between 2003 and 2018. The relationships between ecosystem services and the main influencing factors (temperature, precipitation, elevation, population, livestock, and land use change) are assessed by means of the Spearman’s correlation coefficient and a new method that unravels synergies or tradeoffs at a grid level. Given the importance of forest management in the study region, an advanced land cover dataset that includes maps of forest harvest is produced and used as a basis for the analysis. Results show the large changes in ecosystem services during the study period and their spatial variations. Overall, the habitat quality is decreased, especially in the sites affected by forest management and agricultural production. Water yield and sediment retention increased due to higher precipitation (mainly in Norway). Higher temperature and forest management have generally increased carbon sequestration and provisioning services. The relationship between ecosystem services and their potential influencing factors differs across space. There are 10 out of 15 pairs of ecosystem services that predominantly show a tradeoff relationship, while the rest shows a synergy. In general, our results show the importance to monitor ecosystem services and understand the main drivers of their changes, so to design more sustainable resource management strategies that can secure a long-term delivery of ecosystem services.

Genetic diversity and population structure of Irvingia species using DArTseq generated markers

ABSTRACT Irvingia gabonensis and Irvingia wombolu trees indigenous to West and Central Africa are economically important owing to their valuable kernels. Massive fruit harvesting and reduction of forests land area has threatened their genetic diversity thus warranting conservation. This study reports the genetic diversity and population structure based on dominant markers of Irvingia accessions from Nigeria, Cameroon and Gabon held at World Agroforestry field genebanks. A total of 60 samples and 6532 SilicoDArT markers revealed high genetic differentiation among populations (phiPT = 0.301, P = .001). The overall genetic diversity revealed by Nei’s gene diversity (He = 0.117) and percentage of polymorphic loci (39.60%) was low. I.gabonensis provenances from Cameroon and Nigeria were more diverse than Gabonese populations. Pairwise phiPT values calculated from AMOVA variances delineated I. wombolu and I. gabonensis. Population structure and cluster analysis based on Bayesian algorithm, DAPC and UPGMA methods placed Cameroon at the center of distribution of I. gabonensis accessions from Nigeria and Gabon. Gabonese accessions tend to cluster independent of Nigerian accessions while I. wombolu formed a distinct cluster from I. gabonensis. SilicoDArT markers were found suitable for population structure and differentiation analysis of Irvingia accessions and can guide future recollections to enrich genebank diversity and materials for domestication events.