Forests Of Cameroon Research Articles

Tree community, vegetation structure and aboveground carbon storage in Atlantic tropical forests of Cameroon

Tree community, vegetation structure and aboveground carbon storage in Atlantic tropical forests of Cameroon

Damping properties of some tropical wood species determined by free transverse vibration method

ABSTRACT This article describes a non-destructive method for determining the damping properties of wood. It was based on the analysis of the attenuation of the free transverse vibrations of a fixed support-free specimen following excitation. Cameroonian forests abound important species that were much in demand for structural applications and were often subjected to dynamic loads. However, in the literature and in the available databases, very little information was available on the vibration properties of these wood species. To solve this problem, three specimens of twenty-four wood species with a cross-section of 10 × 20 mm, with a length of 1600 mm were prepared and subjected to a free vibration test in the fixed support-free configuration. The accelerations as a function of time were obtained. By transforming the recorded accelerations into displacements, it was allowed to determine the logarithmic decrement by mean the first twenty-one amplitudinal peaks. Thanks to the interrelationships, the viscous damping ratio, loss factor, quality factor and specific damping ratio were deduced. The results obtained were relatively variable between species. Compared with the data available in the literature for the same species, there was a considerable difference.

Seed germination, morphology and fruit phenology insight of Cylicomorpha solmsii (Urb.) Urb: a step towards sustainable restoration planning

Cylicomorpha solmsii (Urb.) Urb (Caricaceae) is a wild relative of domesticated Carica papaya native to the humid tropical forest of Cameroon. C. solmsii is becoming extinct due to rapid urbanization of its habitat. There is currently no restoration planning, no available data on seed germination, details on morphological description and fruit phenology. We investigated the effects of light and soil on seed germination, updated its morphological description and provided cues of its fruit phenology. In two series of experiments, a germination test was first conducted under light and dark conditions with three seed pre-treatments (scarification, drying and cold). Secondly, pre-treated seeds were sown in native soils of C. solmsii habitat collected at Eloumden I and II, two ex-situ and mixtures soil with sand. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected on different part of the plant and analyzed using R package version 4.3.2. Our findings showed that C. solmsii seeds can germinate only under light. The seeds manifested a physiological embryonic dormancy. The native soils showed the highest germination percentage and seedling establishment. The dioicy of C. solmsii was clearly described with incomplete staminate and pistillate unisexual flower whorls. C. solmsii was observed to produce fruits throughout the year at varying intensity. This information is a vital cue to species restoration and policy makers towards C. solmsii conservation.

Passive acoustic monitoring of endangered endemic Afromontane tropical species: A case study with two turacos

AbstractPassive acoustic monitoring (PAM) is a reliable method for studying the behaviour and ecology of vocally active animals, providing insights into species' activity patterns. Here, we utilised a year‐long recording programme conducted in six areas of the Afromontane tropical forest of Cameroon to assess the utility of PAM, describe the annual and circadian vocal activity patterns, and assess the relationship between vocal activity and climate conditions for two African turaco species: the endemic and Endangered Bannerman's turaco (Tauraco bannermani) and the common, but locally at risk, Great blue turaco (Corythaeola cristata). The automated software detected 8670 vocalisations of Bannerman's turaco and 374 of the Great blue turaco, proving the ability of passive acoustics, coupled with automated software, for monitoring these species. Our findings suggest that both turacos are sedentary and seasonal breeders, exhibiting larger peaks of vocal activity during the dry season, although both species showed smaller activity peaks during the wet season. Similar circadian patterns were observed for both species, with activity peaks occurring at dawn and dusk. Long‐term monitoring programmes of both species should be implemented in the study areas, especially regarding the Great blue turaco, which may soon disappear from Bamenda Highlands.

Vertical stratification and defensive traits of caterpillars against parasitoids in a lowland tropical forest in Cameroon

Insect herbivores and their parasitoids play a crucial role in terrestrial trophic interactions in tropical forests. These interactions occur across the entire vertical gradient of the forest. This study compares how caterpillar communities, and their parasitism rates, vary across vertical strata and between caterpillar defensive strategies in a semi deciduous tropical forest in Nditam, Cameroon. Within a 0.1 ha plot, all trees with a diameter at breast height (DBH) ≥ 5 cm were felled and systematically searched for caterpillars. We divided the entire vertical gradient of the forest into eight, five-metre strata. All caterpillars were assigned to a stratum based on their collection height, reared, identified, and classified into one of three defensive traits: aposematic, cryptic and shelter-building. Caterpillar species richness and diversity showed a midstory peak, whereas density followed the opposite pattern, decreasing in the midstory and then increasing towards the highest strata. This trend was driven by some highly dense shelter-building caterpillars in the upper canopy. Specialisation indices indicated decreasing levels of caterpillar generality with increasing height, a midstory peak in vulnerability, and increasing connectance towards the upper canopy, although the latter was likely driven by decreasing network size. Both aposematic and shelter-building caterpillars had significantly higher parasitism rates than cryptic caterpillars. Our results highlight nuanced changes in caterpillar communities across forest strata and provide evidence that defences strategies are important indicators of parasitism rates in caterpillars and that both aposematic and shelter-building caterpillars could be considered a “safe haven” for parasitoids.

Physical and mechanical properties of two tropical wood (Detarium macrocarpum and Piptadeniastrum africanum) and their potential as substitutes to traditionally used wood in Cameroon

This study aimed to characterise two little-known woods and discuss their potential to replace those heavily exploited in Cameroon's forests. Amouk (Detarium macrocarpum) and Dabema (Piptadeniastrum africanum) were characterised for their physical and mechanical properties. Density, shrinkage, desorption kinetics, shear strength, tensile strength and modulus of elasticity (MOE) in compression and flexion were determined. A Weibull analysis was performed to predict their failure. It was found that Amouk and Dabéma can be classified as medium-heavy wood with low shrinkage and desorption, following Midilli's empirical model. The physical and mechanical characterisations show that the density, strength and MOE parameters of the woods are close to each other and enable them to be classified as medium-strength woods. The probability of failure in compression follows Weibull's law. These woods can, therefore, be used in structural applications such as construction, replacing common woods.

Impact of a set of environmental variables on the leaf litter breakdown rate in natural streams of the equatorial forest in Cameroon

Impact of a set of environmental variables on the leaf litter breakdown rate in natural streams of the equatorial forest in Cameroon

Production and disease status of three climbing beans varieties in the monomodal humid forest of Cameroon

The availability of beans at a relatively cheaper price compared to meat and other protein sources cater for the protein requirements of people with low purchasing power. This study was carried out on three climbing beans varieties PNN, DOR 701 and MCX to evaluate growth, yield and disease prevalence across two growing seasons. The design of the experiment was complete randomized block design with the three replicates, 15 plants were randomly selected and tagged from each variety per plot for data collection on growth, yield, diseased incidence and severity. The results showed that irrespective of the planting season, all the growth parameters of the climbers, with the exception of the number of leaves per plant, varied significantly (P = 0.05) with beans variety. The highest plant height (171.6 cm), number of grains per pod was highest (8), the highest pod length (13.3 cm) and the least mean number of branches per plant (4) was recorded with the variety PNN. All yield and yield components were found to vary significantly (P = 0.05) with the bean varieties. The highest yield (3.0 Mg/ha) was recorded by MCX. Disease incidence and severity did not vary significantly (P = 0.05) across varieties. Disease incidence and severity were significantly higher in the early planting season (91.7% and 37.7% respectively) than in the late planting season (69.4% and 16.7% respectively). Cultivation of beans should be done in the late planting season, using MCX variety with high yield.

Mycorrhizas and Trichoderma fungi increase the accumulation of secondary metabolites in grain legume leaves and suppress foliar diseases in field-grown conditions of the humid forest of Cameroon

BackgroundArbuscular mycorrhizal and Trichoderma fungi alter the synthesis of secondary metabolites of plants and confer tolerance from pathogens attacks. However, there is less supportive evidence from on-field studies confirming the above-mentioned hypothesis, particularly for the humid forest zone of Cameroon where pathogens are important sources of yield losses for legumes such as soybean and common bean.Materials and methodsWe evaluated the impacts of mycorrhiza isolates of Rhizophagus intraradices (Ri) and Trichoderma asperellum (Ta) fungi and their co-inoculations (Ta x Ri) in the synthetizing of leaves secondary metabolites, foliar disease symptoms, growth, N and P uptake, and yields of three genotypes of soybean (TGx 1485-1D, TGx 1990-93 F, and TGx 1990-97 F) and common beans (NUA-99, DOR-701, and PNN) under field conditions of Cameroon.ResultsWe found that common bean plants showed a lower foliar infection rate but a higher increase in root colonization intensity, shoot dry weight, and N and P uptakes than soybeans when inoculated with Ri and Ta treatment. However, the grain yield of soybean soybean was higher (2000 kg ha 1) than the common bean plants for the Ri × Ta treatment. The soybean genotype TGx 1990-93F had increased root colonization intensity and the lowest foliar infection rate, making it stronger and tolerant to pathogen attacks when co-inoculated with Ri × Ta fungi (F). Bean plants inoculated with Ri and the co-inoculated with Ri × Ta demonstrated lower symptoms of foliar attack, and increased root colonization, particularly the PNN variety. The total amino acid and proline accumulations were higher for soybean than common bean plants due to fungi inoculations, and soybean genotypes accumulated more excellent contents of amino acid and proline in the control (10.1 mg g− 1 fwt) that significantly increased under the Ri × Ta inoculation (13.4 mg g− 1 fwt).ConclusionsCommon bean plants inoculated with Ta and Ri fungi accumulated higher phenolic compounds in their leaves that aided them in overcoming the pathogen attacks than soybean plants.

Allometric equations and carbon stocks assessment for Bambusa vulgaris Schrad. ex J.C.Wendl. in the bimodal rainfall forest of Cameroon

Over the last two decades, bamboo has received increasing attention owing to its socio-economic and environmental importance. Environmentally, bamboo plays an important role in carbon sequestration, thus enhancing climate change mitigation. In Cameroon, knowledge about the importance of Bambusa vulgaris Schrad. ex J.C.Wendl. to climate change mitigation is deficient, despite the fact that it is the most abundant bamboo species in Cameroon's Bimodal rainforest agroecological zone (Agroecological zone 5 - AEZ5). This study was initiated to develop allometric equations and estimate carbon stocks of B. vulgaris in Cameroon's AEZ5. The destructive, clump-based method was used for bamboo biomass data collection on 40 clumps and 86 culms. Regression analyses were performed to obtain allometric models for B. vulgaris biomass prediction which were used for B. vulgaris carbon stocks estimation in AEZ5. The best allometric model for culms was obtained when all predictive variables including age, diameter and height were considered into the model. For clump, the best model was obtained when the number of culms per clump, girth and average diameter were considered in the model. Model quality adjustment was better for clump aboveground biomass (AGB) compared to those of culm AGB. The model of B. vulgaris of the evergreen rainfall forest was validated with a bias of 45.5 %. Bamboo aboveground biomass proportions were 77 %, 15 % and 8 %, respectively for culms, branches and leaves. The mean density and carbon stocks of B. vulgaris were estimated at 2,0679 culms.ha−1, 257 clumps.ha−1, and 61.65 tC ha−1. B. vulgaris has a veritable carbon sequestration capacity which policymakers should consider in climate change mitigation strategies like those linked to payments for ecosystem services, voluntary carbon stocks market, Bonn Challenge, AFR100 initiative, and the Paris agreement ratified by the government of Cameroon.

Monitoring monthly tropical humid forest disturbances with Planet NICFI images in Cameroon

Selective logging and smallholder clearing are the dominant drivers of tropical forest disturbances in Cameroon (CAM). However, they are difficult to monitor accurately by satellite remote sensing because openings in the canopy can be very small, the vegetation is generally fast-growing, and cloud cover is common. Norway's International Climate and Forest Initiative (NICFI) provides access to monthly and biannual collections of 5 m Planet images in the tropics, creating a great opportunity for mapping tropical forest disturbances. In this paper, we develop a method to monitor monthly small-scale tropical humid forest disturbances using 2021 Planet NICFI images. First, a cloud mask for each of the monthly Planet NICFI images was predicted by integrating a cloud cover possibility map with a haze optimal transformation (HOT) index image. Second, possible monthly forest disturbances were mapped from a self-referenced Hue_forest (rHue_forest) index image. Finally, an adjusted monthly forest disturbance map was produced by eliminating many false positives with a spatio-temporal filter. Results in CAM demonstrated that the method applied to monthly Planet NICFI images was effective in identifying numerous small-scale tropical forest disturbances that were short-lived, lasting only a few months. After filtering out new possible forest disturbances in 2021 which did not meet a temporal permanence criterion based on the monthly images, the adjusted user´s and producer´s accuracies for CAM were 84.7 ± 2.9% and 61.5 ± 46.4%, respectively (±95% confidence intervals). Our results provide much greater spatial detail than forest disturbance methods based on Sentinel-1 and Landsat images. The adjusted disturbed area of humid forests in CAM was estimated as 1,168 ± 882 km2 in 2021. The proposed method for monthly mapping of forest disturbance using Planet NICFI images has great potential to complement existing forest cover change products and monitor hitherto neglected tropical forest disturbances due to small-scale clearing.

A Critical Examination of the Legal Standards for the Exploitation of Timber Resources: Encumbrances and Prospects for Forest Sustainability in Cameroon

The forest of Cameroon which is located in western equatorial Africa is central to economic growth and development and livelihood sustainability. Forests play three important functions: They provide habitat for the preservation of biodiversity; act as carbon sinks; and contribute to maintaining and enhancing the quality of the soil. Furthermore, forest is a source for nutrition and generates income for the state. Recently the demand for forest products by loggers and other forest users for the production of timber, fuel wood, and charcoal have been on the rise. Illegalities in the forest sector is fast becoming worrisome with incidents of illegal logging at the forefront and visible on every angle, beginning with illegal loggers to the corrupt government officials. Illegal logging is a chain of activities, beginning with the unclear allocation of concession rights, inappropriate felling of wood, transportation and marketing of the illegally exploited wood. The major cause of this has led to over exploitation of the forest in order to meet local and international demands. This further has an adverse effect on the forest as species are gradually disappearing, a change of climate, pollution, soil depletion, and a breach of local community’s right to forest. To this respect, our objective is to analyze the legislative instruments and their consistency or efficacy in regulating logging activities, and the encumbrances faced. To achieve these objectives we made use of both doctrinal and analytical research methodology with primary and secondary sources of information as the main tools. We observed that, the forest is under serious threat from adverse human activities, especially illegal logging encourage by factors such as corruption, ineffective forest legislations, and lack of consistency amongst others. In the light of the above mentioned huddles we proffered some recommendations such as beefing up enforcement procedure, minimizing corruption, an increase in the sanction against defaulters, reducing the procedure to obtain exploitation permit, reforming, harmonization and codification of the forest law which will serve as a way forward.

Context matters: Oil palm production and women's dietary diversity in the tropical forest of Cameroon

AbstractOil palm is one of the most rapidly expanding food and cash crops in many tropical regions with significant environmental implications, but also economic gains. Previous analyses have established that this expansion is associated with changing gender roles and time allocation for women. Time allocation is an important determinant of maternal and child nutrition as well as well‐being. We use a rich farm household survey from a native oil palm production hotspot, Cameroon, to examine the associations between oil palm production and women's dietary diversity. Using different estimation and identification strategies with some sensitivity checks, we show that oil palm is associated with lower dietary diversity for women, measured as the minimum dietary diversity for women and the minimum adequacy diversity diet. We explore heterogeneity in the various food groups consumed by women and show that oil palm production is associated with lower consumption of mainly pulses, fruits and vegetables. These findings contrast with the literature that has established some positive dietary diversity implications of oil palm expansion in Southeast Asia. We carefully discuss these findings and argue that context matters and may explain these differences. Particularly, we show that oil palm production is negatively associated with farm production diversity in Cameroon. Notwithstanding, we also confirm previous findings that highlight that oil palm production is associated with higher income. These insights add to the debate on the implications of oil palm expansion in tropical environments. Moreover, they can guide policy in designing more tailored interventions that address nutrition issues and improve rural development.

Patterns of species richness and turnover in endemic amphibians of the Guineo‐Congolian rain forest

AbstractAimThe African Guineo‐Congolian (GC) region is a global biodiversity hotspot with high species endemism, bioclimatic heterogeneity, complex landscape features, and multiple biogeographic barriers. Bioclimatic and geographic variables influence global patterns of species richness and endemism, but their relative importance varies across taxa and regions and is poorly understood for many faunas. Here, we test the hypothesis that turnover in endemic amphibians of the GC biodiversity hotspot is influenced mainly by the geographic distance between grid cells and secondarily by rainfall‐ and temperature‐related variables.LocationWest and Central Africa.Major Taxa StudiedAmphibians.MethodsWe compiled species‐occurrence records via field sampling, online databases, and taxonomic literature. Our study used 1205 unique georeferenced records of 222 amphibian species endemic to the GC region. Patterns of species richness were mapped onto a grid with a spatial resolution of 0.5° × 0.5°. We estimated weighted endemism and tested whether endemism was higher than the expected species richness (randomization test). We quantified species turnover using generalized dissimilarity modelling to evaluate the processes underlying observed patterns of species richness in GC endemic amphibians. We explored bioregionalization using agglomerative hierarchical clustering based on the unweighted pair group method with arithmetic averages.ResultsWe identified seven areas within the lower GC region – forests in Cameroon, Gabon, Southern Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Cote d'Ivoire – as having high species richness of endemic amphibians. The randomization test returned four major areas of significant weighted endemism: Nigeria‐Cameroon mountains, forest regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, and Ghana. Our analysis revealed five bioregions for amphibian endemism, four of which were located within the lower Guineo‐Congolian forest. Species turnover was strongly related to the geographic distance between grid cells; contributing bioclimatic variables included precipitation of the warmest quarter, mean temperature of the wettest quarter, and mean diurnal temperature range.Main ConclusionsOur results indicate that geographic distance between grid cells is the primary determinant of turnover in GC endemic amphibians, with secondary but significant effects of rainfall‐ and temperature‐related variables. Our study identifies key areas of endemic amphibian richness that could be prioritized for conservation actions.

Forest activities drive diversity and structure in the tropical rainforest

AbstractLogging is widely known to be one of the major drivers of the loss of timber resources in tropical rainforests. In order to assess the contribution of this activity to biodiversity and carbon storage in Cameroon's Forest Management Units, this study was carried out in three Annual Allowable Cuts (AAC), of which two were logged, AAC 1‐1 (logged two years before), AAC 1‐2 (logged one year before) and one unlogged (AAC 1‐4). On each stand, 100 sampling plots of 20 m × 20 m were laid. The plot survey assessed the diversity indices, basal area, Aboveground Biomass, wood density, total height and importance value index of the tree species having ≥10 cm diameter at breast height. A total of 203 species belonging to 158 genera and 58 families were recorded. Piptadeniastrum africanum (7.21), Sterculia rhinopetala (23.35) and Ceiba pentandra (14.5) were the commonly traded species with the highest importance value index, respectively, for AAC 1‐1, 1‐2, and 1‐4. Non‐symmetric correspondence analysis (NSCA) revealed that the plots in AAC 1‐4 are more diverse, containing more biomass than those in AAC 1‐1 and 1‐2. Although selective logging has reduced species richness, it remains important to develop enrichment of species removed for ecosystem restoration.

Physical and mechanical properties of Ayous wood (Triplochiton scleroxylon) from Cameroon

The present study deals with Ayous wood from the East Cameroon forest reserve in the locality of Abong-Mbang. The water absorption rate of Ayous wood and the absorption kinetics were evaluated. Ayous wood reached its absorption saturation around 28 days. The primary diffusion coefficient was found to be 1.51 x 10-11 m2/s with a standard deviation of 0.23x10-11 m2/s while the saturation absorption rate is 144% with a standard deviation of 16.3%. About the modeling of kinetic absorption, many models were tested, and (Sikame, 2014) was the best model for our experiments. In order to determine the mechanical properties, four point bending and compression test were done through the three orthotropic directions. It is found that the modulus of elasticity value is 8792.75 MPa with a standard deviation of 527 MPa and the fracture stress (σl) value is 53.6 MPa with a standard deviation of 8 MPa. Longitudinal, radial and tangential compressive stress are 31.51 MPa, 29.15 MPa and 31.4 MPa respectively, with standard deviations of 4.34MPa, 4.52 MPa and 4.23 MPa.

Assessing plant diversity change in logged and unlogged dense semi-deciduous production forest of eastern Cameroon

This study was carried out in the dense semi-deciduous production forest of East Cameroon. The objective of this work of this study was to provide comparative floristic knowledge that can serve as a basis for the planning and sustainable management of ligneous plant resources in Communal Forests before and after logging. Sampling was done in unlogged and logged forest. Data collection was carried out using the linear transects subdivided into 10 plots of 25 m × 20 m (500 m2) with an equidistance of 225 m for the inventory of all trees with dbh ≥10 cm installed measured at 1.3 m above ground level. Nested quadrats 5 m × 5 m, oriented south-west and north-east were set up in each plot for the counting and identification of all individuals with a diameter less than 10 cm. The analysis of inventory data showed that the floristic composition was higher in the unlogged forest. The individuals were more evenly distributed in the logged (Pielou's equitability index = 0.83) than in the unlogged forest. The study of the functional spectra showed that the flora of the two forest types was dominated by Guinean-Congolese species (67.57% in the unlogged forest and 63.07% in the logged forest) and Phanerophytes, particularly Mesophanerophytes. The dominance of sarcochorous species reveals that the main mode of dissemination in this forest is zoochory, particularly endozoochory. The presence of pleochroic species in the logged forest reveals the importance of dissemination by water in the environment. The plants surveyed were divided into five plant assemblages (three for logged forest and two for unlogged forest) based on ecological parameters. The findings of this study suggest that forest management which combines assisted natural regeneration with the natural process of secondary succession facilitates the reconstitution of the vegetation cover and, by extension, the conservation of biodiversity in post-logging forest concessions.

Six years of industrial logging in Ngoyla (East-Cameroon): what have been the outcomes for local populations?

The industrial exploitation of Cameroon's forests was, until the late 2000s, credited with little positive impacts on the communities living near logging concessions. In order to evaluate the outcomes of logging for local populations and to inform the sustainable management of Ngoyla-Mintom forest block, socio-economic data was collected from 2011 to 2018. Data from guided interviews, observations and questionnaires reveal that local populations have seen improvements in their living conditions, particularly in terms of formal employment, better housing and increased mobility. The main adverse effects observed were a reduction of some forest resources, an increase in certain diseases, and increased violations of the rights of Indigenous People. Despite identified favorable factors, the positive impacts from industrial logging in Ngoyla are below expectations.

Perception and adaptation strategies of forest dwellers to climate variability in the tropical rainforest in eastern Cameroon: The case of the inhabitants of the Belabo-Diang Communal Forest

The design of appropriate adaptation strategies to the impacts of climate change requires a contextual study of local perceptions due to the non-homogeneity of climate in a given agro-ecological area. The research objective of the current study aims to examine the evolution of climate parameters from 1983 to 2019 linked to the perceptions of local populations and appropriate adaptation measures in the Belabo-Diang Communal Forest of Cameroon. The methodological approach includes collecting and analyze climate data from 1983 to 2019; and surveying existing local perceptions and adaptive strategies among 540 households using semi-structured questionnaires. A significant increase in temperature of about 1 °C over 36 years (1983–2019) and a non-significant decrease in precipitation (95.36 mm) over the same period were observed. Local perceptions related to climate change vary according to the sector of activity and are mainly associated with more heat in the dry season (90%), late onset of rains (84%), drought recurrence (82%), less rainfall during the year (80%), and increase in the duration of drought (80%). For 82–100% of households, according to the activity sector, no appropriate adaptation measures to climate change were applied depending on activities. The adaptation measures used by less than 0–20% of respondents, include mainly the abandonment or change of activity, and modification of the agricultural calendar. With the lack of appropriate and adequate adaptation measures by the riparian populations, this study appears necessary to inform policy-makers of the need to develop and implement more appropriate strategies to enable the riparian people living in forest area of Cameroon to better adapt to these effects of climate changes.

Interactive effects of branch type and growth medium on early growth and survival of cutting-propagated Cordia africana (Lam.)

Cordia africana Lam is an economically and ecologically valuable tree of the Western Highlands forest of Cameroon that is under pressure of over-exploitation and habitat fragmentation. There is a need for fast and easy means of mass production of quality planting stock for upregulation of the population of the species. An experiment was carried out to investigate the combined effects of branch type and growth medium on early growth and survival of C. africana cuttings. Treatments were comprised of three branch types (primary, secondary, tertiary) of cuttings origin and three growth media (sand, sawdust, 1:1 sand: sawdust) laid out in a split-plot design in a non-mist propagator. Data were collected three months after the initiation of treatments. Sawdust significantly reduced shoot height, stem diameter, stem volume, number of leaves, and leaf area while it increased mortality. There was no significant difference between sand and sand: sawdust for any of the parameters. The five growth parameters were significantly lower in cuttings from tertiary branches than those obtained from primary and secondary branches. In contrast, mortality of cuttings declined from the tertiary to primary and secondary branch types that displayed statistically similar values of the trait. There was no significant interactive effect of treatments on any of the attributes examined in this study. The findings indicate that a tertiary branch and sawdust may not be a suitable source and growth medium, respectively for vegetative propagation of C. africana.