Browsing by Author "Kamara, Ernest Gibril"

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    Effect of Spacing Regimes on Growth and Carbon Storage of Tectona grandis, Gmelina arborea and Terminalia ivorensis in a Nine Year old Forest Plantation in the Transition Rainforest of Sierra Leone
    (Alkhaer Publications, 2020) Kamara, Ernest Gibril
    The study was conducted to investigate the effect of spacing on growth and carbon storage of Tectona grandis, Terminalia ivorensis and Gmelina arborea in a nine year old Plantation Forest experimental plots at Njala University, Sierra Leone. The aim was to assess the effect of four different spacings (1.8m x 1.8m, 2.0m x 2.0m, 3.0m x 3.0m and 4.0m x4.0m) on tree growth and carbon storage in tree biomass of the three species. The species were planted in square plots consisting of four different spacings with a split plot design in three replications. Measurements of DBH, height, volume, biomass and carbon percentage of biomass were taken and the data was subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results showed that spacing had significant effect on DBH, height, biomass, carbon percentage and volume. The 4.0m x 4.0m spacing had the highest DBH, biomass, carbon percentage of biomass and volume whilst the highest height was recorded at 2.0m x 2.0m. Gmelina arborea dominated among the three species selected followed by Tectona. Terminalia was poor in most parameters except for height and volume. Strong positive relationships were observed between tree DBH and biomass (r2 = 0.79) DBH and carbon percentage of biomass (r2 = 0.89) and DBH and volume (r2 = 0.95). The results indicate that 4m x 4m spacing and Gmelina arborea can be recommended for afforestation and reforestation programmes aimed at wood and timber production for fast growth and higher carbon sequestration.
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    Growth Performance of Apical and Nodal Cuttings of Selected Forest Tree Species Under Different Fertilizers and Substrate Regimes in the Nursery
    (2025-11-04) Kamara, Ernest Gibril
    The main aim of clonal propagation program is the production of high-quality timber and faster tree growth. An experiment was established from wood shoot cuttings of 3-year-old hedged Acacia and Eucalyptus stock plants grown in a hedge garden at Miro Mile 91, in northern Sierra Leone to study the effects of branch position, fertilizer application and substrate on growth of seedlings. A completely randomized design in factorial arrangement was used for experimentation. Coppice shoots collected from the apical and nodal leafy cuttings were prepared. These cuttings were planted in root trainers using soil and cocopeat as growth media and cultured in a mist chamber for rooting at 85 ± 2% relative humidity with maximum and minimum day-night temperature at 32 ± 18C and 26 ± 18C respectively. The results showed that the rooting parameters viz., percent rooting, mean number of leaves sprout, shoot length, and mean number of roots and length per cutting were significantly influenced by the branch position, substrate, and fertilizer treatments. Treatments with apical cuttings treated with 20g/L and 30g/L NPK fertilizer increased percent rooting and percent sprouting compared to those treated with 10g/L NPK and the control. Cocopeat substrate had significantly higher aeration and water holding porosity than sterilized soil. The results indicated that Apical cuttings treated with 20g/L or 30g/L NPK fertilizer using cocopeat medium could be used for successful clonal propagation of Eucalyptus and Acacia species. Apical cuttings, cocopeat substrate and NPK fertilizer are recommended for mass clonal propagation of these two species.