Dendrometric and floristic study of Gilbertiodendron dewevrei forests of a concession in Democratic Republic of Congo

Abstract

This study was about the systematic inventory in two types of forest stands (mixed Forest and Gilbertiodendron dewevrei mono- dominant forest) in the concession 033/11 under the management of the SICOBOIS company, based in the province of Equateur in Democratic Republic of the Congo, in order to orient choices of sustainable management of biodiversity and ecosystem services. The mixed forest provided a total 348 individuals, belonging to 90 species grouped in 29 families. The mean density of the woody plants is of 139 individuals/ha, representing a basal area of 25 m2/ha. Concerning the Gilbertiodendron dewevrei mono-dominant forest, 322 individuals have been counted. They belong to 50 species and 20 families, with mean values of 129 individuals/ha and 30.4 m2/ha respectively for the density and the basal area. The study zone has given 670 stems of diameter at breast height (DBH)?10 cm. They are distributed in 101 species belonging to 30 families. For the mixed forest, the mean values of the diversity indices were the following: Shannon-Weaver index (H) = 4.05; Simpson index (1-D) = 0.97; Fisher alpha index (?) = 39.3 and Equitability (J) = 0.89. On the other hand, the calculated values of biodiversity indices for Gilbertiodendron dewevrei mono-dominant forest were: Shannon-Weaver index (H) = 2.27; Simpson index (1-D) = 0.70; Fisher alpha (?) = 16.6 and Equitability (J) = 0.57. The collected data will permit to monitor the spatio-temporal dynamics of flora and vegetation of this forest concession and will help decision- makers and the concession managers to develop a suitable strategy for the sustainable forest management.

Keywords

• Forest
• Gilbertiodendron dewevrei
• spatial structure
• diversity index
• sustainable management