Performance of planted indigenous trees, Acacia galpinii and Faidherbia albida, in semi-arid Botswana
Malotwana Silvopastoral Farm, PO Box 2386, Mochudi, Botswana; Department of Forest and Wood Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Matieland 7602, South Africa; Department of Biological Sciences, University of Botswana, Private Bag, UB 00704 Gaborone, Botswana
Walker, K.P., Malotwana Silvopastoral Farm, PO Box 2386, Mochudi, Botswana; Theron, J.M., Department of Forest and Wood Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Matieland 7602, South Africa; Moseki, B., Department of Biological Sciences, University of Botswana, Private Bag, UB 00704 Gaborone, Botswana
Two popular indigenous browse, shade and poles trees, Acacia galpinii and Faidherbia albida, were evaluated for survival and growth on-farm in Malotwana, Botswana, with a mean annual rainfall of 450 mm. The trial was a two species x three spacing factorial experiment in a randomised complete block design replicated five times. The three spacings were 5 m x 5 m, 6.3 m x 5 m and 8.3 m x 5 m. The study was conducted over 6.5 years. The results showed that A. galpinii is a promising poles, browse and shade species, while F. albida exhibited high mortality (67%) at 4.5 years (after below-average rainfall). The crown width of A. galpinii ranged from 5.86 ± 0.24 m at high density to 6.56 ± 0.25 m in low-density plots. The difference in crown width among densities was significant (p = 0.0406). Diameter at breast height ranged between 10.4 ± 0.68 cm at high density to 12.5 ± 0.64 cm in low-density plantings and was significantly different among spacings (p = 0.0003). Copyright © NISC Pty Ltd.