Bark-stripping of African mahogany trees ( Khaya spp.) by cattle in silvopastoral systems in Brazil
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Bark-stripping of African mahogany trees (Khaya spp.) by cattle in silvopastoral systems in Brazil Ricardo Augusto Gorne Viani . Jozivaldo Prudeˆncio G. de Morais . Frederico Domene . Elielton Ramos Eugeˆnio . Mariana Campana . Eduardo Latarini Neto . Ana Carolina Cardoso de Oliveira
Received: 12 July 2020 / Accepted: 9 October 2020 Ó Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract African mahogany (Khaya spp.) produces high-value wood, and its cultivation is expanding in tropical regions. The silvopastoral system is an alternative method for growing timber trees, but may involve cattle stripping bark from trees, which limits its usefulness. We evaluated cattle bark-stripping rates in two African mahogany species, K. grandifoliola and K. senegalensis, in a silvopastoral system with Guinea grass, Panicum maximum, in South-eastern Brazil. Cattle had free access to plantations of both tree species for 2 weeks in May 2018 and July 2019, when trees were 5 and 6 years old, respectively. In 2018, we found bark-stripping only in K. grandifoliola, but in 2019 both species were bark-stripped. The proportion of bark-stripped trees was higher for K. grandifoliola than for K. senegalensis. Considering both years, 29/155 (18.7%) K. senegalensis trees and 106/153 (69.3%) K. grandifoliola trees had some of their barkstripped by cattle. Bark-stripped trees had lower trunk diameter growth than unaffected trees, and their growth was affected by the degree of bark-stripping.
R. A. G. Viani (&) J. P. G. de Morais F. Domene E. R. Eugeˆnio M. Campana E. Latarini Neto Center for Agrarian Sciences, Campus Araras, Federal University of Sa˜o Carlos, Araras, SP, Brazil e-mail: [email protected] A. C. C. de Oliveira Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture, University of Sa˜o Paulo, Piracicaba, SP, Brazil
Some trees were girdled by bark-stripping. These trees dried up, and some of them fell down 1 year after girdling. In 2019, despite the high herbage mass, levels of crude protein in the pasture were very low, which may have stimulated bark-stripping. Although we could not identify the reasons for bark-stripping, we recommend avoiding the use of silvopastoral systems with cattle and African mahogany in times of the year when pasture has a low quality. Keywords Agroforestry Cattle grazing Pastures Panicum maximum Timber
Introduction African mahogany (Khaya spp., Meliaceae) comprises tree species originally found in Africa, but globally recognized for their high-value wood, which is widely used for building and furniture (Fremlin 2011. Cultivation of African mahogany is expanding in the tropical world (Nikles et al. 2008; Heryati et al. 2010; Opuni-Frimpong et al. 2013). In Brazil, African mahogany trees were introduced in recent decades (Ribeiro et al. 2017) and are planted instead of endangered South American mahogany trees (Swietenia macrophylla), which cultivation has been limited by the mahogany shoot borer (Hypsipyla grandella), and exploitation from Amazon forest is currently controlled
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