Abstract
This study examined the long-term growth performance of Cordia africana and Grevillea robusta, which are the most common indigenous and exotic trees, respectively, associated with crops in the Mount Kenya region. Local farmers prefer G. robusta to C. africana as on-farm trees because they believe that G. robusta grows faster. Measurements of height and diameter at breast height were made of 47 C. africana and 89 G. robusta trees for which the age was established based on interviews with farmers. The oldest G. robusta and C. africana trees were 55 and 46 years old, respectively. The apical growth rate for G. robusta was greater than that for C. africana in Katheri (a humid area). The differences between the two species were less remarkable in Ruiri (a dry-subhumid area). There was no notable difference in the radial growth performance of the two species in Katheri and Ruiri. These comparisons suggest that the long-term growth performance of C. africana is not necessarily inferior to that of G. robusta.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Abebe T (1994) Growth performance of some multipurpose trees and shrubs in the semi-arid areas of southern Ethiopia. Agroforestry Syst 26:237–248
Akyeampong E, Hitimana L, Torquebiau E, Munyemana PC (1999) Multistrata agroforestry with beans, bananas and Grevillea robusta in the highlands of Burundi. Exp Agric 35:357–369
Jama B, Nair PKR, Kurira PW (1989) Comparative growth performance of some multipurpose trees and shrubs grown at Machakos, Kenya. Agroforestry Syst 9:17–27
Kalinganire A (1996) Performance of Grevillea robusta in plantations and on farms under varying environmental conditions in Rwanda. For Ecol Manage 80:279–285
Lott JE, Howard SB, Ong CK, Black CR (2000) Long-term productivity of a Grevillea robusta-based overstorey agroforestry system in semi-arid Kenya: I. tree growth. For Ecol Manage 139:175–186
Mehari A (2005) Growth and suitability of some tree species selected for planting in adverse environments in Eritrea and Ethiopia. Doctoral thesis, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala
Mugendi DN, Nair PKR (1997) Predicting the decomposition patterns of tree biomass in tropical highland microregions of Kenya. Agroforestry Syst 35:187–201
Okorio J, Byenkya S, Wajja N, Peden D (1994) Comparative performance of seventeen upperstorey tree species associated with crops in the highlands of Uganda. Agroforestry Syst 26:185–203
Spiers N, Stewart M (1992) Use of Grevillea robusta in Embu and Meru districts of Kenya. In: Harwood CE (ed) Grevillea robusta in agroforestry and forestry. ICRAF, Nairobi, pp. 37–48
Takaoka S (2002) Spatial change in tree utilization on the northeastern slope of Mount Kenya. Geogr Rep of Tokyo Metropolitan Univ 37:75–82
Wekesa L, Wang’ombe E, Mukolwe M, Yamada I, Sato Y (2005) Marketing study of ecological resource products. Intensified social forestry project in semi-arid areas (ISFP). http://www.isfp-fd.org/pub/MarketingSurveyReport.pdf. (Cited on 27 June 2006)
Acknowledgments
I thank Prof. N. Hori of Tokyo Metropolitan University for valuable advice and Prof. F.F. Ojany of the University of Nairobi for kind support while I conducted this research in Kenya. I am also indebted to Mr. M.P. Adiel for helpful assistance during the field survey. The field research was funded through Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (Nos. 10041027 and 14252012).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
An erratum to this article can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10457-008-9161-2
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Takaoka, S. Long-term growth performance of Cordia africana and Grevillea robusta trees in the Mount Kenya region. Agroforest Syst 72, 169–172 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-007-9056-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-007-9056-7