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Growth and fuelwood properties of five tree and shrub species in the Sahelian and Sudanian ecozones of Mali: relationships with mean annual rainfall and geographical coordinates

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Abstract

In the Sahelian and Sudanian ecozones of West Africa, the rainy season lasts only 3–4 months per year, there are steep rainfall gradients with latitude and longitude, the climate is becoming increasingly hotter and drier with more variable rainfall, some fuelwood species are disappearing locally, demand for fuelwood is increasing, and we expect that fuelwood production will be increasingly limited to drier sites in the future. We need a methodology, therefore, to identify the best species for fuelwood production in drier sites. We used a methodology that could be used to identify the best fuelwood species for drier and wetter sites in regions where there are steep rainfall gradients. We investigated variation in growth and fuelwood properties of five species (Balanites aegyptiaca, Combretum glutinosum, Guiera senegalensis, Piliostigma reticulatum, Ziziphus mauritiana) along rainfall gradients. Growth parameters (tree height, stem diameter under bark, mean ring width) and fuelwood properties (basic density, volatile matter, fixed carbon, ash content, moisture content, gross calorific value, gross calorific value per cubic meter, fuel value index) were adjusted for tree age. For each species, linear regressions were used to determine the effects of mean annual rainfall and geographical coordinates, which were correlated with rainfall, on tree growth and fuelwood properties; and the effects of tree growth on fuelwood properties in lower, intermediate and higher rainfall zones. Geographical coordinates explained more variation than rainfall, and relationships with rainfall differed among species. Larger trees had wood with higher basic density, fixed carbon, ash content, moisture content, gross calorific value and/or gross calorific value per cubic meter, but lower volatile matter and/or fuel value index. Relationships between growth and fuelwood properties were not significant in all species and rainfall zones. Based on this study, we recommend producing fuelwood of C. glutinosum and G. senegalensis.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by a post-doctoral research grant from the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) to the first author, and funds from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Universidade Federal do Paraná (UFPR). Special thanks to the team in the Biomass and Energy Laboratory at UFPR (Fernanda Marchiori, Rodrigo Medeiros Ribeiro, Sandra Lucia Soares Mayera), the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) for providing laboratory facilities in Mali, Jane Poole for statistical advice, and the anonymous reviewers for their useful comments on an earlier version of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Sahel Office, B.P. E 5118, Bamako, Mali

    Carmen Sotelo Montes, John C. Weber & Antoine Kalinganire

  2. Universidade Federal do Paraná, Av. Lothário Meissner, 900, Curitiba, 80270-170, Brazil

    Dimas A. Silva, Clarice Andrade & Graciela I. B. Muñiz

  3. Departamento de Produtos Florestais, Instituto de Florestas, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, BR 465, km 07, Seropédica, Rio de Janeiro, 23890-000, Brazil

    Rosilei A. Garcia

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  1. Carmen Sotelo Montes
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Correspondence to Carmen Sotelo Montes.

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Sotelo Montes, C., Weber, J.C., Silva, D.A. et al. Growth and fuelwood properties of five tree and shrub species in the Sahelian and Sudanian ecozones of Mali: relationships with mean annual rainfall and geographical coordinates. New Forests 45, 179–197 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11056-013-9401-9

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