Stand dynamics of Pericopsis elata in a forest concession in Democratic Republic of the Congo

Abstract

Pericopsis elata is an exploitable species that is well represented in the Congolese basin. Although it is on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, it is one of the most exploited commercial species in the DRC. In order to ensure its sustainability, simulations of its population were carried out in the forests of the Société Africaine de la Forestière (SAFO) 010/11 concession using data from a management inventory. Several scenarios were carried out by varying certain parameters such as the minimum exploitable diameter (MED), the duration of rotation and the harvesting rate, knowing that the harvesting rate set by the concessionaire is 96%. The results show that with a 60 cm MED, the recovery rate is 15% if 96% of the harvestable stems are extracted, and 31% if 75% of the harvestable stems are extracted. Analysis of other scenarios shows that by varying the EMR to 110 cm and maintaining the removal rate at 96%, it is possible to recover 48% of the harvestable stems at the end of the legal rotation period of 25 years. It is observed that raising the EMR to 110 cm or reducing the removal rate to 75% can promote the regeneration and growths of P. elata in the concession studied and ensure the maintenance of the species' numbers.

Key words: Pericopsis elata, recovery rate, removal rate, EMR, allowable cut