Publication

It has been hypothesized that niche partitioning of the light resource by tree seedlings helps maintain species diversity in tropical forests. This paper describes a study where three co-occurring Entandrophragma spp. were grown under simulated light environments to test for a shift in species rank that would support the niche partitioning hypothesis. The species described represent some of the highest value and most heavily exploited timber species in central Africa and data on seedling light requirements has direct application to silviculture. Results showed that Entandrophragma cylindricum and E. utile performed as well as E. angolense under conditions simulating the light environment of small forest gaps. E. angolense out-performed congeners under intermediate light conditions and all three species performed poorly under full sunlight. The results provide some support for the niche partitioning hypothesis but additional studies that include understory light conditions are necessary. The growth performance results of E utile under low light are particularly important given its extremely poor performance under a variety of fertility-moisture combinations in recent studies. These results suggest that the best way to favor recruitment of Entandrophragma spp. seedlings in natural forest would be through a series of small to intermediate sized gaps. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.