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Influence of specific
gravity on wood species selection for agroforestry in some
Local Government Areas of Oyo State, Nigeria
Erakhrumen Andrew Agbontalor
Department of Forest Resources Management, University of
Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. E-mail:
erakhrumen@yahoo.com
.
Accepted 2 November, 2007 |
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Specific
gravity (SG) of wood has not been adequately reported to be
a factor directly or indirectly influencing its selection
for incorporation into or retention in some of the
agroforestry systems. In this study, the SG of twelve wood
species that top the priority ranking of respondents in
Akinyele and Ido Local Government Areas (LGAs), Oyo State,
Nigeria, where the predominant type of agroforestry system
practiced is that of scattered trees in croplands, were
evaluated and found to range between 0.42 and 0.85 with
eleven of the species having values > 0.60. Ranking pattern
by the respondents in the two LGAs was found not to be
significantly different using Friedman chi-square analysis
(χ2 = 2.17, p < 0.05). Data obtained for SG were
subjected to two-way analysis of variance which indicated a
significant variation (p < 0.05) in the values among the
species but not within each species. Follow up test was
carried out using Fisher’s Least Significant Difference. The
correlation analysis gave positive coefficient values (r >
0.80, p < 0.05) between SG and cumulative ranking values in
the two LGAs. Conclusion and recommendations were made in
line with the outcome of the study.
Key
words: Agroforestry technologies, wood specific gravity,
species selection, natural resources, indigenous knowledge. |
