COPPICE SPROUTS IN CORDIA ALLIODORA

Abstract

Coppice treatments were applied in 5-y-old experimental plots of Cordia alliodora to investigate whether 1) sprouts are produced more often by retaining a stump (consistence), 2) more sprouts are produced on a stump (profusion), and 3) sprout production is related to the diameter of the "parent" tree. In each of 3 replicated plots, 8 trees were cut with a 0.5-m stump retained and 8 trees were cut flush to the ground. The 48 treatment trees were inspected for sprouts after 136 days. All 24 of the trees with 0.5-m stumps sprouted, but only 8 of the 24 flush-cut stumps sprouted. The 0.5-m stumps averaged 16.33 sprouts, while the flush-cut sites averaged only 0.71 sprouts per tree. Statistical analyses confirmed that the 0.5-m stumps sprouted both more consistently (p > 0.02) and more profusely (p > 0.0001) than did the flush-cut sites. The diameter of the "parent" tree was not strongly associated with sprout production or with the mean number of sprouts. Results of this study confirm that C. alliodora is a facultative sprouter and suggest that silvicultural treatments to coppice C. alliodora should retain a stump rather than cutting trees flush to the ground. Trees such as C. alliodora that sprout facultatively can be useful for reforestation of severely disturbed sites.