SPECIES DIVERSITY AND NATURAL REGENERATION OF WOODY PLANTS IN NYÉ’ÉTÉ FOREST, SOUTH REGION OF CAMEROON

Abstract

This study was carried out in the tropical rainforest of Nyé’été (South Cameroon). The main objective was to contribute to the knowledge of potential floristic of woody plants for the sustainable management of Cameroonian tropical forests. Units selected for this study were Nkongo, Adjap and Akom 1 forest areas. Four transects of 20 m × 1000 m each were established in each collection unit and all plant species with diameter at breast height > 10 cm in the transects were inventoried. Meanwhile, juvenile plants were collected in 40 plots (20 m × 20 m each) established in prospected transects. Diversity and regeneration indices were then calculated. In total, 127 mature species belonging to 99 genera and 37 families and 130 juvenile species comprising 102 genera and 39 families were identified. Of the mature plants, Euphorbiaceae and Meliaceae were the most abundant families (13 species each) and the least abundant were Bignoniaceae, Ebenaceae and Sapindaceae (2 species each). Nyé’été tropical rainforest was characterised by a high species diversity (Shannon = 4.65; Simpson = 0.99; Pielou = 0.64). Density of juvenile individuals was 6820 individuals ha^-1, whereas density of adult individuals was 239.17 individuals ha^-1. Natural regeneration in the forest was generally good.