EFFECT OF THE SEASONAL BURNING ON TREE SPECIES IN THE GUINEA SAVANNA WOODLAND, GHANA: IMPLICATIONS FOR CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION

Abstract

The indiscriminate burning of vegetation is a common practice in the Guinea savanna of Ghana. Burning begins at the onset of the dry season (November) and lasts until the end (April). This study investigated the effects of time of burning on tree diversity and density in the Mole National Park, Ghana. A total of 36 (10 m x 10 m) quadrats were randomly demarcated in three treatments of early and late dry season burning and non-burning study plots. Samples were taken in March, a few weeks after the late burning period. Twenty seven different species belonging to fourteen families were recorded in all the treatments. Most of the species identified belonged to the families Combretaceae, Fabaceae and Leguminoceae. Vitellaria paradoxa, Terminalia avicennioides, Combretum adenogonium and Combretum molle were the most common and abundant in all treatments. Late burning plots recorded the lowest diversity amongst the three treatments. Non-burning plots had higher tree density than burnt plots. Early burning treatment recorded more diverse individual species but had the lowest density. Higher tree densities would enhance carbon sequestration. However, ecosystem resilience is also dependent on the diversity of biotic communities among other factors. Sustainable land use practices including protections of trees on farms and prescribed early dry season burns could be an option to contribute to the mitigation of climate change in the region. Late dry season fires are a threat to tree species populations and should be discouraged.