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Tree survival in forest plantations established under plantation establishment and livelihood improvement scheme (PELIS) in Kericho County, Kenya

Author Affiliations

  • 1Kenya Forest College, Londiani, P.O. Box 8-20203, Kenya
  • 2Department of Agroforestry and Rural Development, University of Kabianga, P.O. Box 2030-20200, Kericho, Kenya
  • 3Department of Agroforestry and Rural Development, University of Kabianga, P.O. Box 2030-20200, Kericho, Kenya

Res. J. Agriculture & Forestry Sci., Volume 6, Issue (1), Pages 1-5, January,8 (2018)

Abstract

Plantation Establishment and Livelihood Improvement Scheme (PELIS) in Kenya is an efficient and cost effective method of seedling establishment in plantation programs. However, in Kenya the method has produced inconsistent/conflicting results in tree seedling survival rates, posing challenges to the forest sector as they lead to uncertainty in decision making and policy formulation. The purpose of this study was to establish tree survival in plantations established under PELIS in Kericho County. The study determined tree seedling survival under different tree-crop combinations in Masaita block, Masaita Forest Station, Kericho County, Kenya. The Masaita forest was stratified based on tree species planted in 2014 namely: Cypress (Cupressus lusitanica), Pine (Pinus patula) and Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus saligna). Farmers Plots in each sub-compartment were stratified based on the crops grown by the farmers; maize (Zea mays), potato (Solanum tuberosum) and beans (Phaseolus vulgaris). In each stratum (tree crop combinations), 5 plots were picked based on simple random sampling, and in each plot two lines were selected randomly excluding the outer lines to avoid boundary effects. Data was collected using a data collection sheet and analysed using One-Way ANOVA. Eucalyptus-potato, Cypress-beans and Eucalyptus-Beans showed significantly higher (P <0.05) survival rate (64.3%), (63.1%) and (62.0%) than other seedling respectively while Pine-maize recorded the lowest survival (56.4%). The study concluded that for better seedling survival, Eucalyptus and Cypress are the best trees for PELIS while Potato and beans are the best PELIS food crops. The study recommends the planting of Eucalyptus and Cypress under PELIS but not Pines and intercropping with Potatoes and Beans but not Maize especially in the first year of tree planting under PELIS.

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