GROWTH AND YIELD ESTIMATES IN NATURAL STANDS OF LELESHWA (TARCONANTHUS-CAMPHORATUS)

Leleshwa (Tarconanthus camphoratus, Compositae) is a tropical and subtropical shrub that grows in semi-arid Africa. Its coppicing ability and rapid production of high quality fuelwood make it an ideal candidate for sustained yield cropping. A study of its regrowth in natural stands in highland Kenya was carried out in 1989. Wet and dry woody biomasses of individual stems were found to be highly positively correlated with stem diameter 30 cm above the ground, allowing accurate estimates of woody biomass from stem measurements. Analysis of sites of increasing age since last cutting indicated that woody biomass increased at a rate of 2.3 t dry weight ha-1 year-1, but that the biomass of larger, more useful size classes of wood initially increased exponentially. The best temporal predictor of biomass and maximum stem diameter was the number of months since cutting with more than 50 mm of rain. Maximum stem diameter of regrowing clumps was positively correlated with the diameter of the largest stem before cutting. Total biomass of useful wood was positively correlated with mean maximum stem diameter, independent of stand age and clump density.