Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
trees came to be vested in the modern state or government. Presently this arrange-
ment is undergoing review.
Tenants may have free access to other tree species, notably firewood for subsis-
tence, but without compromising the ultimate ownership right of the landowner.
Certain species of naturally occurring fruit trees are regarded as a common property
freely accessible to all for basic subsistence. The ownership status of trees planted
by a tenant remains ill-understood and, therefore, requires further investigation. How
the system of resource access and distribution relates to the use of land (with special
reference to biodiversity and biophysical status) is the subject of Chapter 18.
Conservation
For ecological, agronomic, economic, and other utilitarian purposes, commonly
trees are conserved in farms and fallow areas as part of the agricultural system.
For similar purposes, patches of forest may be kept in reserve. Sometimes, such
forests are perceived as sacred, as is the case with the Gyamfiase forest grove.
Coppicing is a fairly widespread conservation practice, especially among Krobo
people. The tree most popularly coppiced for firewood and charcoal is Cassia
siemens (Plate 8). Trees may be protected by taboos.
Quantitative analysis and conclusion
Quantitative analysis
Among the factors that may explain the variations in agrobiodiversity in the
demonstration sites are the following management aspects:
farming distance from a farmer's house
use of household refuse
extent and manner of use of fire/burning
use of the proka mulching and no-burn system
use of chemical fertilizer
frequency of use of the hoe
use of ecological niches, e.g. breaks in farm canopy, moist patches, and termite
mounds
available household labour: size of farm labour originating from household
whether or not farming is carried out on a tenancy basis
security of tenure
systems of harvesting and storage
share-cropping or tenancy arrangement.
Towards a quantitative analysis of the relationships, a matrix might be developed
from PLEC survey data using Table 6.3 as a framework. In the table, the first
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