Call for Papers: Workshop on Factors Governing Timber Production in Miombo Woodlands

A 2 day workshop in Morogoro, 29th -30th September 2008

Rationale
Following a series of logging scandals since 2003 the Government of Tanzania has banned all commercial logging in natural forest without a Harvesting Plan approved by the Forestry & Beekeeping Division. Calculation of annual quotas for sustainable felling of timber requires two important inputs. Firstly is an accurate inventory of the timber stocks by species in the forest block under consideration, and secondly is a model incorporating rates of growth, recruitment and mortality for each targeted species. The aim of this workshop is to list those factors which may determine timber species growth, recruitment and mortality rates, and to attempt to quantify them in the case of commonly harvested species (especially hardwoods) that are found in Miombo woodlands, one of the major forest biomes of Tanzania.

Outline Schedule

Day 1 will be concerned with species-specific data on growth, recruitment and mortality rates for commercially harvested species in Miombo woodland, e.g. class timber I species Dalbergia melanoxylon, Pterocarpus spp., Milicia excelsa, Millettia stuhlmanii and Afzelia quanzensis, and common class II species such as Brachystegia spp. and Julbernardia globiflora.

Day 2 will address more general ecological issues such as fire regimes, soil fertility, hydrology and pollinator biodiversity that may reasonably affect all timber species, although where effects can be differentiated by species they should be highlighted.

Papers & Presentations

Anyone wishing to present a paper is invited to submit an abstract by email to abstracts@mpingoconservation.org. The abstracts should reach the secretariat by 15th September 2008. Feedback will be given readily as to the suitability of any proposed paper title.

The proceedings will be collated into a workshop report, and all presenters shall receive a hard copy, whilst an electronic version will be made available online for anyone interested and for citation purposes.

Any travel expenses for presenters will be refunded, and per diems provided to cover additional incidental expenses.