Eric Forni

The 2008–2009 Timber Sector Crisis in Africa and Some Lessons for the Forest Taxation Regime

SUMMARY The 2008–2009 economic crisis has hit severely the African timber sector, with a brutal collapse of the foreign demand. Overall, the impact has been of around the loss of one-third of export and production. Companies have been unable to pay the fixed costs represented by the area tax, and this last has been suspended in several countries, notably in Cameroon. The brutality of the crisis has highlighted the absence of automatic correctors embodied in the fiscal system itself. A first, even though insufficient, answer could be to index the area fee to a nation-representative bundle of timber species FOB values. The absence of organisations such as the World Bank in the dialogue between the governments and the private sector is striking, given their past involvement in the forests fiscal reforms in central Africa. The current focus given on REDD, seen by many as an instrument for entering in a post-logging time could explain this passivity. Large FSC-certified companies announced their intention to sell out their concessions in Congo and Gabon. This could prefigure a new picture with various types of small logging enterprises filling the vacuum left by formal industry and some FSC-certified concessionaires replaced by large but less environmentally responsible companies.

Architectural differences associated with functional traits among 45 coexisting tree species in Central Africa

1.Architectural traits that determine the light captured in a given environment are an important aspect of the life‐history strategies of tropical tree species. In this study, we examined how interspecific variation in architectural traits is related to the functional traits of 45 coexisting tree species in central Africa. 2.At the tree level, we measured tree diameter, total height and crown dimensions for an average of 30 trees per species (range 14–72, total 968 trees) distributed over a large range of diameters (up to 162 cm). Using log‐log models, we fitted species‐specific allometric relationships between tree diameter, height and crown dimensions. At the species level, we derived architectural traits (height and crown dimensions) at 15 cm and maximum diameters from species‐specific allometries. The architectural traits were then related to functional traits, including light requirements, wood density, leaf habit, and dispersal mode. 3.Among the 45 coexisting tree species, we identified strong variations in height and crown allometries, along with architectural traits derived from these species‐specific allometries. There was a positive correlation among architectural traits, suggesting that large‐statured canopy species were taller and had larger and deeper crowns than small‐statured understory species at all ontogenic stages. The relationships between architectural and functional traits highlighted a continuum of species between the large‐statured canopy species and the small‐statured understory species. In this moist and seasonal forest, large‐statured canopy species tended to be light‐demanding, wind‐dispersed, deciduous and large contributors to forest biomass (high basal area), while small‐statured understory species tended to be shade‐tolerant, animal‐dispersed, evergreen and most abundant in terms of stem density. 4.Our results highlighted strong architectural differences among coexisting tropical tree species in central Africa. The relationships between architectural and functional traits provided insights into the life‐history strategy of tropical tree species.