Water use by short rotation Eucalyptus woodlots in southern Rwanda

Eucalyptus is abundant in Rwanda, mainly planted in short rotation woodlots, scattered in small clusters over the hilly landscape. A study was done in Butare and Busoro catchments, southern Rwanda from May to November 2007 to estimated water use of eucalypts in representative catchments in Rwanda, e...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Mugunga, C.P., Kool, D., Wijk, Mark T. van, Mohren, G.M.J., Giller, Kenneth E.
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Springer 2015
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/129528
_version_ 1855537396143095808
author Mugunga, C.P.
Kool, D.
Wijk, Mark T. van
Mohren, G.M.J.
Giller, Kenneth E.
author_browse Giller, Kenneth E.
Kool, D.
Mohren, G.M.J.
Mugunga, C.P.
Wijk, Mark T. van
author_facet Mugunga, C.P.
Kool, D.
Wijk, Mark T. van
Mohren, G.M.J.
Giller, Kenneth E.
author_sort Mugunga, C.P.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Eucalyptus is abundant in Rwanda, mainly planted in short rotation woodlots, scattered in small clusters over the hilly landscape. A study was done in Butare and Busoro catchments, southern Rwanda from May to November 2007 to estimated water use of eucalypts in representative catchments in Rwanda, establishing a monthly water balance. We compared eucalypt water use to water use of other key crops in the study area and to that of eucalypts elsewhere. The woodlots had small coppice shoots ranging from 2 to 36 cm breast height diameter and potential tree transpiration recorded was 3 mm d−1. The annual potential tree transpiration was 10 % below annual precipitation. Dry month water deficit observed could be covered by reductions in leaf area, stomatal closure and changes in soil water storage. A sensitivity analysis showed that 50 % leaf area reduction corresponded to potential tree transpiration decline of 32.8 mm. The deficit may not impact tree growth negatively since dry seasons are usually not active for tree growth. The moderate eucalypt water use rate observed in this study may be a function of trees' small size and low tree stocking since such woodlots had less potential transpiration. The observed eucalypt water use rate is smaller than the range reported for eucalypts in Africa and was also smaller than that of key annual crops in the study area. Managing woodlots as short rotations and increasing initial tree spacing may contribute to resolving issues related to catchment hydrology associated with eucalypt plantations.
format Journal Article
id CGSpace129528
institution CGIAR Consortium
language Inglés
publishDate 2015
publishDateRange 2015
publishDateSort 2015
publisher Springer
publisherStr Springer
record_format dspace
spelling CGSpace1295282024-10-03T07:40:58Z Water use by short rotation Eucalyptus woodlots in southern Rwanda Mugunga, C.P. Kool, D. Wijk, Mark T. van Mohren, G.M.J. Giller, Kenneth E. water use water eucalyptus rwanda Eucalyptus is abundant in Rwanda, mainly planted in short rotation woodlots, scattered in small clusters over the hilly landscape. A study was done in Butare and Busoro catchments, southern Rwanda from May to November 2007 to estimated water use of eucalypts in representative catchments in Rwanda, establishing a monthly water balance. We compared eucalypt water use to water use of other key crops in the study area and to that of eucalypts elsewhere. The woodlots had small coppice shoots ranging from 2 to 36 cm breast height diameter and potential tree transpiration recorded was 3 mm d−1. The annual potential tree transpiration was 10 % below annual precipitation. Dry month water deficit observed could be covered by reductions in leaf area, stomatal closure and changes in soil water storage. A sensitivity analysis showed that 50 % leaf area reduction corresponded to potential tree transpiration decline of 32.8 mm. The deficit may not impact tree growth negatively since dry seasons are usually not active for tree growth. The moderate eucalypt water use rate observed in this study may be a function of trees' small size and low tree stocking since such woodlots had less potential transpiration. The observed eucalypt water use rate is smaller than the range reported for eucalypts in Africa and was also smaller than that of key annual crops in the study area. Managing woodlots as short rotations and increasing initial tree spacing may contribute to resolving issues related to catchment hydrology associated with eucalypt plantations. 2015-12 2023-03-10T14:37:55Z 2023-03-10T14:37:55Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/129528 en Open Access Springer Mugunga, C.P.; Kool, D.; Wijk, Mark T. van; Mohren, G.M.J.; Giller, Ken E. 2015. Water use by short rotation Eucalyptus woodlots in southern Rwanda. Agroforestry Systems 89: 1119-1139
spellingShingle water use
water
eucalyptus
rwanda
Mugunga, C.P.
Kool, D.
Wijk, Mark T. van
Mohren, G.M.J.
Giller, Kenneth E.
Water use by short rotation Eucalyptus woodlots in southern Rwanda
title Water use by short rotation Eucalyptus woodlots in southern Rwanda
title_full Water use by short rotation Eucalyptus woodlots in southern Rwanda
title_fullStr Water use by short rotation Eucalyptus woodlots in southern Rwanda
title_full_unstemmed Water use by short rotation Eucalyptus woodlots in southern Rwanda
title_short Water use by short rotation Eucalyptus woodlots in southern Rwanda
title_sort water use by short rotation eucalyptus woodlots in southern rwanda
topic water use
water
eucalyptus
rwanda
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/129528
work_keys_str_mv AT mugungacp waterusebyshortrotationeucalyptuswoodlotsinsouthernrwanda
AT koold waterusebyshortrotationeucalyptuswoodlotsinsouthernrwanda
AT wijkmarktvan waterusebyshortrotationeucalyptuswoodlotsinsouthernrwanda
AT mohrengmj waterusebyshortrotationeucalyptuswoodlotsinsouthernrwanda
AT gillerkennethe waterusebyshortrotationeucalyptuswoodlotsinsouthernrwanda