TY  - EJOU
AU  - MP, Tshisikhawe 
AU  - Rooyen, MW Van 

TI  - Population biology of <i>Elaeodendron transvaalense</i> Jacq. in the presence of harvesting
T2  - Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany

PY  - 2013
VL  - 82
IS  - all
SN  - 1851-5657

AB  - <i>Elaeodendron transvaalense</i> Jacq. is one of the medicinal plant species commonly used by people in the Venda region. The species is known to treat a variety of diseases. It is widely used and important to traditional healers. Because of this, it found its way into the muthi markets, and it is among the seven most commonly traded plant species in the Venda region. This study investigated the impact of bark harvesting on the population structure of this species. The study revealed that although the level of bark harvesting is high, the species is able to resist that stress since it is a fine-grained species. The population also showed the ability to regenerate as it exhibited an inverse J-shaped curve. The crown health status was generally good although some individuals, contributing 9% of the sample, had dead crowns, which are a cause for concern. A linear relationship was noticed between areas harvested and stem circumference, which is understandable considering the large surface area of harvestable bark on bigger individuals.
KW  - Bark harvesting
KW  -  Matrix modeling
KW  -  Medicinal plants
KW  -  Muthi markets
KW  -  Population growth rate

DO  - 10.32604/phyton.2013.82.303