Invasion of forest by Acacia species is widespread in many terrestrial environments. However, their response to variation in forest environmental conditions has received less attention. This study determined the influence of landscape heterogeneity on growth of Australian Blackwood (Acacia melanoxylon) in tow tropical highland humid forests (Nabkoi Forest and Timboroa Forest) in Kenya. Sampling was done by laying three-500 m long transect, followed by overlaying three plots 0.1 ha. plot (10 m × 10 m) longitudinally at 235 m intervals. Tree density, diameter at breast height (DBH) > 1.3 m, tree height and tree density were measured in each plot. The study established that one of the sites was capable of supporting a larger number of trees (in terms of density) whose growth (in terms of DBH and height) is constrained while the other site supports low density of fast-growing acacia. The tree density, DBH, and height of acacia responded to variation in forest landscape heterogeneity. DBH of the invasive species was significantly (P < 0.05) affected by altitude (-ve), slope (+ve), and aspect (+ve). The current study demonstrates that altitude, slope, and aspect significantly influenced the growth of A. melanoxylon in the studied forest. To gain insight on how these environmental gradients affect growth of the invasive species without compounding factors, future studies should be conducted under controlled conditions.
| Published in | American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry (Volume 13, Issue 1) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ajaf.20251301.16 |
| Page(s) | 49-59 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Acacia melanoxylon, Invasive Species, Landscape Heterogeneity, Nabkoi and Timboroa Forest, Acacia Growth, Tropical Forests
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APA Style
Kiptoo, T. K., Kiyiapi, J. L., Sang, F. K., Oyoo-Okoth, E. (2025). Landscape Heterogeneity Drives the Growth of Invasive Acacia Melanoxylon in Humid Forests in Kenya (Nabkoi and Timboroa Forests). American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry, 13(1), 49-59. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajaf.20251301.16
ACS Style
Kiptoo, T. K.; Kiyiapi, J. L.; Sang, F. K.; Oyoo-Okoth, E. Landscape Heterogeneity Drives the Growth of Invasive Acacia Melanoxylon in Humid Forests in Kenya (Nabkoi and Timboroa Forests). Am. J. Agric. For. 2025, 13(1), 49-59. doi: 10.11648/j.ajaf.20251301.16
AMA Style
Kiptoo TK, Kiyiapi JL, Sang FK, Oyoo-Okoth E. Landscape Heterogeneity Drives the Growth of Invasive Acacia Melanoxylon in Humid Forests in Kenya (Nabkoi and Timboroa Forests). Am J Agric For. 2025;13(1):49-59. doi: 10.11648/j.ajaf.20251301.16
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Download@article{10.11648/j.ajaf.20251301.16,
author = {Thomas Kiprotich Kiptoo and James Legilisho Kiyiapi and Francis Kiptarus Sang and Elijah Oyoo-Okoth},
title = {Landscape Heterogeneity Drives the Growth of Invasive Acacia Melanoxylon in Humid Forests in Kenya (Nabkoi and Timboroa Forests)
},
journal = {American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry},
volume = {13},
number = {1},
pages = {49-59},
doi = {10.11648/j.ajaf.20251301.16},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajaf.20251301.16},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajaf.20251301.16},
abstract = {Invasion of forest by Acacia species is widespread in many terrestrial environments. However, their response to variation in forest environmental conditions has received less attention. This study determined the influence of landscape heterogeneity on growth of Australian Blackwood (Acacia melanoxylon) in tow tropical highland humid forests (Nabkoi Forest and Timboroa Forest) in Kenya. Sampling was done by laying three-500 m long transect, followed by overlaying three plots 0.1 ha. plot (10 m × 10 m) longitudinally at 235 m intervals. Tree density, diameter at breast height (DBH) > 1.3 m, tree height and tree density were measured in each plot. The study established that one of the sites was capable of supporting a larger number of trees (in terms of density) whose growth (in terms of DBH and height) is constrained while the other site supports low density of fast-growing acacia. The tree density, DBH, and height of acacia responded to variation in forest landscape heterogeneity. DBH of the invasive species was significantly (P A. melanoxylon in the studied forest. To gain insight on how these environmental gradients affect growth of the invasive species without compounding factors, future studies should be conducted under controlled conditions.
},
year = {2025}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Landscape Heterogeneity Drives the Growth of Invasive Acacia Melanoxylon in Humid Forests in Kenya (Nabkoi and Timboroa Forests) AU - Thomas Kiprotich Kiptoo AU - James Legilisho Kiyiapi AU - Francis Kiptarus Sang AU - Elijah Oyoo-Okoth Y1 - 2025/02/26 PY - 2025 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajaf.20251301.16 DO - 10.11648/j.ajaf.20251301.16 T2 - American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry JF - American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry JO - American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry SP - 49 EP - 59 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2330-8591 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajaf.20251301.16 AB - Invasion of forest by Acacia species is widespread in many terrestrial environments. However, their response to variation in forest environmental conditions has received less attention. This study determined the influence of landscape heterogeneity on growth of Australian Blackwood (Acacia melanoxylon) in tow tropical highland humid forests (Nabkoi Forest and Timboroa Forest) in Kenya. Sampling was done by laying three-500 m long transect, followed by overlaying three plots 0.1 ha. plot (10 m × 10 m) longitudinally at 235 m intervals. Tree density, diameter at breast height (DBH) > 1.3 m, tree height and tree density were measured in each plot. The study established that one of the sites was capable of supporting a larger number of trees (in terms of density) whose growth (in terms of DBH and height) is constrained while the other site supports low density of fast-growing acacia. The tree density, DBH, and height of acacia responded to variation in forest landscape heterogeneity. DBH of the invasive species was significantly (P A. melanoxylon in the studied forest. To gain insight on how these environmental gradients affect growth of the invasive species without compounding factors, future studies should be conducted under controlled conditions. VL - 13 IS - 1 ER -
Department of Forestry and Wood Science, School of Environmental Science and Natural Resource Management, University of Eldoret, Eldoret, Kenya; Kenya Forest Service, Nairobi, Kenya
Department of Forestry and Wood Science, School of Environmental Science and Natural Resource Management, University of Eldoret, Eldoret, Kenya
Department of Forestry and Wood Science, School of Environmental Science and Natural Resource Management, University of Eldoret, Eldoret, Kenya
Department of Environmental Biology, School of Environmental Studies, University of Eldoret, Eldoret, Kenya
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