Floristic diversity and exploitable potential of commercial timber species in the Cobaba community forest in Eastern Cameroon: implications for forest management

One of the forms of forest management is community forestry which is as an alternative to state-managed conservation. Knowledge of the wood potential and exploitable species is a prerequisite for the sustainable management of a community forest. This study carried out in the Cobaba community forest in Eastern Cameroon aimed to assess the floristic diversity and exploitable potential of timber species. A floristic inventory at a sampling rate of 8% was carried out and the volume of trees having reached the minimum exploitable diameter estimated. A total of 7736 commercial trees with dbh >= 20 cm were recorded, belonging to 65 species, 58 genera and 26 families. The Shannon-Weaver diversity index (H') was 3.61. The density was 42.04 stems ha(-1) and the basal area 16.43 m(2) ha(-1). A volume of timber of 31,929.21 m(3) has been estimated for trees having reached the minimum exploitable diameter. About 30% of this volume is made up of high and medium commercial value species for which market demand exists. The most abundant species of high commercial value were Triplochyton scleroxylon, Entandrophragma cylindricum, and Milicia excelsa. For sustainable management and species conservation, we recommend that species with very low densities should be excluded from logging and for each species exploited, some well-conformed seed trees with a diameter greater than the minimum exploitable diameter should be left to ensure the renewal of the wood resource.