| Table 2. Stand and soil characteristics of study plots (stand by forest type and soil by layer) for the four study areas in the Taita Hills. | ||||||||||||||||
| Forest type/Soil | Characteristic a) | Ngangao | Chawia | Irizi | Mbololo | |||||||||||
| Mean | Min | Max | Mean | Min | Max | Mean | Min | Max | Mean | Min | Max | |||||
| Indigenous | dbh (cm) | 26.1 | 5.7 | 89.1 | 33.8 | 7.9 | 86.0 | - | - | - | 18.3 | 5.1 | 115.5 | |||
| BA (m–2 ha–1) | 53.8 | 47.1 | 60.5 | 69.6 | 50.3 | 88.9 | - | - | - | 68.0 | 42.7 | 106.2 | ||||
| BA (% indig. sp.) | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | - | - | - | 100 | 100 | 100 | ||||
| Stem density (# ha–1) | 609 | 446 | 772 | 639 | 267 | 1010 | - | - | - | 1389 | 1129 | 1901 | ||||
| Cypress | dbh (cm) | 23.1 | 5.3 | 54.7 | 23.6 | 5.0 | 78.3 | 24.7 | 8.9 | 44.9 | 21.0 | 5.1 | 64.3 | |||
| BA (m–2 ha–1) | 38.9 | 20.7 | 56.6 | 42.3 | 31.6 | 53.1 | 50.6 | 50.6 | 50.6 | 34.6 | 24.3 | 46.6 | ||||
| BA (% indig. sp.) | 5 | 0 | 13 | 26 | 0 | 52 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | ||||
| Stem density (# ha–1) | 743 | 743 | 743 | 653 | 505 | 802 | 950 | 950 | 950 | 787 | 535 | 1040 | ||||
| Eucalypts | dbh (cm) | 15.1 | 5.1 | 55.4 | 31.1 | 5.1 | 73.7 | 17.4 | 5.1 | 54.1 | 21.0 | 5.1 | 56.3 | |||
| BA (m–2 ha–1) | 28.1 | 14.3 | 41.8 | 56.0 | 32.8 | 79.2 | 28.7 | 15.8 | 40.7 | 54.6 | 50.5 | 58.6 | ||||
| BA (% indig. sp.) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Stem density (# ha–1) | 1025 | 743 | 1307 | 475 | 416 | 535 | 817 | 624 | 1188 | 1084 | 980 | 1188 | ||||
| Pine | dbh (cm) | 17.0 | 5.0 | 46.7 | - | - | - | 24.3 | 2.5 | 42.7 | 30.4 | 6.0 | 57.3 | |||
| BA (m–2 ha–1) | 30.6 | 30.0 | 31.2 | - | - | - | 42.0 | 20.8 | 59.9 | 61.4 | 46.1 | 78.4 | ||||
| BA (% indig. sp.) | 4 | 2 | 6 | - | - | - | 4 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 3 | ||||
| Stem density (# ha–1) | 980 | 921 | 1040 | - | - | - | 795 | 386 | 1069 | 728 | 564 | 861 | ||||
| Soil 0–20 cm | pH (water) | 4.31 | 3.47 | 5.22 | 4.38 | 3.70 | 5.43 | 5.29 | 4.34 | 6.60 | 4.60 | 3.57 | 5.27 | |||
| C (%) | 11.8 | 4.0 | 27.6 | 8.2 | 4.5 | 15.7 | 2.7 | 1.5 | 6.8 | 10.1 | 3.2 | 30.5 | ||||
| clay (%) | 18 | 4 | 41 | 29 | 21 | 37 | 28 | 12 | 42 | 22 | 4 | 35 | ||||
| BD (g cm–3) | 0.644 | 0.319 | 1.004 | 0.773 | 0.498 | 0.966 | 1.152 | 0.808 | 1.276 | 0.762 | 0.295 | 1.076 | ||||
| Soil 20–50 cm | pH (water) | 4.83 | 3.39 | 6.49 | 4.61 | 4.14 | 5.69 | 5.31 | 4.55 | 7.03 | 4.96 | 3.53 | 5.73 | |||
| C (%) | 8.3 | 3.7 | 17.2 | 4.8 | 3.4 | 7.6 | 2.2 | 0.7 | 5.6 | 4.4 | 1.1 | 13.0 | ||||
| clay (%) | 18 | 6 | 31 | 33 | 26 | 46 | 31 | 22 | 44 | 23 | 6 | 48 | ||||
| BD (g cm–3) | 0.748 | 0.425 | 1.047 | 0.980 | 0.774 | 1.112 | 1.256 | 0.910 | 1.456 | 1.034 | 0.548 | 1.351 | ||||
| a) dbh = diameter at breast height; BA = basal area; BA (% indig.sp.) = BA of indigenous species as percentage of plot BA; BD = pedotransfer estimated bulk density. | ||||||||||||||||