A checklist of Trees in Atewa Range Forest Reserve, Ghana

Study Extent

The data was originally collected in the Atewa Range Forest Reserve in the Eastern Region of Ghana

Sampling

Vegetation data was collected in 34 square plots of 0.25ha each between October and December 2015. A random selection of 60 one km squares were selected and stratified by altitude (above or below 700m) to define the sampling area. This was further stratified by two landcover types (closed forest with canopy cover ≥60%; forest with canopy cover 15-59%) according to a 2010 national land cover map of Ghana (Forestry Commission). Plots were located randomly within the resulting strata

Quality Control

The data was originally entered into an excel spreadsheet. Data was formatted using Darwin Core and scientific names verified based on the Lindsell et al., 2019’s Biodiversity of Atewa Report, tree names verified by William Hawthorne and the GBIF Backbone taxonomy. Data was cleaned for all other errors using openRefine.

Method steps

1. Vegetation data was collected in 34 square plots of 0.25ha each between October and December 2015. A random selection of 60 one km squares were selected and stratified by altitude (above or below 700m) to define the sampling area. This was further stratified by two landcover types (closed forest with canopy cover ≥60%; forest with canopy cover 15-59%) according to a 2010 national land cover map of Ghana (Forestry Commission). Plots were located randomly within the resulting strata A Garmin Map 62 GPS was used to navigate to the chosen plot locations. Plots were oriented with boundaries running in NS/EW directions. The outer boundaries of the plot were marked with string and plot corners were permanently marked with green plastic pipe (25mm diameter) hammered into the ground leaving 10cm protruding. A GPS unit was positioned at each plot corner for at least one hour recording a location every 30 seconds so that a reliable mean location could be acquired. The plot were divided into four equal subplots of 25x25 m and marked the boundaries of these with string. All trees >= 10 cm dbh were recorded in each subplot. Methods for measuring and recording trees followed Phillips et al 2015. Tree diameter at 1.3m above the ground was recorded using a nylon coated steel diameter tape and painted the point of measurement (POM) using yellow oil paint. Each tree was tagged with a uniquely numbered punched metal tag fixed with a 75mm aluminium nail that sloped slightly downwards away from the tree to ensure the tag was kept clear from the tree’s growing surface for as long as possible. The tag was fixed exactly 30cm above the POM to provide additional reference for future re-measurement. Tree species identifications were undertaken in the field by a botanist from University of Ghana, Legon, and recorded using scientific names (5 plots), and tree spotters from the RMSC using local names (29 plots). Local names were converted to scientific names using the tables in Hawthorne & Jongkind (2006) and Hawthorne & Gyakari (2006). A sample of plots were revisited to assess the reliability of tree species identifications

All records were identified to species level

1. Funtumia africana
   rank: species
2. Petersianthus macrocarpus
   rank: species
3. Albizia zygia
   rank: species
4. Cedrela odorata
   rank: species
5. Tricalysia discolor
   rank: species
6. Macaranga barteri
   rank: species
7. Tabernaemontana africana
   rank: species
8. Rinorea oblongifolia
   rank: species
9. Bombax buonopozense
   rank: species
10. Ficus vogeliana
    rank: species
11. Cussonia bancoensis
    rank: species
12. Mareya micrantha
    rank: species
13. Celtis gomphophylla
    rank: species
14. Discoglypremna caloneura
    rank: species
15. Tetrorchidium didymostemon
    rank: species
16. Rauvolfia vomitoria
    rank: species
17. Alstonia boonei
    rank: species
18. Funtumia elastica
    rank: species
19. Entandrophragma angolense
    rank: species
20. Oxyanthus speciosus
    rank: species
21. Vernonia doniana
    rank: species
22. Terminalia ivorensis
    rank: species
23. Morinda lucida
    rank: species
24. Nesogordonia papaverifera
    rank: species
25. Margaritaria discoidea
    rank: species
26. Antrocaryon micraster
    rank: species
27. Myrianthus arboreus
    rank: species
28. Ricinodendron heudelotii
    rank: species
29. Celtis zenkeri
    rank: species
30. Ceiba pentandra
    rank: species
31. Diospyros viridicans
    rank: species
32. Calpocalyx brevibracteatus
    rank: species
33. Klainedoxa gabonensis
    rank: species
34. Dacryodes klaineana
    rank: species
35. Parkia bicolor
    rank: species
36. Aidia genipiflora
    rank: species

The tree records were taken based on survey carried out in 2016 in the Atewa Range Forest Reserve in the Eastern Region of Ghana.