Assessing the sustainability of harvest of Pterocarpus angolensis in Rukwa Region, Tanzania.

Pterocarpus angolensis is being cut for construction and medicinal purposes through much of southern Africa. To assess the sustainability of this offtake, we estimated current harvest practice, population size structure, growth rates and seed production in protected and unprotected areas of Rukwa Region, western Tanzania. Results showed that adult P. angolensis are being removed very rapidly given its slow growth rate as determined from tree ring data, and that regeneration both inside and outside the protected area is very low. A simple model indicates that current harvest is unsustainable raising serious concerns about the long-term viability of this important hardwood species in miombo woodland. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]