Lumber recovery efficiency in the Artisanal sector in Cross River State, Nigeria

Abstract

A study on lumber recovery efficiency was carried out to quantify wood wastage during lumbering process in the artisanal sector. The study was carried out in randomly selected felling areas of Agoi-Ekpo, Bateriko, Kanyanban, Onyen-Ekpon and Oban all in Cross River State between October 2003 and October 2004.Five commercial timber species selected for the study were milicia excelsa, Pterocarpus osun, Nauclea diderichii, Terminalia ivorensis and Gosswellondedron spp. The study showed that log conversion in the artisanal sector result in a high degree (57%) of wastage of total tree volume while the mean recovery ratio for the species are 0.40, 0.46, 0.47, 0.42 and 0.39 for Milicia excelsa, plerocarpus osun, Nauclea diderichii, Terminalia Ivorensis and Gosswellondendron spp respectively. It is recommended that gradual phasing out of stump site wood conversion and proper saw maintenance through training among others be initiated to improve the low wood recovery observed in stump site wood conversion.

Keywords: lumber, artisinal sector, recovery efficiency

Journal of Agriculture, Forestry and the Social Sciences Vol 3(1) 2005: 41-50