This study evaluated the response of seedlings from five Faidherbia albida provenances (Taveta, Wangingombe, Lupaso, Kuiseb, and Manapools) to different watering regimes. The provenances showed significant differences in seedling height, diameter, and leaf number in response to water availability. Seedling height had the highest correlation with other growth variables. Genetic variation was highest for seedling height. Cluster analysis grouped the provenances into three clusters based on genetic distance, with the widest distance between clusters I (Manapools) and III (Taveta, Kuiseb, Lupaso), indicating potential for hybridization between provenances from these clusters.

1. Global Ecology and Conservation 8 (2016) 31–40
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Global Ecology and Conservation
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/gecco
Original research article
Variation in the response of eastern and southern Africa
provenances of Faidherbia albida (Delile A. Chev) seedlings to
water supply: A greenhouse experiment
Grace Koecha,c,∗
, Daniel Oforib
, Anne W.T. Muigaic
, Jonathan Muriukia
,
Parveen Anjarwallaa
, Jan De leeuwa
, Jeremias G. Mowoa
a
World Agroforestry Centre, United Nations Avenue, Gigiri, P.O. Box 30677-00100, Nairobi, Kenya
b
CSIR-Forestry Research Institute of Ghana, P. O. Box UP 63, KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana
c
Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, P.O. BOX 62000-00100, Nairobi, Kenya
a r t i c l e i n f o
Article history:
Received 3 March 2016
Received in revised form 9 August 2016
Accepted 9 August 2016
Keywords:
Faidherbia albida
Provenance x treatment interaction
Age to age correlation
Selection
Genetic variation
a b s t r a c t
Rural communities value Faidherbia albida in farming systems and pastoralism. Faidherbia
albida provides products such as medicine, fodder, fuel, wood, food and services such as
shade, soil fertility and nutrient cycling. Excessive browsing by animals, branch lopping
and pod harvesting, have critically reduced the natural regeneration in some areas which
exposes it to challenges due to dependence upon natural regeneration. The objective of this
research was to evaluate response of Faidherbia albida provenances from eastern (Taveta
Wangingombe) and southern Africa (Lupaso, Kuiseb Manapools) to different watering
regimes to aid in selection of provenances for domestication. The observed difference in
growth was analyzed to determine whether they are genetic or environmentally induced.
Genotype × interaction were significant at (p ≤0.001, p≤0.05) in seedling height, diameter
and leaf numbers. Seedling height (r=0.94 p=0.001) recorded the highest correlation
coefficient among all the growth variables analyzed. The growth variation was greater
for seedling height than that of diameter and leaf numbers (h2
=0.97). Hierarchical cluster
analysis grouped the provenances into three clusters with cluster iii consisting of Taveta,
Kuiseb and Lupaso while cluster ii and i composed of Wangingombe and Manapools
respectively. Manapools recorded the highest genetic distance from Taveta, Kuiseb and
Lupaso at 84.55 units. Wangingombe and Manapools are closely related genetically at a
distance of 7.32. The maximum inter-cluster distance between cluster i and iii indicated
wider genetic diversity between the provenances in these clusters and selection should be
from this clusters for hybridization program to achieve novel breeds.
© 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC
BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
1. Introduction
Tree domestication and improvement programs must understand patterns of variation in tree species in order to
effectively select, manage and conserve their genetic resources. Pattern of natural variation in adaptively important
traits is essential in development of tree improvement and conservation strategies for native hardwood species
∗ Corresponding author at: World Agroforestry Centre, United Nations Avenue, Gigiri, P.O. Box 30677-00100, Nairobi, Kenya.
E-mail address: gracekoech44@gmail.com (G. Koech).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2016.08.005
2351-9894/© 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

2. 32 G. Koech et al. / Global Ecology and Conservation 8 (2016) 31–40
(Weber et al., 2008). This is particularly urgent for Faidherbia albida (del.) A. Chev (Bastide and Diallo, 1996; Billand
and De Framond, 1993; Dangasuk et al., 1997; Roupsard et al., 1998; Sniezko and Stewart, 1989; Wanyancha et al.,
1994) and other species that are over extracted (Arnold, 2004; Bowen et al., 1977; Dawson and Powell, 1999; Diallo
et al., 2000; Ofori and Cobbinah, 2007; Ofori et al., 2007; Tchoundjeu et al., 1997). Ræbild et al. (2003) report the
findings of FAO and the Danida Forest Seed Centre who analyzed several trials to identify provenances from Africa
and other continents for reforestation. The number of provenance trials for exotic species outnumber that of native
hardwoods as reported by (Appiah, 2003; Diallo et al., 2000; El Amin and Luukkanen, 2006; Loha et al., 2006; Ofori and
Cobbinah, 2007; Raddad, 2007; Weber et al., 2008; Wolde-Mieskel and Sinclair, 2000). The situation is worrying because
of the changing pattern of climate necessitating the need to focus research on native better adapted provenances. The
adaptive capacity that is required to mitigate the effects of climate change will be achieved among others by selection
of species that make up a farming system (Afreen et al., 2011). While there has been significant effort to select and
breed drought tolerant crop species, there is need to also consider trees when exploring species for consideration in
climate smart agricultural systems. This is because trees provide multiple important benefits to farmers and their farming
systems (De Leeuw et al., 2014). First, trees positively influence microclimatic and edaphic conditions that are relevant
to the production of crop species; second trees provide many goods such as fruits and energy that are relevant to
farmers.
Of particular interest for consideration to include in climate smart agriculture are those tree species that have a wide
climatological niche. These species are interesting because the adaptation of trees to climate change is dependent on
response to the present temperature and rainfall conditions (Austin, 1992; Langlet, 1971). Faidherbia albida is such a species;
it is distributed throughout the African continent spanning a wide range of environmental conditions (Barnes and Fagg,
2003). It grows well under deep sandy-clay soils, rocky, heavy and cracking clays and remarkable gradient of 50–1800 mm
average annual rainfall across which the species occurs. This broad distribution with respect to rainfall is due to the fact that
Faidherbia is a groundwater dependent species (Roupsard et al., 1999).
Aside from its distribution across diverse habitats, Faidherbia albida has a unique reverse phenology of shedding leaves
during the rainy season allowing it to grow among field crops without overshadowing them during the wet season and
provides shade during dry season (Roupsard et al., 1999). Falling leaf mulch promotes higher microbial activities in the soil,
thus improving the soil structure, stability and permeability under the canopy. Increase in yield from the crop grown below
the trees has attributed to increase fertility due to nitrogen fixation, dung from the stocks browsing and fallen leaves and
pods (Dangasuk et al., 1997). In addition, Faidherbia albida has remarkable capacity for recycling nutrient from underground
to the surface due to its very deep root system (Okore et al., 2007).
Beside the benefits mentioned above, Faidherbia albida is appreciated by herdsmen and farmers in arid and semi-arid
regions of Africa (Okore et al., 2007). The leaves and pods are palatable to livestock like cattle, goats and sheep. Pastoralist lops
the branches to provide dry season browse for their stock (Barnes and Fagg, 2003). Ground pods are highly recommended
cattle feeds for milk production (Bwire et al., 2004). The wood of Faidherbia albida is used for construction of dugout
canoes, boats, paddles, kitchen utensils, art objects, troughs and fencing (Mokgolodi et al., 2011). The wood ash is used
for soap and as a depilatory and bark used as fish poison in Botswana (Barnes and Fagg, 2003). The bark has a high
concentration of active component that treats kidney pain and mental illness (Okore et al., 2007). The crushed tree bark
homogenized in water is used to treat diarrhea in human (Wondimu et al., 2007). In Nigeria leaf and fruit decoction help
to cure leprosy while bark infusions are taken to treat fever, coughs and aid in child birth (Oluwakanyinsola et al., 2010).
Seeds of Faidherbia albida are eaten by humans as famine foods although seed requires a long preparation to remove toxins
(Barnes and Fagg, 2003).
Because it has many uses, there is intensive extraction pressure on Faidherbia albida in African dry lands. Excessive
browsing by animals, branch lopping and pod harvesting, have critically reduced the natural regeneration in some areas
which exposes it to challenges due to the fact that it is entirely dependent upon natural regeneration (Wahl and Bland,
2013). Wild animals such as elephants and giraffes have been in many cases identified as the cause of population decline in
F. albida leading to this population deficit through low regeneration. Despite adequate seed production, natural regeneration
by seed may be limited because of heavy seed predation and high seedling mortality (Turnbull et al., 2008). This, together
with the fact that few communities protect and manage natural regeneration, has dramatically reduced the abundance of
Faidherbia albida in many areas. In addition, farmers and pastoralists state that many trees are dying due to increasingly
hotter, drier conditions in the dry lands and the relatively slow growth during the first few years after planting (Okore
et al., 2007). The situation is worsened by little systematic research on genetic variation in growth and survival of native
hardwood species in Africa. FAO initiated, and the Danida Forest Seed Centre analyzed several trials to identify some superior
provenances from Africa and other continents for reforestation in arid and semi-arid zones in Africa (Ræbild et al., 2003).
Numerous provenance trials of several exotic species have been established and evaluated (Andrew et al., 2004; Khasa et al.,
1995; Langat and Kariuki, 2004; Pedersen et al., 2007; Ræbild et al., 2003). In contrast, there are relatively few publication
of genetic variation in growth, survival and other commercially or adaptively important traits of native African hardwoods
(Diallo et al., 2000; El Amin and Luukkanen, 2006; Raddad, 2007; Roupsard et al., 1998).
This paper therefore, evaluated response of five provenances of F. albida to different watering regimes and analyses the
observed difference in growth to determine whether the difference is genetic or environmentally induced to aid in selection
of suitable provenances for domestication in different environments.

3. G. Koech et al. / Global Ecology and Conservation 8 (2016) 31–40 33
Fig. 1. Eastern and southern Africa countries where the provenances under study were collected (Koech et al., 2014).
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Study site
The study was conducted in the greenhouse at the World Agroforestry Centre, (ICRAF) tree nursery at latitude 1°33′
S
longitude 37°14′
E in Nairobi.
2.2. Seed sources
Seeds of the five provenances of F. albida under study were obtained from the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF)
genebank. The geographical range of the seeds varied from 3°24′
S, 37°42′
E to 23°34′
S, 15°02′
E and altitude of 360 to 1700 m
above the sea level. Taveta and Wangingombe represented eastern Africa provenances while Lupaso, Kuiseb and Manapools
represented southern Africa provenances. The seed sources are presented in (Fig. 1).
2.3. Seed germination
One hundred seeds per provenances were selected for germination. The seeds were nicked at the distal end near
the microphyle using a nicking caliper and soaked in water for 24 h before sowing (Moser, 2006). The seeds were then
germinated in sterilized sand in germination trays measuring at a uniform sowing depth (Zhang and Maun, 1990). The sand
was sterilized using the oven method at 70 °C for 48 min. Sand was then saturated with water before sowing the seeds. The
germination trays containing the seeds were then kept under a temperature range of 25–30 °C and monitored for four week
before transplanting the seedlings to potting media.
2.4. Potting and establishment of seedlings
After 30 days of seed germination, 72 healthy seedlings of the same root sizes were transplanted to 400 cm3
pots where
forest soil, manure and sand in the ratio of 3:1:1 was used as potting media. The seedlings were grown in a greenhouse with
full daylight and controlled temperature within a range of 25–30 °C. The air humidity was maintained at 25%–70% relative
humidity and vapor pressure deficit (1.0 kPa) with a proper mixing of the air.
Randomized complete block design with provenances, watering regimes and blocks was used to study the provenance
trial. Seedlings of different provenances were randomized within the block. Seedlings were supplied with the same amount

4. 34 G. Koech et al. / Global Ecology and Conservation 8 (2016) 31–40
of water for two months to allow seedling establishment before initiating the watering regimes. After two months, watering
regime was initiated. The watering regimes were based on the field capacity. In the abundantly-watered treatment, 18
pots of each provenance were watered to field capacity with provision of quantities of water equal to that is lost through
transpiration; soil water content of the other 18 pots of each provenance was always kept at 25%, 50% and 75% of field
capacity throughout the experiment. Evaporation from the soil surface was prevented by enclosing the pots in plastic bags
tied to the stems of the plants. The amount of water supplied daily was determined by weighting ten individuals randomly
chosen from each watering regime x provenance combination. In addition, 10 pots without seedlings were used to monitor
evaporative water loss from the soil surface throughout each treatment.
2.5. Statistical analysis
The following general linear model was established for all the variables:
yijkmn = µ + cijkmn + ti + pj + tpij + ϕk(j) + tϕik(j) + βm + εijkmn (1)
where; yijkmn is the value of the variable for the nth-seedling from the kth-family within jth-provenance, located in the
mth-block in the ith-treatment, µ is overall mean, cijkmn is the effect of a covariate (seedling height at two months), ti is
the effect of the ith-treatment (100%, 75% 50% or 25%), pj is the effect of the jth-provenance (1–5), βm is the effect of the
mth-block (1–3) and εijklmn is the experimental error. The interaction terms tpij and tϕik(j) were also included in the model.
A significant watering treatment by provenance interaction for a particular variable would indicate significant differences
in the phenotypic plasticity between provenances for that trait. Pearson correlation coefficient for seedling growth was
determine to establish the best time for selection based on seedling growth traits.
Phenotypic correlation coefficients were computed to examine the degree of association among the height, diameter and
leaf numbers of F. albida seedling traits. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was conducted to reveal the patterns
of variation of quantitative traits studied. Means of each quantitative character were standardized before subjecting it to the
principal component analysis (PCA) as was suggested by Reddy et al. (2009). The standardized data of quantitative traits was
then used as an input for the PCA biplot loading and cluster analysis. An agglomerative, hierarchical cluster classification
technique with Average linkage strategy was performed. Mead et al. (2002) indicated that the measures of similarity and
dissimilarity were derived by calculating the Euclidean distance between pairs of objects. The Euclidean measure of distance
was used for computing genetic distance among the populations (Mohammadi and Prasanna, 2003). Average linkage treats
the distance between two clusters as the average distance between all pairs of items where one member of a pair belongs
to each cluster (Kahraman et al., 2011). Heritability h2
was calculated for each trait based on the formula: h2
= σ2g
σ2p
across
all the watering regimes and during different period of growth. All the data was analyzed using GenStat Discovery, version
number 12.1.3338, 12th Edition Program (Chope et al., 2012).
3. Results
3.1. Effect of factors
The block effect was not significant across all the studied variables. The effect of watering regime, provenance and
interaction terms of the model were significant for most of the studied variables except for the replication meaning that
the provenances reacted differently in response to stress. There were significant differences at (p ≤ 0.001, p ≤ 0.05)
among provenances in seedling height, diameter and leaf numbers (Table 1).
3.2. Correlation among growth traits
The age to age correlation values with all possible combinations of variable height, diameter and leaf number growth
from the first month to the sixth month of F. albida seedling were summarized in (Table 2). The correlations between
seedling diameter at month six (d6 and either d1, d2, d4 or d5) revealed increasing significant correlation (p < 0.01) with
diameter month six recording the highest correlation coefficient r = 0.92p < 0.001. Seedling height month six (hm6
r = 0.94p < 0.001) recorded the highest correlation coefficient among all the growth variables analyzed. The correlations
between leaf number with seedling diameter and height was weak as it ranged from r = 0.04 to 0.73.
3.3. Principal component analysis
Principal component analysis (PCA) of the present study of height, diameter and leaf numbers showed PC1 contributed to
an appreciable variance (63.18%) followed by PC2 (22.49%) with PC3 (13.05%) Table 3. The difference of eigenvalue between
PC 1 (11.37) and PC 3 (2.35) was high. Contribution weight of each variable to the Principal components (PC) based on
correlations. The percentage of the total variance explained by PC1, PC2 and PC3 is also provided. PCA results showing the
factor coordinates of the variables (×) and provenances (•) on the plane defined by the three Principal Components. A

5. G. Koech et al. / Global Ecology and Conservation 8 (2016) 31–40 35
Table1
AnalysisofvarianceforF.albidaseedlingtraitsforsixmonthsafterinitiatingthewateringregime.
SVd.fdi1di2di3di4di5di6hm1hm2hm3hm4hm5hm6le1le2le3le4le6
Rep20.003ns
0.007ns
0.003ns
0.034ns
0.024ns
0.017ns
0.341ns
0.179ns
0.179ns
0.203ns
0.293ns
0.97ns
1.915ns
0.831ns
1.214ns
1.59ns
1.353ns
Trt30.05***
0.06***
1.89***
3.33***
5.10***
11.13***
38.22***
38.5***
212.3***
480.9***
857.1***
896.8***
83.86***
2643.7***
617.1***
2.98***
112684.8***
prv42.40***
0.39***
11.30***
8.47***
7.42***
13.81***
61.45***
481.4***
571.9***
303.7***
334.7***
470.9***
451.58***
1482.1***
6537.9***
1.59***
11845.7***
Trt
X
Prv
120.17***
0.05***
0.02***
0.42***
0.76***
1.04***
9.91***
14.3***
27.4***
86.7***
67.9***
60.2***
146.38***
937.3***
3561.4***
2.24***
4367.02***
Error380.0040.0060.010.020.0040.020.380.270.390.270.300.220.430.290.364.571.15
CV%1.93.32.02.51.01.91.90.80.90.60.60.51.30.40.30.30.3
Variablesmeasured6monthsafterinitiatingthewateringregime:height=stemheight,Diameter=Basaldiameter,Leafnumber=allofleavespresentduringthecountingperiod.di1=seedlingdiameter
monthone,di2=seedlingdiametermonthtwo,di3=seedlingdiametermonththree,di4=seedlingdiametermonthfour,di5=seedlingdiametermonthfive,di6=seedlingdiametermonthsix,hm1=seedling
heightmonthone,hm2=seedlingheightmonthtwo,hm3=seedlingheightmonththree,hm4=seedlingheightmonthfour,hm5=seedlingheightmonthfive,hm6=seedlingheightmonthsix,le1=all
thenumberofleavespresentduringmonthone,le1=allthenumberofleavespresentduringmonthone,le2=allthenumberofleavespresentduringtwo,le3=allthenumberofleavespresentduring
monththree,le4=allthenumberofleavespresentduringmonthfour,le5=allthenumberofleavespresentduringmonthfive,le6=allthenumberofleavespresentduringmonthsix,:SVstandsforsource
ofvariation,df=degreeoffreedom,SourceofvariationPrv=provenance,trt=treatment,Rep=replication,Prvxtrt=provenancebytreatmentinteraction,Error=residualerror.
***
Variablessignificantlydifferentat0.001levelofsignificance.

6. 36 G. Koech et al. / Global Ecology and Conservation 8 (2016) 31–40
Table2
Age–agecorrelationsbetweenseedlingtraitsofF.albidaprovenancesforsixmonthsofseedlinggrowthunderthewateringregimes:(d1–d6)standsfordiameterfrommonthonetomonthsix;hm1–hm6stands
forheightfrommonthonetomonthsix;le1–le6standsforleafnumbersfrommonthonetomonthsix.
Char1234567891011121314151617
di1–
di20.68**
–
di30.79**
0.77**
–
di40.80**
0.67**
0.91**
–
di50.54**
0.63**
0.81**
0.79**
–
di60.56**
0.70**
0.90**
0.84**
0.92**
–
hm10.37**
0.20ns
0.18ns
0.16ns
0.14ns
0.02–
hm20.78**
0.69**
0.82**
0.79**
0.67**
0.69**
0.46**
–
hm30.81**
0.67**
0.85**
0.90**
0.81**
0.79**
0.37**
0.89**
–
hm40.57**
0.57**
0.74**
0.78**
0.79**
0.81**
0.15ns
0.52**
0.77**
–
hm50.49**
0.62**
0.75**
0.78**
0.78**
0.82**
0.08ns
0.60**
0.80**
0.92**
–
hm60.44**
0.60**
0.73**
0.70**
0.78**
0.83**
0.09ns
0.65**
0.81**
0.83**
0.94**
–
le10.16ns
−0.17ns
−0.14ns
−0.07ns
−0.19ns
−0.25ns
−0.06ns
−0.31*
−0.14ns
0.01ns
−0.14ns
−0.31*
–
le20.66**
0.27*
0.26*
0.41**
0.13ns
0.07ns
0.31*
0.45**
0.39**
0.14ns
0.02ns
−0.05ns
0.23ns
–
le30.36**
0.19ns
0.03ns
0.20ns
0.12ns
0.03ns
0.10ns
−0.03ns
0.14ns
0.31*
0.11ns
−0.08ns
0.59ns
0.55ns
–
le40.15ns
0.08ns
0.10ns
0.15ns
0.17ns
0.07ns
0.21ns
0.10ns
0.22ns
0.17ns
0.19ns
0.13ns
0.20**
0.13**
0.17ns
–
le60.20ns
0.37**
0.51**
0.53**
0.66**
0.73**
−0.25*
0.27*
0.45**
0.73**
0.71**
0.65**
−0.07ns
−0.04ns
0.21ns
0.09ns
–
Variablesmeasured6monthsafterinitiatingthewateringregime:height=stemheight,Diameter=Basaldiameter,Leafnumber=allofleavespresentduringthecountingperiod.di1=seedlingdiameter
monthone,di2=seedlingdiametermonthtwo,di3=seedlingdiametermonththree,di4=seedlingdiametermonthfour,di5=seedlingdiametermonthfive,di6=seedlingdiametermonthsix,hm1=seedling
heightmonthone,hm2=seedlingheightmonthtwo,hm3=seedlingheightmonththree,hm4=seedlingheightmonthfour,hm5=seedlingheightmonthfive,hm6=seedlingheightmonthsix,le1=all
thenumberofleavespresentduringmonthone,le1=allthenumberofleavespresentduringmonthone,le2=allthenumberofleavespresentduringtwo,le3=allthenumberofleavespresentduring
monththree,le4=allthenumberofleavespresentduringmonthfour,le5=allthenumberofleavespresentduringmonthfive,le6=allthenumberofleavespresentduringmonthsix.
*
significanceat5%probabilitylevel.
**
significanceat1%probabilitylevel.

7. G. Koech et al. / Global Ecology and Conservation 8 (2016) 31–40 37
3
2
1
0
-1
-2
-3
321
PC 1 - 63.18 %
PC2-22.49%
0-1-2-3-4
Fig. 2. Principal component (PC) ordination of height, diameter and leaf number growth of seedlings of F. albida from eastern and southern Africa. The –
axis of ordination plot shows PC1 (principal component 1) with eigenvalue 11.37% and 63.18% of total variance of seedling growth – axis of ordination plot
shows PC 2 (principal component 2) with eigenvalue 4.05% and 22.49% of total variance of seedling growth. Manapools, Wangingombe, Lupaso, Kuiseb and
Taveta are the provenances under study.
0 10
iii
ii
iManapools
Wangingombe
Taveta
Lupaso
Kuiseb
Fig. 3. Cluster analysis of F. albida seedling based on seedling height, diameter and leaf number among eastern and southern Africa provenances.
Table 3
The inter- and intra-cluster distances of F. albida provenances under study.
Provenance 1 2 3 4 5
Taveta 1
Lupaso 62.19 1
Kuiseb 62.19 47.23 1
Manapools 84.55 84.55 84.55 1
Wangingombe 71.23 71.23 71.23 84.55 1
varimax rotation of the axes was performed. The ellipses denote the three different groups than can be defined according
to the position of provenances on the plane (Fig. 2).
On the basis of hierarchical cluster analysis, 5 provenances were grouped in to three clusters (Fig. 3). The maximum
number of 3 provenances (Taveta, Kuiseb and Lupaso) was included in cluster 3 while cluster 1 and 2 composed of one
provenance each (Manapools and Wangingombe respectively). The cluster pattern proved that geographical diversity need
not necessarily be related to genetic diversity.
Manapools recorded the highest distance genetic distance from Taveta, Kuiseb and Lupaso and a value of 84.55 (Table 4).
Wangingombe and Manapools are closely related genetically at a distance of 7.32 (Table 4). The intra-cluster distances
ranged from 47.23 to 84.55 with maximum value in cluster 3 followed by cluster 2 and cluster 1. Minimum intra-cluster
distance was found in cluster 1. The highest inter-cluster distance was found between cluster 1 and 3(37.32) followed by
cluster 1 and 2 (24). The minimum inter-cluster distance was observed between cluster 3 and 2 (7.32).

8. 38 G. Koech et al. / Global Ecology and Conservation 8 (2016) 31–40
Table 4
Phenotypic variance (σ2
p), genetic variance (σ2
g), heritability (h2
) for seedling diameter, height leaf number of five provenances of F. albida under different
watering regimes (1 = 250 ml twice per week, 2 = 500 ml twice per week, 3 = 750 ml twice per week 4 = 1000 ml twice per week) for six months of
measurement after two months of seedling establishment.
Trait 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
σ2
p di1 0.59 0.21 0.16 0.23 σ2
g di1 0.58 0.20 0.15 0.23 h2
di1 75.44 77.75 81.86 92.66
di2 0.09 0.03 0.08 0.01 di2 0.09 0.03 0.08 0.01 di2 73.71 77.81 82.97 94.4
di3 0.87 0.98 0.26 1.01 di3 0.87 0.98 0.26 1.01 di3 72.42 78.64 82.28 95.2
di4 0.85 1.24 1.08 0.45 di4 0.85 1.24 1.08 0.45 di4 68.59 78.42 81.73 93.2
di5 0.4 1.39 1.03 0.98 di5 0.41 1.39 1.03 0.91 di5 70.65 78.76 83.04 89.4
di6 0.38 2.32 2.72 1.21 di6 0.26 1.82 2.24 1.10 di6 68.40 78.53 82.55 91.0
hm1 0.65 13.1 2.72 14.8 hm1 0.49 10.5 2.29 14.47 hm1 75.38 80.14 84.19 97.1
hm2 103 48.3 30.8 40.5 hm2 72.1 38.6 25.5 38.19 hm2 69.48 79.92 82.71 94.2
hm3 95.0 85.0 42.10 44.3 hm3 66.0 69.2 35.9 42.66 hm3 69.46 81.45 85.45 96.1
hm4 41.9 53.5 59.50 38.1 hm4 28.9 43.0 50.5 36.03 hm4 69.07 80.33 84.93 94.5
hm5 31.9 35.6 83.02 23.0 hm5 25.4 28.5 71.5 21.36 hm5 79.67 80.17 86.12 92.6
hm6 50.5 57.2 92.97 59.9 hm6 37.1 47.1 78.7 55.78 hm6 73.47 82.31 84.68 93.0
le1 64.9 161.0 24.03 85.0 le1 51.5 135 20.9 82.35 le1 79.28 83.77 87.16 96.8
le2 659 267 80.27 659 le2 518 225 71.6 627.46 le2 78.69 84.15 89.29 95.1
le3 1693 332 446.16 3990 le3 1353 280 391.0 3736.6 le3 79.97 84.38 87.66 93.6
le4 578.0 4980 2201.5 927.0 le4 462.0 4164 1924 876.01 le4 79.85 83.61 87.43 94.4
le5 452.0 4256 3807.5 2593 le5 360.0 3625 3364 2465.9 le5 79.62 85.19 88.37 95.0
le6 456.0 1890 3951.4 3237 le6 359.0 1601 3427 3007.5 le6 78.78 84.72 86.74 92
Variables measured 6 months after initiating the watering regime: height = stem height, Diameter = Basal diameter, Leaf number = all of leaves present
during the counting period. di1 = seedling diameter month one, di2 = seedling diameter month two, di3 = seedling diameter month three, di4 = seedling
diameter month four, di5 = seedling diameter month five, di6 = seedling diameter month six, hm1 = seedling height month one, hm2 = seedling height
month two, hm3 = seedling height month three, hm4 = seedling height month four, hm5 = seedling height month five, hm6 = seedling height month six,
le1 = all the number of leaves present during month one, le1 = all the number of leaves present during month one, le2 = all the number of leaves present
during two, le3 = all the number of leaves present during month three, le4 = all the number of leaves present during month four, le5 = all the number of
leaves present during month five, le6 = all the number of leaves present during month six.
4. Discussion
Large differences in seedling height, diameter and leaf numbers of F. albida provenances under different watering regimes
was detected in the present study (p < 0.001). This indicates that there is adequate genetic variability for seedling growth
in the present material which can be utilized in tree improvement programs to select genetically productive provenances
for domestication. As the experiment was conducted under similar environment, the variation in seedling growth among
the seedlings was due to the genotype which was evidenced from the provenance by treatment interaction. The growth
variation was greater for seedling height than that of diameter and leaf numbers (h2
= 0.97) thus height was identified as
the best trait for predicting provenance growth in the greenhouse. Weber et al. (2015) recommended the selection of native
species based on seedling height is more effective which supports the result of the current study. These results also agree
with the finding of provenance trials of other native hardwoods e.g. Ky-Dembele et al. (2014), Loha et al. (2006) and Weber
et al. (2015). The results confirm the findings of Sniezko and Stewart (1989) and Ibrahim et al. (1997).
Water supply impacted on most of the studied traits suggesting that water deficit reduces carbon gain and slows down
ontogenetic development Faidherbia albida, like in many other species. Growth of Faidherbia albida provenances related to
rainfall gradients of the seed sources. Provenances from drier zones with lower rainfall had better growth than provenances
from regions receiving higher rainfall, this suggest that Faidherbia albida provenances from the drier parts are genetically
better adapted compared with populations from the more humid parts of the region due to differences in selection pressures
(Langlet, 1971). If the observed clines reflect adaptive variation it would be necessary for tree improvement and conservation
programs to collect Faidherbia albida provenances from parts receiving low rainfall for domestication in arid and semi-
arid areas. Kuiseb from southern Africa naturally occur in region with dry climate receiving <50 mm average annual
rainfall and thus have a higher drought tolerance and was able to record best growth performance across all the watering
regimes. Lupaso, Manapools, Taveta and Wangingombe are naturally distributed in region which receives relatively high
rainfall explain its better growth when supplied with more water (>250 twice per week). This observation is explained by
Passioura (1982) who hypothesized that plant species adapted to arid lands employ either a conservative or prodigal water
use strategy. In its natural habitat, Kuiseb provenance utilizes a conservative water use strategy while in the experimental
condition under study; it employed a prodigal water use strategy hence better growth and more biomass accumulation.
The correlations among seedling height stem diameter and leaf numbers increased from age 3 to 9 months after sowing
the seed. The increasing trends of the age–age correlations signify the utilization of any of these traits for selection of
provenances for further testing. Nevertheless, involving the three seedling characters, seedling height revealed more positive
correlations than that of stem diameter and leaf numbers. This implies that seedling height is a superior quantifier of
selection than stem diameter and leaf numbers. The strong correlations between hm5 and hm6 (0.94); di5 and di6 (0.92)
recommended that selection of clones 9 month after sowing was reasonable for this species.
The heritability values were higher for most traits under study. Almqvist et al. (2001), Van Wijk et al. (2005) and
Westendorp et al. (1997) reported higher heritability value for the growth traits in the climatic chamber experiment

9. G. Koech et al. / Global Ecology and Conservation 8 (2016) 31–40 39
reflecting enhanced genetic expression under controlled environmental. These results agree with the findings of Karlsson
et al. (2002) and O’Connor et al. (1994). There is however need to test the provenance under the field conditions before
making conclusion based on this result.
PCA not only provided a visual demonstration of the relationship but also indicates which characters were the most vital
in defining that relationship. In the present study, rainfall of the seed source, height growth, and collar diameter growth
were the most important characters measured in PCA which defined drought as an adaptive trait in identification of F.
albida seedlings originating from eastern and southern Africa. This result was also supported by cluster analysis. Dendrogram
illustrated clusters of seedlings origins with greater similarities of seedling growth. The seedlings from Taveta, Kuiseb and
Lupaso were the most distinct from the rest of the seedlings origins because they possessed higher height, stem diameter and
leaf numbers. Since the environmental variation was insignificant, the observed growth performances may be due to genetic
this observation needs verification by using genetic marker analysis of growth traits. The highest inter-cluster distance was
found between clusters i and iii followed by cluster i and ii. The minimum inter-cluster distance was observed between
cluster iii and ii indicating wider genetic diversity between the trees in these clusters and selection of parents from such
cluster for breeding programs would help to achieve novel breeds. The minimum inter-cluster distance indicated that trees
in these clusters indicated close genetic relationship among provenances therefore; selection of provenances from these
two clusters is to be avoided.
This study provide useful technical recommendations for selection, tree improvement and conservation programs,
however, sustainable management of tree genetic resources requires an enabling social and political environment for it
success. This is limited because rural communities are not part of the policies addressing land ownership and uses hence
unsustainable conservation and management of tree genetic resources (Yatich et al., 2008). The situation is worsened by
the conflicts that exist between related to use and management of natural resources. The government, non-governmental
institution, rural communities should therefore address these challenges and create an enabling environment to ensure
sustainable use, management and conservation of Faidherbia albida genetic resources.
Acknowledgments
The authors wish to thank the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF, Nairobi) for providing the seeds for the study. This study
was conducted as part of the project Towards an Evergreen Agriculture in Africa: Scaling-up Conservation agriculture with
trees for improved livelihoods and environmental resilience in Eastern and Southern Africa. We thank the European Union
Commission (EC) for funding the project through the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD923). Thanks
also go to Agnes Were Valentine Gitonga and Julius Kimani for their help in taking care of the seedlings and measurements
at the nursery in ICRAF.
References
Afreen, S., Sharma, N., Chaturvedi, R.K., Gopalakrishnan, R., Ravindranath, N., 2011. Forest policies and programs affecting vulnerability and adaptation to
climate change. Mitig. Adapt. Strateg. Glob. Change 16 (2), 177–197.
Almqvist, C., Jansson, G., Sonesson, J., 2001. Genotypic correlations between early cone-set and height growth in Picea abies clonal trials. For. Genet. 8 (3),
197–204.
Andrew, S., Maliondo, S., Mtika, J., Msanga, H., Nsolomo, V., 2004. Growth performance of Azadirachta indica provenances in Morogoro, Tanzania. J. Trop.
For. Sci. 328–335.
Appiah, M., 2003. Domestication of an Indigenous Tropical Forest Tree: Silvicultural and Socio-Economic Studies on Iroko (Milicia excelsa) in Ghana.
University of Helsinki, Viikki Tropical Resources Institute (VITRI).
Arnold, R., 2004. Khaya senegalensis—current use from its natural range and its potential in Sri Lanka and elsewhere in Asia. In: Paper presented at the
Prospects for High-value Hardwood Timber Plantations in the Dry Tropics of Northern Australia. Proc. Workshop October.
Austin, M., 1992. Modelling the environmental niche of plants: implications for plant community response to elevated CO2 levels. Aust. J. Bot. 40 (5),
615–630.
Barnes, R., Fagg, C.W., 2003. Faidherbia albida monograph and annotated bibliography.
Bastide, B., Diallo, B., 1996. Comparaison de provenances de Faidherbia albida en plantations au Burkina Faso. Taux de survie et vitesse de croissance juvénile
dans les zones nord et sud-soudanienne. Les parcs aFaidherbia. Cahier Scientifique (12), pp. 259–268.
Billand, A., De Framond, H., 1993. Variabilite genetique d’Acacia albida (synonyme Faidherbia albida) en essais comparatifs de provenances au Burkina Faso
[coefficient de variation, deficit en heterozygote]. In: Paper presented at the Physiologie des arbres et arbustes en zones arides et semi-arides. Paris
(France); Nancy (France). 20 Mar-6 Avr 1990.
Bowen, M., Howland, P., Last, F., Leakey, R., 1977. Triplochiton scleroxylon: its conservation and future improvement.
Bwire, J., Wiktorsson, H., Shayo, C., 2004. Effect of level of Acacia tortilis and Faidherbia albida pods supplementation on the milk quality of dual-purpose
dairy cows fed grass hay-based diets. Livest. Prod. Sci. 87 (2), 229–236.
Chope, G., Cools, K., Terry, L., Hammond, J., Thompson, A., 2012. Association of gene expression data with dormancy and sprout suppression in onion bulbs
using a newly developed onion microarray. In: Paper presented at the VI International Symposium on Edible Alliaceae 969.
Dangasuk, O., Seurei, P., Gudu, S., 1997. Genetic variation in seed and seedling traits in 12 African provenances of Faidherbia albida (Del.) A. Chev. at Lodwar,
Kenya. Agrofor. Syst. 37 (2), 133–141.
Dawson, I., Powell, W., 1999. Genetic variation in the Afromontane tree Prunus africana, an endangered medicinal species. Mol. Ecol. 8 (1), 151–156.
De Leeuw, J., Njenga, M., Wagner, B., Iiyama, M., 2014. Treesilience: An assessment of the resilience provided by trees in the drylands of Eastern Africa.
Nairobi, Kenya.
Diallo, B., Sanon, J., Some, D., Cao, T., Asimi, S., 2000. Rapport d’activité final. Projet FAC no 94: CD/78/BKA Volet 1: Amélioration génétique des ligneux
soudano-saheliens. INERA, Ouagadougou.
El Amin, Y.R., Luukkanen, O., 2006. Adaptive genetic variation in water-use efficiency and gum yield in Acacia senegal provenances grown on clay soil in
the Blue Nile region, Sudan. Forest Ecol. Manag. 226 (1), 219–229.
Ibrahim, A.M., Fagg, C.W., Harris, S.A., 1997. Seed and seedling variation amongst provenances in Faidherbia albida. Forest Ecol. Manag. 97 (2), 197–205.

10. 40 G. Koech et al. / Global Ecology and Conservation 8 (2016) 31–40
Kahraman, A., Malmström, L., Aebersold, R., 2011. Xwalk: computing and visualizing distances in cross-linking experiments. Bioinformatics 27 (15),
2163–2164.
Karlsson, B., Mari, S., Eriksson, G., SkogForsk, S., 2002. Juvenile-mature genetic correlations in Picea abies (L.) Karst. under different nutrient and mycorrhiza
regimes. Silvae Genet. 51 (4), 171–175.
Khasa, P., Li, P., Vallée, G., Magnussen, S., Bousquet, J., 1995. Early evaluation of Racosperma auriculiforme and R. mangium provenance trials on four sites
in Zaire. Forest Ecol. Manag. 78 (1), 99–113.
Koech, G., Ofori, D., Muigai, A.W., Makobe, M., Muriuki, J., Mowo, G.J., Jamnadass, R., 2014. Genetic variability and divergence of seed traits and seed
germination of five provenances of Faidherbia albida (Delile) A. Chev. Afr. J. Plant Sci. 8 (11), 482–491.
Ky-Dembele, C., Tigabu, M., Bayala, J., Odén, P.C., 2014. Inter-and intra-provenances variations in seed size and seedling characteristics of Khaya senegalensis
A. Juss in Burkina Faso. Agrofor. Syst. 88 (2), 311–320.
Langat, D., Kariuki, J., 2004. Variations in heartwood proportion and basic density between provenances of Eucalyptus grandis in Kenya. J. Trop. For. Sci.
179–186.
Langlet, O., 1971. Two hundred years genecology. Taxon 653–721.
Loha, A., Tigabu, M., Teketay, D., Lundkvist, K., Fries, A., 2006. Provenance variation in seed morphometric traits, germination, and seedling growth of Cordia
africana Lam. New For. 32 (1), 71–86.
Mead, R., Curnow, R.N., Hasted, A.M., 2002. Statistical Methods in Agriculture and Experimental Biology, Vol. 55. CRC Press.
Mohammadi, S., Prasanna, B., 2003. Analysis of genetic diversity in crop plants—salient statistical tools and considerations. Crop Sci. 43 (4), 1235–1248.
Mokgolodi, N.C., Setshogo, M.P., Shi, L.-l., Liu, Y.-j., Ma, C., 2011. Achieving food and nutritional security through agroforestry: a case of Faidherbia albida
in sub-Saharan Africa. For. Stud. China 13 (2), 123–131.
Moser, P., 2006. Regeneration and Utilization of Faidherbia Albida and Acacia Erioloba along Ephemeral Rivers of Namibia. Cuvillier.
O’Connor, S., Morzorati, S., Christian, J., Li, T.-K., 1994. Heritable features of the auditory oddball event-related potential: peaks, latencies, morphology and
topography. Electroencephalogr. Clin. Neurophysiol. Evoked Potentials Sect. 92 (2), 115–125.
Ofori, D., Cobbinah, J., 2007. Integrated approach for conservation and management of genetic resources of Milicia species in West Africa. Forest Ecol.
Manag. 238 (1), 1–6.
Ofori, D., Opuni-Frimpong, E., Cobbinah, J., 2007. Provenance variation in Khaya species for growth and resistance to shoot borer Hypsipyla robusta. Forest
Ecol. Manag. 242 (2), 438–443.
Okore, I., Tijani-Eniola, H., Agboola, A., Aiyelari, E., 2007. Impact of land clearing methods and cropping systems on labile soil C and N pools in the humid
zone Forest of Nigeria. Agric. Ecosys. Environ. 120 (2), 250–258.
Oluwakanyinsola, S.A., Adeniyi, T.Y., Akingbasote, J.A., Florence, O.E., 2010. Huso huso Acute and subacute toxicity study of ethanolic extract of the stem
bark of Faidherbia albida (DEL) A. chev (Mimosoidae) in rats. Afr. J. Biotechnol. 9 (8).
Passioura, J., 1982. Water in the Soil-Plant-Atmosphere Continuum Physiological Plant Ecology II. Springer, pp. 5–33.
Pedersen, A.P., Hansen, J.K., Mtika, J., Msangi, T., 2007. Growth, stem quality and age-age correlations in a teak provenance trial in Tanzania. Silvae Genet.
56 (3–4), 142–147.
Raddad, E.A.Y., 2007. Ecophysiological and genetic variation in seedling traits and in first-year field performance of eight Acacia senegal provenances in
the Blue Nile, Sudan. New For. 34, 207–222.
Ræbild, A., Diallo, B.O., Graudal, L.O.V., Dao, M., Sanou, J., 2003. Evaluation of a provenance trial of Acacia senegal at Djibo, Burkina Faso: Trial no. 5 in the
arid zone series: Danida Forest Seed Centre.
Reddy, B.V., Ramesh, S., Reddy, P.S., Kumar, A.A., 2009. 3 Genetic enhancement for drought tolerance in sorghum. Plant Breed. Rev. 31, 189.
Roupsard, O., Ferhi, A., Granier, A., Pallo, F., Depommier, D., Mallet, B., Dreyer, E., 1999. Reverse phenology and dry-season water uptake by Faidherbia
albida (Del.) A. Chev. in an agroforestry parkland of Sudanese west Africa. Funct. Ecol. 13 (4), 460–472. ....
Roupsard, O., Joly, H.I., Dreyer, E., 1998. Variability of initial growth, water-use efficiency and carbon isotope discrimination in seedlings of Faidherbia albida
(Del.) A. Chev., a multipurpose tree of semi-arid Africa. Provenance and drought effects. In: Paper presented at the Annales des sciences forestieres.
Sniezko, R., Stewart, H., 1989. Range-wide provenance variation in growth and nutrition of Acacia albida seedlings propagated in Zimbabwe. Forest Ecol.
Manag. 27 (3–4), 179–197.
Tchoundjeu, Z., Weber, J., Guarino, L., 1997. Germplasm collections of endangered agroforestry tree species: the case of Prosopis africana in the semi-arid
lowlands of West Africa. Agrofor. Syst. 39 (1), 91–100.
Turnbull, L.A., Paul-Victor, C., Schmid, B., Purves, D.W., 2008. Growth rates, seed size, and physiology: do small-seeded species really grow faster. Ecology
89 (5), 1352–1363.
Van Wijk, H., Arts, D., Matthews, J., Webster, M., Ducro, B., Knol, E., 2005. Genetic parameters for carcass composition and pork quality estimated in a
commercial production chain. J. Anim. Sci. 83 (2), 324–333.
Wahl, C.T., Bland, W.L., 2013. Faidherbia albida on the Tonga Plateau of southern Zambia: an agroecological analysis. Int. J. Agric. Sustain. 11 (4), 382–392.
Wanyancha, J., Mills, W., Gwaze, D., 1994. Genetic variation in Acacia albida (Faidherbia albida) and its agroforestry potential in Zimbabwe. Forest Ecol.
Manag. 64 (2), 127–134.
Weber, J.C., Larwanou, M., Abasse, T.A., Kalinganire, A., 2008. Growth and survival of Prosopis africana provenances tested in Niger and related to rainfall
gradients in the West African Sahel. Forest Ecol. Manag. 256 (4), 585–592.
Weber, J.C., Montes, C.S., Kalinganire, A., Abasse, T., Larwanou, M., 2015. Genetic variation and clines in growth and survival of Prosopis africana from
Burkina Faso and Niger: comparing results and conclusions from a nursery test and a long-term field test in Niger. Euphytica 205 (3), 809–821.
Westendorp, R.G., Langermans, J.A., Huizinga, T.W., Elouali, A.H., Verweij, C.L., Boomsma, D.I., Vandenbrouke, J.P., 1997. Genetic influence on cytokine
production and fatal meningococcal disease. Lancet 349 (9046), 170–173.
Wolde-Mieskel, E., Sinclair, F., 2000. Growth variability in a Senegalese provenance of Acacia nilotica ssp. tomentosa. Agrofor. Syst. 48 (2), 207–213.
Wondimu, T., Asfaw, Z., Kelbessa, E., 2007. Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants around ‘Dheeraa’town, Arsi Zone, Ethiopia. J. Ethnopharmacol. 112
(1), 152–161.
Yatich, T., Kalinganire, A., Alinon, K., Weber, J.C., Dakouo, J.M., Samaké, O., Sangaré, S., 2008. Moving beyond forestry laws in Sahelian countries. World
Agroforestry Center Policy Brief. Nairobi, Kenya.
Zhang, J., Maun, M., 1990. Effects of sand burial on seed germination, seedling emergence, survival, and growth of Agropyron psammophilum. Can. J. Bot.
68 (2), 304–310.