Trees are a traditional component of urban spaces where they provide ecosystem services critical to urban wellbeing. In the Tropics, urban trees’ seed origins have rarely been characterized. Yet, understanding the social dynamics linked to tree planting is critical given their influence on the distribution of associated genetic diversity. This study examines elements of these dynamics (seed exchange networks) in an emblematic indigenous fruit tree species from Central Africa, the African plum tree (Dacryodes edulis, Burseraceae), within the urban context of Yaoundé. We further evaluate the consequences of these social dynamics on the distribution of the genetic diversity of the species in the city. Urban trees were planted predominantly using seeds sourced from outside the city, resulting in a level of genetic diversity as high in Yaoundé as in a whole region of production of the species. Debating the different drivers that foster the genetic diversity in planted urban trees, the study argues that cities and urban dwellers can unconsciously act as effective guardians of indigenous tree genetic diversity.

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Background Understanding the perceptions, preferences and management practices associated with intraspecific variability of emblematic African tree crops is critical for their sustainable management. In this paper, we examine how the agrobiodiversity of a fruit tree species native to Central Africa, the African plum tree (Dacryodes edulis), is perceived and managed by Cameroonian cultivators. Methods Semi-structured interviews and tree surveys were conducted over four months with 441 African plum tree owners from three different ethnic groups (Bamileke, Bassa, Beti) in urban, peri-urban and rural areas. Questions focused on trees owners’ perceptions—including the local nomenclature—preferences and management practices related to African plum trees and their intraspecific agrobiodiversity. Results Across the three ethnic groups in the study area, more than 300 different local varietal names were recorded. These were mainly based on morphological and organoleptic traits, with two-thirds of the names referring to fruit size, skin color and fruit taste. The same traits were used by tree owners to describe their fruit preferences, but their relative importance in shaping fruit preferences varied among groups. The preferences of urban dwellers from different ethnic groups when purchasing African plum fruit focused on the fruit’s taste characteristics, while those of rural dwellers differed among ethnic groups. In rural areas, where African plums are sold and consumed by their growers, the preferences of Bassa consumers reflect quantity (fruit size) over quality (fruit taste or skin color) considerations. These preferences are reflected in the choice of seeds used for planting. Bassa owners sought seeds from trees with large fruits (with 34.8% of Bassa owners giving top priority to this trait as a selection criterion) to a significantly greater extent than Bamileke and Beti owners who prioritized taste and skin color instead. Among tree growers who selectively retained African plum trees in their fields, 44% considered tree productivity as a primary selection criterion. Conclusions Findings linking perceptions of and preferences for fruit traits to intraspecific tree diversity, with attention to inter-ethnic and rural–urban differences, will help design locally specific measures to conserve the agrobiodiversity of African plum in the context of its ongoing domestication.

Microsatellites were designed and characterized in the African fruit tree species Dacryodes edulis (Burseraceae). The fruits are commercialized throughout Central Africa and the species is present in forested environments as well as cultivated systems. The high variability of these markers makes them suitable to investigate the structure of genetic diversity in this important food tree species from Central Africa. From a genomic library obtained by next-generation sequencing, 21 new polymorphic microsatellite loci were developed. Tested on 95 individuals from four populations coming from three countries of the Congo Basin, the microsatellites displayed two to 20 alleles (mean 7.5; expected heterozygosity 0.003 to 0.937, mean 0.666). The transferability of microsatellites was effective for four other Dacryodes species (D. buettneri, D. igaganga, D. osika, D. pubescens). This set of newly developed microsatellite markers will be useful for assessing the genetic diversity and differentiation as well as gene flow patterns of D. edulis in tropical forests from Central Africa.

Background and aims Like other clades, the Coffea genus is highly diversified on the island of Madagascar. The 66 endemic species have colonized various environments and consequently exhibit a wide diversity of morphological, functional, phenological features and reproductive strategies. The trends of interspecific trait variation, which stems from interactions between genetically defined species and their environment, still needed to be addressed for Malagasy coffee trees. Methods Data acquisition was done in the most comprehensive ex situ collection of Madagascan wild Coffea. The structure of endemic wild coffees maintained in ex situ collection was explored in terms of morphological, phenological, and functional traits. The environmental (natural habitat) effect was assessed on traits in species from distinct natural habitats. Phylogenetic signal (Pagel’s λ, Blomberg’s K) was used to quantify trait proximities among species according to their phylogenetic relatedness. Key results Despite the lack of environmental difference in the ex situ collection, widely diverging phenotypes were observed. Phylogenetic signal was found to vary greatly across and even within trait categories. The highest values were exhibited by the ratio of internode mass to leaf mass, the length of the maturation phase and the LDMC. By contrast, traits weakly linked to phylogeny were either constrained by original natural environment (leaf size) or under selective pressures (phenological traits). Conclusions This study gives insight into complex patterns of trait variability found in an ex situ collection, and underlines the opportunities offered by living ex situ collections for research characterizing phenotypic variation.

In Cameroon, the African plum tree (Dacryodes edulis [G. Don] H. J. Lam) is widely cultivated for its fruits, which contribute significantly to household food security and economy. In order to analyze the links between the social and ecological systems that result in the remarkable fruit diversity, we focused on how the important varietal diversity of African plums was perceived and named by tree owners. We conducted semi‑structured interviews in Center-Cameroon with 142 people belonging to the Beti ethnic group, in urban (Yaoundé), peri-urban and rural areas, and analyzed the data qualitatively and quantitatively. Along this urbanization gradient linking production to consumption regions, 158 different translated names were recorded. Most names (80%) were cited once, but some names based on fruit size and taste were common across the gradient. Although the highest total number of names was recorded in the rural site, many different names were also found along the urban–rural gradient. We did not detect difference in the number of named African plums between respondents with different characteristics. The local classification of African plums among the Beti was structured predominantly according to morphological and organoleptic criteria, but also to symbolic and practical criteria. African plums’ names were based on people’s fruit preferences, that favor large, oily, and blue to black fruits, and disregard pink-colored watery plums. This study is an entry point to explore the rising trade and thus ongoing domestication of the African plum tree from an often neglected perspective, that of local nomenclature.

Trees are a traditional component of urban spaces where they provide ecosystem services critical to urban wellbeing. In the Tropics, urban trees’ seed origins have rarely been characterized. Yet, understanding the social dynamics linked to tree planting is critical given their influence on the distribution of associated genetic diversity. This study examines elements of these dynamics (seed exchange networks) in an emblematic indigenous fruit tree species from Central Africa, the African plum tree (Dacryodes edulis, Burseraceae), within the urban context of Yaoundé. We further evaluate the consequences of these social dynamics on the distribution of the genetic diversity of the species in the city. Urban trees were planted predominantly using seeds sourced from outside the city, resulting in a level of genetic diversity as high in Yaoundé as in a whole region of production of the species. Debating the different drivers that foster the genetic diversity in planted urban trees, the study argued that cities and urban dwellers can unconsciously act as effective guardians of indigenous tree genetic diversity.

Dans les écosystèmes forestiers tropicaux, les humains utilisent de longue date les espèces végétales utiles, sources de nourriture, de fibre, de combustible ou de médication. Parmi ces produits forestiers non ligneux, certains d'entre eux ont progressivement été mis en culture, posant des questions tant sur les impacts évolutifs des interactions entre plantes et hommes que sur la durabilité des modes de gestion actuels de ces ressources. C'est le cas pour le safoutier (Dacryodes edulis, Burseraceae), un arbre fruitier emblématique d'Afrique centrale. Dans cette thèse, la dynamique de la diversité cultivée du safoutier est abordée via une approche interdisciplinaire alliant génétique des populations et ethnoécologie, afin de comprendre d’une part l’histoire évolutive de l’espèce sur le temps long, d’autre part les effets des changements contemporains de ses modes de culture. L’approche génétique centrée sur l'histoire évolutive du safoutier a permis d’identifier différents groupes génétiques sur son aire de distribution. Les patrons de distribution de l’ADN chloroplastique semblent résulter des événements de glaciation du Quaternaire plutôt que de la mise en culture de l'espèce. L’accent mis sur les savoirs des cultivateurs dans l’approche ethnoécologique met en lumière la nomenclature fine qu’ils mobilisent, et les préférences différentes qu’ils ont en fonction des usages du fruit : une bascule s'opère en faveur du critère de la taille du fruit chez ceux destinant leur production au marché urbain. Enfin, le croisement des deux approches a permis de mettre en valeur les effets des réseaux informels d'échanges de semences sur la distribution de la diversité génétique. Les semences utilisées pour planter des arbres en ville proviennent ainsi en majorité d'échanges sur de longues distances. En conséquence, des niveaux de diversité identiques, voire supérieurs, sont présents dans les aires urbaines par rapport au milieu rural. Ensemble, ces résultats permettent de conclure qu'il existe une grande diversité de connaissances, de pratiques et d'usages autour du safoutier, qui n'engendrent pas, à ce stade, d'effets néfastes sur sa diversité intra-spécifique. Le safoutier se présente comme un modèle stratégique pour étudier l'effet des pratiques humaines sur la diversité génétique en Afrique centrale, de nombreuses questions de recherche demeurant quant à l'origine de sa mise en culture et de sa diffusion.