In the humid forest zone of Southern Cameroon, farmers generally associate cocoa with native and exotic trees in complex agroforestry systems. Despite the socioeconomic and ecological importance of these systems, few studies have investigated their plant composition. We investigated tree composition of cocoa agroforests along a gradient of market access, population density and resource use intensity in the humid forest zone of southern Cameroon, comprising (i) the sub-region of Yaoundé, (ii) the sub-region of Mbalmayo, and (iii) the sub-region of Ebolowa. Market access, population density and resource use intensity all decreased from the first to the third sub-region. We quantified the diversity of tree species associated with cocoa within individual agroforests, among agroforests in the same region, and among the three sub-regions, and classified the tree species according to their main uses. A total of 9.1 ha belonging to 60 cocoa agroforests were inventoried in 12 villages. We encountered a total of 206 tree species with an average of 21 tree species per agroforest. In the more urbanized area around Yaoundé, agroforests were less diverse than in the other sub-regions. In all of the agroforests, food producing tree species tended to be more frequent than other species. Two thirds of the food trees were native forest species and one third was introduced. From Ebolowa to Yaoundé, the

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The distribution and composition of the tree component inside cocoa agroforests plays an important role in the economic and ecological services offered by these plantations. The presence of these plant components appears to be influenced by several factors controlling the introduction and management of associated plants inside cocoa agroforests. To date, few studies have tried to evaluate the horizontal and vertical distribution of plants inside cocoa plantations in Cameroon. This study determines the structure of cocoa plantations in Southern Cameroon. Field data were collected in 60 cocoa plantations belonging to 12 villages located along a contiguous gradient of market access, population density and resource use intensity in the humid forest zone of southern Cameroon. This study area comprises (i) the sub-region of Yaoundé, (ii) the sub-region of Mbalmayo, and (iii) the subregion of Ebolowa. Market access, population density and resource use intensity all decreased from the first to the third sub-region. For cocoa and associated plants, we quantified (1) the density (2) the individual number, the species composition and the group uses of plants (edible, timber, medicinal, etc…) distribution across strata, and (3) the basal area in the 60 cocoa plantations located in the three main sub-regions. Results are presented for each sub-region and the whole study area. The paper develops cocoa agroforest typologies and discusses possible implications of cocoa agroforest structure diversity in the achievement of economic and ecological services.

Studies were carried out in the Kalfou Forest Reserve to make an assessment of the flora diversity and to develop preservation guidelines facing the increase in its degradation. The composition of woody species, structure, diversity, density, dominance, frequency of species and family importance value were described and evaluated in all the forest reserve area. A total of 86 species representing 58 genera and 28 families of woody species were identified. The families of Combretaceae, Fabaceaecaesalpinioideae and Fabaceae-mimosoideae were the most abundant families in the Kalfou Forest Reserve. The density of stems ≥ 10 cm circumference and the basal area were higher in the Doulouk and Gonoray parts of the reserve. The distribution of stems of the main species in classes of circumference had shown a reverse "J" shaped curve. The number of stems of shrubs species was important and strongly influenced globally the diameter and the height of the stems which were lower. Species diversity was a slight difference among the various parts of the forest reserve area. The species abundance showed that, 20% of the species were infrequent. The dynamic of renewal of species were ensured by the weakly regeneration: seedling (2.03%), rejection issues (41.97%) and the death rate of individual species was 8.02%. Disturbances and the vulnerability of the seedlings did not ensure species sustainability. Preservation systems and adequate management were therefore recommended in order to ensure sustainable management of the Kalfou Forest Reserve resources.