Abstract.-Despite efforts by researchers worldwide to assess the biodiversity of plant groups, many locations on Earth remain poorly surveyed, resulting in inadequate or biased knowledge. Robust estimates of inventory completeness could help alleviate the problem. This study aimed to identify areas representing gaps in current knowledge of African palms, with a focus on Benin (West Africa). We assessed the completeness of knowledge of African palms, targeting geographic distance and climatic difference from well-known sites. Data derived from intensive fieldwork were combined with independent data available online. Inventory completeness indices were calculated and coupled with other criteria. Results showed a high overall value for inventory completeness, as well as an even distribution of well-known areas across the country. However, poorly-known areas were identified, which were in remote locations with low accessibility. This study illustrates how biodiversity survey and inventory efforts can be guided by existing knowledge. We strongly recommend the combination of digital accessible knowledge and fieldwork, coupled with expert knowledge, to obtain a better picture of inventory completeness in tropical ecosystems.
The Mono Transboundary Biosphere Reserve (RBTM) has significant resources but faces many threats that lead to habitat fragmentation and reduction of ecosystem services. This study, based on satellite image analysis and processing, was carried out to establish the baseline of land cover and land use status and to analyze their dynamics over the period 1986 to 2015. The baseline of land cover established six categories of land use including wetlands (45.11%), mosaic crops/fallow (25.99%), savannas (17.04%), plantation (5.50%), agglomeration/bare soil (4.38%) and dense forest (1.98%). The analysis of land use dynamics showed a regression for wetlands (-23%), savannas (-16.06%) and dense forest (-7.60%). On the contrary, occupations such as mosaic crops/fallow land, urban agglomerations/bare soil and plantation increase in area estimated at respectively 128.64%, 93.94% and 45.23%. These results are of interest to stakeholders who assess decisions affecting the use of natural resources and provide environmental information essential for applications ranging from land-use planning, forest cover monitoring and the production of environmental statistics.Keywords: Land use, baseline, spatial dynamics, environmental statistics, ecological monitoring.
Balanites aegyptiaca (L.) Delile and Ricinodendron heudelotii (Bail.) Pierre are socioeconomically important species in sub-Saharan Africa. This study was conducted to assess the seed germinability and seedling growth of those species based on several treatments and to define proper conservation and domestication strategies in Benin. The seeds were randomly collected in their natural habitats. The experiment was conducted using a split-split plot design and the data was analyzed using the generalized linear mixed and survival models. The heaviest seeds ( B. aegyptiaca seed mass ≥3 g and R. heudelotii ≥ 1.50 g) provided the highest germination rates (73.60 ± 5.19% and 62.50 ± 5.71%, respectively) when seeds were scarified with a hammer. For B. aegyptiaca seedlings, the seeds from the phytodistrict of North Borgou scarified with a hammer and the heaviest seeds showed the highest total height (36.43 ± 1.03 cm), basal diameter (2.84 ± 0.03 mm), the greatest number of leaves (32), and ramifications. The heaviest seeds of R. heudelotii had also the highest value for total height at the day-28 after sowing (26.73 ± 13.56 cm) until the day-105 (151.97 ± 6.37 cm). The heaviest seeds of R. heudelotii from the phytodistrict of Pobe showed the highest basal diameter (12.53 ± 1.47 mm) and the greatest number of leaves (14), with almost no ramification during the trial period. These findings constitute a step forward in upscaling the reproduction of these species for better contribution to economies while serving in restoration plans.
Plant species providing Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFP) are economically important across Africa. How this heterogeneous and understudied resource will respond to ongoing climate change remains understudied. Here, we modelled the impact of endof-the-century climate change on the distribution of 40 NTFP plant species distributed across tropical Africa. Occurrence data were extracted from a taxonomically verified database and three different ecological niche modelling algorithms were used. Species distributions were modelled under two end-of-century (2085) climate change models (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) and two dispersal scenarios (limited and expanded). We show that for the 40 NTFP plant species studied here, different responses are modelled with some species gaining in suitable habitats (47.5%-65% under RCP4.5), whereas others will lose in suitable habitats (35%-52.5% under RCP4.5). Nevertheless, we also show that our results vary between the different methods used, such as modelling algorithms, dispersal scenarios and general circulation models. Overall, our results suggest that the response of NTFP species to climate change depends on their distribution, ecology and dispersal ability.
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