Traditional agroforestry systems and biodiversity conservation in Benin (West Africa)

Abstract

In the past, the conservation of biodiversity has been mostly understood in terms of the management of protected areas and natural forests, ignoring the possible role of farm areas and the ways through which rural communities have promoted biodiversity in their subsistence agricultural production systems. The present study focused on the floristic diversity within traditional agroforestry parkland systems around the Pendjari Biosphere Reserve in Benin and showed the diversity of tree species in the area as well as socio-economic factors which affect the practice of this farming system. We used questionnaires and interviewed a total of 118 households to collect data. Respondents were interviewed on their farms and during the interview; we inventoried the number of tree on the farm and determined the farm size. Twenty-one tree species belonging to 14 botanical families were recorded during the surveys and the average stand density of the woody component of farmlands was 7.97 ± 5.43 stems/ha. A number of both native and exotic tree species occurred in the parkland agroforestry systems with dominance of indigenous tree species. Species richness varied with the size of household where households with small land holding conserve more tree species in their field than households with large land holdings. 64% of households surveyed were making deliberate efforts to plant tree species on their farmlands. The most important reasons which determined household ambitions to conserve woody species on farmland were tree products contribution to food and medicine. Results also showed that respondents who noticed that trees were decreasing in the wild conserve more tree species on their farmlands. This research highlights the role of traditional agroforestry practices to support tree species richness and provides evidence of the farms' role as biodiversity reservoirs.

Variability of On-Farm Food Plant Diversity and Its Contribution to Food Security: A Case Study of Smallholder Farming Households in Western Kenya

“…This was the case in the urban and peri-urban gardens of Niamey, Niger (with a mean of 860 m 2 , range=37-10,355 m 2 ), where larger gardens had a higher plant species richness and Shannon diversity (Bernholt et al 2009). Contrary to the present study, fruit tree species richness increased with decreasing farm size in traditional agroforestry farms in northwest Benin, which was explained by the multipurpose use of fruit trees for food and income generation (Fifanou et al 2011). In the present study, however, the surveyed households mainly used the fruits from their farm for home consumption, but not for sale.…”

“…Discussion4.1 Patterns of food plant species richness and diversityThe plant and livestock species richness of the 30 surveyed farms in Western Kenya (59 and six, respectively, in total, and 14.7 and 1.8 in a mean) was lower than those in smallholder farms in the highland area of Kiambu, Central Kenya, with 77 crop and tree species and 11 livestock species in total(Kaihura et al 1999), but slightly higher or similar to those in 50 farms in western Nyanza province of Kenya with a total of 49 and a mean of 15 food plants(Remans et al 2011). The fruit tree species richness in the present study (total 13, mean 2 per farm) was relatively similar to that of traditional agroforesty farms in northwest Benin, where 12 fruit tree species with a mean of 3 were recorded(Fifanou et al 2011). A slightly higher fruit tree richnessDownloaded by [University of Otago] at 00:Fentahun and Hager 2009) and in cocoa-based agroforestry farms in Ondo State, Nigeria, where 16 fruit tree species (no mean given) were recorded (Oke and Odebiyi 2007).…”

Tree establishment and management on farms in the drylands: evaluation of different systems adopted by small-scale farmers in Mutomo District, Kenya

“…Both biophysical and socioeconomic factors influence species selection, locality of planting, as well as management intensity (Sebastian et al 2014;Mukungei et al 2013;Sood 2006). Adoption of trees in agroforestry systems is either through deliberate planting of seedlings or management of naturally regenerating seedlings or coppicing tree stumps, mostly from remnants of the forests cleared for agricultural purposes (Fifanou et al 2011;Fentahun and Hager 2010). Management of naturally regenerating trees is known as Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) (Haglund et al 2011).…”

Effect of selective logging on genetic diversity and gene flow in Cariniana legalis sampled from a cacao agroforestry system

“…Some authors have argued that traditional agroforestry practices can contribute to in situ conservation of biodiversity through the conservation of tree species on farms, reducing pressure on remaining forests, and thus favoring a natural habitat for several species (Acharya, 2006;McNeely and Schroth, 2006). Agroforestry systems have helped to increase the population density of species through identifying and promoting strategies that aim at sustainable land use that are consistent with the maintenance of local biodiversity (Fifanou et al, 2011).…”