Floristic diversity of community forests in the prefecture of Dankpen in Togo

Abstract

This study is a contribution to the management of community forests (CF) in the prefecture of Dankpen: CFs of Namab (CFNam), Nassibik (CFNas), and Yakandjido (CFY). It aims at (i) mapping land use and land cover, (ii) assessing floristic diversity and (ii) characterizing the demographic structure of CFs. The estimated areas of these CFs are respectively 23.0 ha; 22.1 ha and 7.0 ha for the FCNam, FCNas and FCY. With the exception of the CFNam, where no forest formations were observed, over half of the areas of the other CFs are covered by forest formations. The floristic inventories showed a global flora of 84 plant species. The most represented are the Rubiaceae, the Leguminosae-Caesalpiniodae, the Combretaceae and the Poaceae. This flora is inversely proportional to the CF areas: 26, 41 and 52 species recorded respectively in the CFNam, FCNas and FCY. With the exception of the forest formations of the CFY, the diameter structure is inverted J in the other plant formations showing a high abundance of young individuals and therefore a strong recent human influence. Despite the few densities of individuals with large diameter, the high density of regeneration indicates a rapid recovery of the target CFs if protection and restoration measures are maintained over time.

 Keywords: Land use, diversity, community forest, Dankpen, Togo