TITLE:
A Survey of the Floristic Diversity of the National Park of Marahoué after the Armed Conflicts in Ivory Coast
AUTHORS:
Yao Sadaiou Sabas Barima, Kouassi Apollinaire Kouakou, Akoua Tamia Madeleine Kouakou, Yao Charles Sangne
KEYWORDS:
Floristic Diversity, Conflicts, Anthropogenic Activities, Endemism, Ivory Coast
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Forestry,
Vol.6 No.4,
July
14,
2016
ABSTRACT: Most of the Ivorian areas designated as protected were trickled in for various agricultural activities. For these last few decades, the situation worsened in Ivory Coast because these protected areas were not guarded during the armed conflict of the years 2002-2011. The objective of this study is to assess the condition in which the floristic diversity of the National park of Marahoué (NPM) is after the armed conflicts of the years 2000. To achieve our purpose, a sampling has been conducted along five transects that go through different environments: inner the park, the edge of the park and the non-domanial property. A 20 × 20 m plot square has been settled in each of these environments along each transect and each one separated from one another by 200 m. Four (4) other pilots plots of 20 × 20 m have been built up inside the park, relatively in the protected areas. Regarding these surveys, 303 plant species have been identified among which the most important are Fabaceae (6.27%), Euphorbiaceae (5.28%) and Rubiaceae (5.28%) families. Twenty-four (24) species have a particular status according to the International Union for the Nature Conservation among which nineteen (19), and about 79.16% have been seen in the relatively protected areas. One of these species, Baphia Bancoensis Aubrév, is endemic in Ivory Coast. In the park, the agricultural activities have reduced the number of trees which diameter is over 30 cm. Although the infiltration of clandestines in the NPM started long before the beginning of the conflicts, our work nevertheless permitted to point out them. During this period, these infiltrations were accelerated mainly because these people were looking for new lands to cultivate cocoas trees.