TITLE:
Characterization of Woody Vegetation in the High Rice Fields of the Commune of Mlomp Oussouye (Ziguinchor, Senegal)
AUTHORS:
Babacar Faye
KEYWORDS:
Characterization, Current Situation, Woody Vegetation, High Rice Fields, Colonization
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.10 No.5,
May
26,
2023
ABSTRACT: For several decades, the Commune of Mlomp in Lower Casamance (Senegal) has been confronted with a progressive evolution of its woody vegetation in the dry rice fields, causing a decline in rice production. Anthropogenic action combined with climatic conditions has played a role in the progression of woody flora in dry rice fields, which are supposed to be rice-growing areas. As these land areas were dedicated to agriculture before the 1970s, they have now experienced a strong regeneration of woody flora. This paper aims to show the current situation of vegetation in an environment dedicated to rice cultivation in order to measure the effects on rice production in the Commune in the context of climate change and mobility. To this end, a quantitative as well as qualitative methodology was used, consisting of a sociological approach, confronted with a phytosociological inventory. The floristic composition, the vertical stratification and the density of ligneous plants constitute the evidence of the colonization of the high rice fields in the communal agricultural space suffering from silting, land abandonment and mobility.