TITLE:
Characterization of Woody Vegetation in Different Land Uses in the Commune of Coubalan (Bignona Department, Senegal)
AUTHORS:
Francis Artur Gomez, Ismaïla Coly, Arfang Ousmane Kémo Goudiaby, Mohamed Ndao
KEYWORDS:
Lower Casamance, Forest, Fallow Field, Woody Vegetation
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.14 No.11,
November
24,
2023
ABSTRACT: Woody vegetation provides a number of ecosystem
services, including soil protection, carbon sequestration and oxygen
production. Despite its important role in
maintaining ecological balance, woody vegetation is currently undergoing
continuous degradation due to climatic hazards and anthropogenic actions. As a result, it is essential to gather information
for the sustainable and rational management
of woody formations. It is with this in mind that this study aims to contribute to a better understanding of the
state of woody vegetation in the different land-use types in Basse Casamance.
To this end, stratified random sampling of woody vegetation was carried out in
the different land-use types (fields, fallow
land and forests) of the Coubalan commune. The sampling unit for fields
and fallows was a 2500 m2 plot, and for forests was a 900 m2 plot. A total of 53 species, divided into
48 genera belonging to 22 families, were inventoried in the commune.
Structural parameters were higher in the forest, with 1321.3 ± 635.8
individuals/ha, 13.09 ± 0.1 m2 and 79.25% ± 21.08% respectively for observed density, basal area and cover
rate. As for dendrometric parameters, they are higher in the fields, with 20.4
± 13.6 cm and 7.4 ± 3.8 m respectively for trunk diameter and woody height.
Fallow land is characterized by species with low dendrometric parameters. These results provide a useful database for
rational management of the various land-use types in the commune of
Coubalan.