Impact of wood cuts on the structure and floristic diversity of vegetation in the peri-urban zone of Ngaoundere, Cameroon

The main objective of this paper was to study the impact of various wood cuts on the structure and the floristic diversity of the savannas, and to seek for durable solutions against deforestation during a four year investigation. An inventory of the woody layer on 120 sites areas of 50 × 50 m showed that savannas have structures in "L". This structure translate the state of the degradation of the vegetation. The floristic diversity showed that the characteristic species of the degradation of the shrubby savannas area are Hymenocardia acida, Piliostigma thonningii and Annona senegalensis, and those of the wooded savannas are Daniellia oliveri and Cesalpinia sp. It was also shown that highest wood cuts are depressive for the stability of the savannas and for the disappearance of the vegetable biodiversity. Consequently, they are responsible for the acceleration of the degradation and the alarming installation of the desert in wet savannas of Ngaoundéré. A measure of co-administration between the government and the bordering population must be therefore encouraged to protect and safeguard the anthropized vegetation

Sustainable Management of Tropical Dry Forests: An Overview from Cameroonian Context and the Special Case of Mozogo-Gokoro National Park

Climate change, desertification, and biodiversity are critical factors in the ongoing multilateral mobilization for sustainable management of natural resources. In order to investigate the administration of a national park, this chapter focuses firstly on the directions taken by the international normative arsenal in the Cameroonian context of forest governance and specifically the reminder of some regulatory texts concerning national parks. After addressing the issue of management of protected areas in the dry Far North of Cameroon, the second part examined the special case of the Mozogo-Gokoro National Park, located in this region, with reference to the results of a survey and administrative report consultations. The analysis reveals a gap between international and national legal instruments and their actual implementations. The park’s status as a plant conservation model in Sudano-Sahelian zone is mostly attributable to empirical local practices adapted to the resilience of vegetation

Influence of Anthropization on the Diversity of Woody Vegetation in Muskuwaari Transplanted Sorghum Field in the Sudano-Sahelian Zone of Cameroon

Transplanted sorghum is a staple food crop and represents an important part of cereal production in the Far North region. Its cultivation has led to profound agrarian changes and environmental landscape. The main objective of the study carried out from 2017 to 2019 in the Far North area was aimed to study the influence of anthropization on the diversity of woody vegetation, its management and conservation of the transplanted sorghum landscape in the Sudano-Sahelian zone. Population surveys in six (06) villages and floristic surveys through 50 m2 plots in two soil types in these villages were conducted. The results show that the use of herbicide, cutting down and stump removal of woody plants, essential in most cases, have led to profound changes in the Kare with the invasion of the fields by weed plants, post-harvest soil denudation and the disappearance of plant biodiversity. The exploitation of sorghum led to a reduction in the number of woody species from 20 to 9 at the start to the end of the study respectively. Similarly, the average species density decreased over time. The disappearance of 17 individuals was recorded on the clay soil type and 12 on the hydromorphic soil type during the 2 years. Faced with this threat, the practice of agroforestry (4 to 11%), reduction in the use of chemicals (24.19 to 40.32%), abolish harvesting of green wood (0 to 3.33%) and plough to limit the action of fire have been proposed as alternative measures for sustainable exploitation of transplanted sorghum

Diversity and structure of Prunus africana (Hook.f.) Kalkman stands in the Tchabal forest massif: A case study from Adamawa Cameroon: Phytodiversity of Prunus africana (Hook.f.) Kalkman in Cameroon

The aim of this work is to provide basic data for a better knowledge of Prunus africana (Hook.f.) Kalkman stands through a non-exhaustive floristic inventory in the Sudano-Guinean zone of Cameroon. Transects of 2,000 x 20 m² were installed in these stands in the Tchabal forest massif. The inventory concerned timbers with dbh ≥ 10 cm. Herbaceous were counted according to the "sigmatiste zuricho-montpelléraine” method. In total, 25 families distributed in 41 genera and 46 species and for herbaceous, 19 families distributed in 42 genera and 46 species were recorded in the stands. The stands of Bontadji and Horé-Déo are the richest. Euphorbiaceae, Fabaceae, Ficus thonningii Blume and Croton macrostachyus Hochst. ex Delile are the most abundant taxa in each site. The Fongoy I locality stands are the most diversified (ISH: 0.87 ± 0.07; H': 0.99 ± 0.01). There is a floristic similarity of about 30% between localities. The stands of Fongoy I are very dense and basal area (D=394 ± 0.31 individuals/ha and BA= 25.80 ± 8.05 m²/ha). Structural analysis shows an "L" shape attesting to the presence of future stems. This observation is supported by the vertical structure of the stands. This information constitutes an important argument for the protection of the environment