Rice, weeds and shifting cultivation in a tropical rain forest : a study of vegetation dynamics

Abstract

The study deals with the rain forest area in south-west Côte d'lvoire (Taï National Park). Descriptions are given of the area's history, agricultural practices, geology, geomorphology, soils, flora and vegetation. The shifting cultivation system based on upland rice was studied as it is practiced without land shortage and under constraints. Possible adaptations of the system to the increasing population pressure have been tested on the fields of local farmers. Special attention was paid to the dynamics of the weed population and to the competition between rice and weeds. The classifications of primary forest, secondary forest and field vegetations are based on their complete floristic composition and was carried out by tabular comparison of plot-data