Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Impact of bark and foliage harvesting on fruit production of the multipurpose tree Afzelia africana in Burkina Faso (West Africa)

  • Published:
Agroforestry Systems Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In sub-Saharan Africa, extraction for daily livelihood needs often results in uncontrolled exploitation of bark and leaves of valuable medicinal and fodder trees. However, overharvesting of bark and foliage can reduce fruit production and threaten reproduction. This study evaluates the impact of combined bark and foliage harvesting on the performance of fruit production of Afzelia africana in Burkina Faso. We compared fruit and seed production at different harvesting intensities. Data on fruit yields were collected by stratified random sampling of 91 trees with no, low, severe, and very severe harvesting intensities. The fruit production varied with harvesting intensity, tree size and number of branches. Fruit and seed quantity and quality decreased with increasing harvesting intensity. However, no significant difference was detected between trees without and trees under low harvesting. Trees of all size classes under very severe harvesting intensity had no fruits. Under low harvesting impact, large trees had twice as many fruits as the control, whereas fruits were reduced by half to 95 % for the small trees. High harvesting intensity is an unsustainable practice that should be completely prohibited in order to ensure longterm persistence of Afzelia africana. Low harvesting intensity should be allowed, but only on large reproductive individuals.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Arbonnier M (2002) Arbres, arbustes et lianes des zones sèches d’Afrique de l’Ouest, 2nd edn. CIRAD, CIRAD, Paris

    Google Scholar 

  • Bationo BA, Ouédraogo SJ, Boussim IJ (2000) Afzelia africana Sm. (Caesalpiniaceae): étude de la prédation des graines dans une savane boisée du Burkina Faso. Bois For Trop 264:55–56

    Google Scholar 

  • Bationo BA, Ouédraogo SJ, Guinko S (2001) Longévité des graines et contraintes à la survie des plantules d’Afzelia africana Sm. dans une savane boisée du Burkina Faso. Ann For Sci 58:69–75

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Belem B, Nacoulma BMI, Gbangou R, Kambou S, Hansen HH, Gausset Q, Lund S, Raebild A, Lompo D, Ouedraogo M, Theilade I, Boussim IJ (2007) Use of non wood forest products by local people bordering the “Parc National Kaboré Tambi”, Burkina Faso. TES 6:1–21

    Google Scholar 

  • Boffa JM (1999) Agroforestry parklands in sub-Saharan Africa. FAO conservation guide No. 34, Rome

  • Bonou W, Glèlè Kakaï R, Assogbadjo AE, Fonton HN, Sinsin B (2009) Characterisation of Afzelia africana Sm. habitat in the Lama forest reserve of Benin. For Ecol Manag 258:1084–1092

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cunningham AB (2001) Applied ethnobotany, people, wild plant use and conservation. Earthscan Publications Ltd, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Delvaux C, Sinsin B, Darchambeau F, Van Damme P (2009) Recovery from bark harvesting of 12 medicinal tree species in Benin, West Africa. J Appl Ecol 46:703–712

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dhillion SS, Gustad G (2004) Local management practices influence the viability of the baobab (Adansonia digitata Linn.) in different land use types, Cinzana, Mali. Agric Ecosyst Environ 101:85–103

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Donkpegan ASL, Hardy O, Lejeune P, Oumorou M, Daïnou K, Doucet JL (2014) Un complexe d’espèces d’Afzelia des forêts africaines d’intérêt économique et écologique (synthèse bibliographique). Biotechnol Agron Soc Environ 18(2):1–14

    Google Scholar 

  • ENEC (2003) Statistiques des animaux domestiques de la province de la Tapoa. Ministère de l’élevage et des ressources animales, Ouagadougou

    Google Scholar 

  • Fontès J, Guinko S (1995) Carte de végétation et de l’occupation du sol du Burkina Faso. Notice explicative. Ministère de la Coopération Française. Projet Campus (8813101). Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse

  • Gaoue OG, Ticktin T (2008) Impacts of bark and foliage harvest on Khaya senegalensis (Meliaceae) reproductive performance in Benin. J Appl Ecol 45:34–40

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gérard J, Louppe D (2011) Afzelia africana Sm. ex Pers. In: Lemmens RHMJ, Louppe D, Oteng-Amoako AA (eds) Record from PROTA4U. Wageningen, The Netherlands: PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa). http://www.prota4u.org/search.asp. Accessed date 10 Sept 2015

  • Ghimire S, Gimenez O, Pradel R, McKey D, Aumeeruddy-Thomas Y (2008) Demographic variation and population viability in a threatened Himalayan medicinal and aromatic herb Nardostachys grandiflora: matrix modelling of harvesting effects in two contrasting habitats. J Appl Ecol 45:41–51

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gyenge JE, Fernández ME, Schlichter TM (2009) Effect of pruning on branch production and water relations in widely spaced ponderosa pines. Agrofor Syst 77:223–235

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haarmeyer DH, Schumann K, Bernhardt-Römermann M, Wittig R, Thiombiano A, Hahn K (2013) Human impact on population structure and fruit production of the socio-economically important tree Lannea microcarpa in Burkina Faso. Agrofor Syst 87:1363–1375

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hall P, Bawa K (1993) Methods to assess the impact of extraction of non-timber tropical forest products on plant populations. Econ Bot 47:234–247

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lykke AM (1998) Assessment of species composition change in savanna vegetation by means of woody plants’ size class distributions and local information. Biodivers Conserv 7:1261–1275

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martín D, Vázquez-Piqué J, Alejano R (2015) Effect of pruning and soil treatments on stem growth of holm oak in open woodland forests. Agrofor Syst 89:599–609

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005) Ecosystem and human well-being: biodiversity synthesis. World Resources Institute, Washington

    Google Scholar 

  • Moles AT, Westoby M (2004) Seedling survival and seed size: a synthesis of the literature. J Ecol 92:372–383

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MRA (2007) Analyse de la filière bétail viande au Burkina Faso. Rapport annuel, p 167. http://www.fao.org/docs/up/easypol. Accessed date 10 Sept 2015

  • Nacoulma BMI, Traoré S, Hahn K, Thiombiano A (2011a) Impact of land use types on population structure and extent of bark and foliage harvest of Afzelia africana and Pterocarpus erinaceus in Eastern Burkina Faso. Int J Biodivers Conserv 3:62–72

    Google Scholar 

  • Nacoulma BMI, Schumann K, Traoré S, Bernhardt-Römermann M, Hahn K, Wittig R, Thiombiano A (2011b) Impacts of land-use on West African Savanna vegetation: a comparison between protected and communal area in Burkina Faso. Biodivers Conserv 20:3341–3362

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Okullo JBL, Obua J, Okello G (2004) Use of indigenous knowledge in predicting fruit production of shea butter tree in agroforestry parklands of north-eastern Uganda. UJAS 9:360–366

    Google Scholar 

  • Orwa C, Mutua A, Kindt R, Jamnadass R, Simons A (2009) Agroforestree Database: a tree reference and selection guide version 4.0. http://www.worldagroforestry.org/af/treedb. Accessed date 09 Sept 2015

  • Ouédraogo A, Thiombiano A, Hahn-Hadjali K, Guinko S (2006) Diagnostic de l’état de dégradation des peuplements de quatre espèces ligneuses en zone soudanienne du Burkina Faso. Sécheresse 17:485–491

    Google Scholar 

  • Ouédraogo I, Tigabu M, Savadogo P, Compaoré H, Odén PC, Ouadba JM (2010) Land cover change and its relation with population dynamics in Burkina Faso, West Africa. Land Degrad Develop 21:453–462

    Google Scholar 

  • Ouédraogo-Koné S, Kaboré-Zoungrana CY, Ledin I (2006) Behaviour of goats, sheep and cattle on natural pasture in the sub-humid zone of West Africa. Livers Sci 105:244–252

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ouédraogo-Koné S, Kaboré-Zoungrana CY, Ledin I (2008) Important characteristics of some browse species in an agrosilvopastoral system in West Africa. Agrofor Syst 74:213–221

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Petit S, Mallet B (2001) L’émondage d’arbres fourragers détail d’une pratique pastorale. Bois For Trop 4:35–45

    Google Scholar 

  • R development Core Team (2013) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical computing, Vienna

    Google Scholar 

  • Shackleton CM (2002) Growth and fruit production of Sclerocarya birrea in the South African lowveld. Agrofor Syst 55:175–180

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sinsin B, Eyog-matig O, Assogbadjo AE, Gaoue OG, Sinadouwirou T (2004) Dendrometric characteristics as indicators of pressure of Afzelia africana Sm. dynamic changes in trees found in different climatic zones of Benin. Biodivers Conserv 13:1555–1570

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stewart K (2009) Effects of bark harvest and other human activity on populations of the African cherry (Prunus africana) on Mount Oku, Cameroon. For Ecol Manag 258:1121–1128

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thiombiano A, Schmidt M, Da S, Hahn-Hadjali K, Zizka G, Wittig R (2010) Vascular plants: flowering plants. In: Thiombiano A, Kampmann D (eds) Biodiversity Atlas of West Africa, volume II: Burkina Faso. Druckerei Grammlich, Pliezhausen, pp 184–192

  • Ticktin T (2004) The ecological implications of harvesting non-timber forest products. J Appl Ecol 41:11–21

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Venter SM, Witkowski ETF (2011) Baobab (Adansonia digitata L.) fruit production in communal and conservation land-use types in Southern Africa. For Ecol Manag 261:630–639

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Westoby M, Leishman M, Lord J (1996) Comparative ecology of seed size and dispersal. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 351:1309–1318

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wittig R, König K, Schmidt M, Szarzynski J (2007) A study of climate change and anthropogenic impacts in West Africa. Environ Sci Pollut Res 14:182–189

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zuur AF, Ieno EN, Elphick CS (2010) A protocol for data exploration to avoid common statistical problems. Methods Ecol Evol 1:3–14

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was funded by SUN (FP7 INCO-dev 031685). We also thank the UNDESERT (EU FP7 243906) project for support. We are grateful to all foresters and guides of the Provincial and Departmental Forestry Office in Diapaga and especially to Commandant Célestin P. Zida, Commandant Zackaria Traoré and Lieutenant Daouda Traoré. We thank Mr Bourgou Sidiki and Mr Sinaré Cyrille for the field work assistance. We are also very grateful to Dr Fidèle Bognounou for providing advices in data analysis. We thank people living adjacent to the W National Park for collaboration during data collection. Finally, we thank the reviewers for helpful and constructive comments that significantly improved the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Plant Biology and Ecology, University Ouaga 1 Professor Joseph Ki-Zerbo, 03 BP 7021, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

    Blandine Marie Ivette Nacoulma, Salifou Traoré & Adjima Thiombiano

  2. Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Vejlsøvej 25, 8600, Silkeborg, Denmark

    Anne Mette Lykke

  3. Laboratory of Applied Ecology, University of Abomey-Calavi, 01, BP 526, Cotonou, Benin

    Brice Sinsin

Authors
  1. Blandine Marie Ivette Nacoulma
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Anne Mette Lykke
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Salifou Traoré
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Brice Sinsin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Adjima Thiombiano
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Blandine Marie Ivette Nacoulma.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Nacoulma, B.M.I., Lykke, A.M., Traoré, S. et al. Impact of bark and foliage harvesting on fruit production of the multipurpose tree Afzelia africana in Burkina Faso (West Africa). Agroforest Syst 91, 565–576 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-016-9960-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-016-9960-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation