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“Ordinary biodiversity” in western Burkina Faso (West Africa): what vegetation do the state forests conserve?

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Abstract

The role of state forests in the conservation of the savannah environment of western Burkina Faso (West Africa) was assessed by considering the customary and fundamental biological components of plant diversity. The focus is on the “ordinary biodiversity” which constitutes the current environment of human populations and which generates their resources. Overall floristic composition, α, β, γ diversities and species accumulation curves of landscape units were compared inside and outside protected areas. Common species were identified according to their frequencies in landscape units and their local abundance. The occurrences of functional (life form, dispersion, etc.) and human-valued (current uses, potential threats, etc.) traits were compared. Current land uses outside protected areas have an unequal effect on the various components of plant diversity. Species richnesses and specific structures were all the more altered for woody species as agricultural pressure is high; conversely, they were maintained for herbaceous communities for which the proportion of wide-ranging species increased. The preservation of useful plant species on cultivated lands was obvious for woody species with edible fruits but less tangible for timber and service wood. It was deficient for species that furnish other non-wood products (e.g. leaves used as food or fodder), the conservation of which may be jeopardized where anthropic pressure is high. Given current land uses and dynamics, maintaining conservation areas in land use planning is crucial in order to preserve ordinary biodiversity.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the UR136 IRD and CORUS 6075. We thank Ms. Deborah Taylor (Niamey, Niger) for linguistic help and the two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments.

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  1. Anne Fournier

    Present address: Research Unit R 200, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, 57 rue Cuvier, 75231, Paris Cedex 05, France

  2. Saïbou Nignan

    Present address: Research Unit R 200, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Antenne de Bobo-Dioulasso, 01 BP 171, Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Unit UMR 5145, Centre National de Recherche Scientifique, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Case Postale 135, 57 rue Cuvier, 75231, Paris Cedex 05, France

    Jean-Louis Devineau

  2. Research Unit R 136, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, 5 rue du Carbone, 45100, Orléans, France

    Anne Fournier

  3. Research Unit R 136, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Antenne de Bobo-Dioulasso, 01 BP 171, Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso

    Saïbou Nignan

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Devineau, JL., Fournier, A. & Nignan, S. “Ordinary biodiversity” in western Burkina Faso (West Africa): what vegetation do the state forests conserve?. Biodivers Conserv 18, 2075–2099 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-008-9574-2

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