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Impact of disturbance from roadworks on Pteleopsis suberosa regeneration in roadside environments in Burkina Faso, West Africa

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Abstract

The seedling population structure of Pteleopsis suberosa and their regeneration mechanisms were investigated in four roadside environments (graded, adjacent, intermediate and ungraded areas) along paved and unpaved roads in West Africa. A total of 203 quadrats of 2 m × 5 m in size were surveyed and placed along transects parallel to the roads. Within each quadrat, the total number of seedlings and the number of living shoots per seedling base were recorded. Regeneration mechanisms were determined by assessing basal and aerial sprouts and excavating the root systems below ground level. The results show that the total seedling density and the densities of single- and multi-stemmed individuals varied significantly (p < 0.05) among the four roadside environments. However, all seedlings were produced asexually; root suckers were predominant (98%) compared to water sprout (1%) and coppices (less than 1%). This study demonstrates that an intermediate level of soil disturbance from grading along paved and unpaved roads may stimulate P. suberosa regeneration by root suckering. Road type (paved and unpaved) did not affect seedling density, but was a highly significant variable in relation to the coppicing ability of P. suberosa populations in roadside sites. In conclusion, P. suberosa is a disturbance-tolerant species which can proliferate mainly by root suckering after roadwork disturbance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unité de Formation et Recherche en Sciences de la Vie et de la Terre, Université de Ouagadougou, 03 B.P. 7021, Ouagadougou 03, Burkina Faso

    Fidèle Bognounou, Adjima Thiombiano, Issaka Joseph Boussim & Sita Guinko

  2. Faculty of Forest Sciences, Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre, Swedish Univ. of Agricultural Sciences, PO Box 101, SE-230 53, Alnarp, Sweden

    Fidèle Bognounou, Patrice Savadogo, Mulualem Tigabu & Per Christer Oden

  3. Institut de l’Environnement et de Recherches Agricoles, Département Productions Forestières, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique et Technologique, 03 BP 7047, Ouagadougou 03, Burkina Faso

    Patrice Savadogo

Authors
  1. Fidèle Bognounou
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  2. Patrice Savadogo
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  3. Adjima Thiombiano
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  4. Mulualem Tigabu
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  5. Issaka Joseph Boussim
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  6. Per Christer Oden
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  7. Sita Guinko
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Correspondence to Fidèle Bognounou.

Additional information

Foundation project: This work from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).

Biography: Fidèle Bognounou (1975–), male, PhD candidate at the Plant Biology and Ecology Laboratory at the University of Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) and Tropical Silviculture and Seed Laboratory of the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Alnarp, Sweden.

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Bognounou, F., Savadogo, P., Thiombiano, A. et al. Impact of disturbance from roadworks on Pteleopsis suberosa regeneration in roadside environments in Burkina Faso, West Africa. Journal of Forestry Research 20, 355–361 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-009-0060-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-009-0060-9

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