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The year 1989 represents the starting point of the cooperation between botanists of the Goethe-University in Frankfurt (Germany) and of the University of Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso). Some years later, the University of Abomey-Calavi (Benin) joined the cooperation. This paper gives an overview on joint projects, resulting publications and theses, and on other achievements of this fruitful cooperation, which meanwhile also comprises partners of Ivory Coast, Niger and Senegal.
Le Burkina Faso est situé dans la zone soudano-sahélienne où les cultures sont quelquefois aléatoires; dans ces conditions les plantes ligneuses occupent une place importante dans la vie socio-économique du pays. Pourtant, une sécheresses climatique persistante de ces dernières décennies a entraîné une mortalité massive de ces ligneux surtout dans la zone sahélienne. Cette forte dégradation des ressources naturelles est variable d’une zone géo-graphique à une autre pour des raisons diverses. Si les phénomènes généraux de cette dégradation de la végétation et leurs causes sont souvent décrits par de nombreux auteurs, il existe par contre très peu de connaissances détaillées et spécifiques en fonction des zones géographiques sur la menace qui pèse sur les différentes espèces. Dans l’absence de bases scientifiques fiables sur la végétation du passé pour chacune des régions qui permettrait ainsi d’établir avec précision la liste des espèces disparues, il est donc nécessaire de se baser sur la perception de la population rurale qui se trouve bien placée pour déceler tout changement dans la flore. Dans ce contexte, cette étude menée auprès des gourmantchés, vise surtout à identifier les espèces disparues ou celles en voie de disparition dans les différentes zones écologiques à l’est du Burkina Faso; en outre, elle aborde les raisons évoquées par ces populations pour expliquer cette menace qui pèse sur chacune des espèces. L’enquête a enfin contribué à connaître les solutions envisagées par ces dernières pour anéantir ou réduire la menace.
Interdépendance du potentiel d'exploitation et la structure d'habitat dans la région de l'Atakora
(2000)
Le département de l’Atakora est une région très contrastée et jusqu’à présent très peu explorée. Son élément le plus saillant est la Chaîne de l’Atakora, une des rares élévations montagneuses de cette partie de l’Afrique occidentale. Le haut-plateau de l’Atakora est caractérisé par une densité de la population relativement basse, comparée au reste de la région, et une végétation variée, qui est jusqu’à présent extrêmement mal connu. Il contraste fortement avec son piémont à l’ouest de la chaîne qui est très densément peuplé et exploité de manière intensive. Notre recherche a été consacrée à la question de savoir si ce sont des facteurs dépendant du géopotentiel ou plutôt des données socio-économiques qui sont responsables pour la disparité actuelle de ce paysage. Partant de l’hypothèse que non seulement les conditions socio-économiques mais aussi les conditions naturelles sont beaucoup plus favorables dans le piémont que sur le plateau, nous avons - par une approche interdisciplinaire - effectué une analyse et une évaluation de ces facteurs. Des méthodes de la télédétection, de la pédologie, de la botanique et de la géographie agraire ont été employées.
Bare incrusted soils are a degradation stage often encountered in the Sahel zone. Our study documents the success of restoration (= regreening) experiments using deep ploughing in an experimental site south of Gorom-Gorom in the Oudalan province of Burkina Faso. We used phytosociological relevés and maximum likelihood classifications of digital photography to analyze changes in vegetation. Plant cover in treated plots was found to be about 20 times higher than in control plots, mean species richness more than twice as high. Therefore, this promising restoration method should be tested also in other Sahelian regions. Our approach to combine phytosociological relevés and maximum likelihood classifications of digital photography proved to be very useful.
Wo wächst die Palmyrapalme? : mit Satellitendaten praxistaugliche Verbreitungskarten erstellen
(2008)
Die äthiopische Palmyrapalme (Borassus aethiopum) mit einer Wuchshöhe von bis zu 30 Metern gehört zu den größten afrikanischen Palmenarten. Ihr Erhalt ist für die Menschen in Benin und Burkina Faso von großer Bedeutung, denn sie stellen aus den Blättern der Palme Matten, Körbe und Hüte her. Die melonengroßen, glänzend orangen Früchte sind essbar. Inzwischen geht das Verbreitungsgebiet dieser wichtigen Nutzart stark zurück. ...
Uses and Management Strategies of the Multipurpose Tree Anogeissus leiocarpa in Eastern Burkina Faso
(2011)
Many people in the semi-arid tropics strongly depend on non-timber forest products (NTFPs) for livelihood. Increasing threats on NTFP-providing tree species, due to land-use intensification and over-harvesting, require ecological studies as well as additional information provided by local people. One important NTFP-providing tree in West Africa is Anogeissus leiocarpa. Even though this species is highly used, ethnobotanical studies on A. leiocarpa are scarce and address mainly qualitative aspects. Our study investigates uses, perceptions of the population development, and management strategies of A. leiocarpa among the Gulimanceba people in eastern Burkina Faso. We conducted a quantitative ethnobotanical survey and investigated distribution of traditional ecological knowledge related to the species on a local scale, i.e. difference in knowledge between villages, genders, and generations. Interviews reveal that A. leiocarpa is harvested by local people for 18 different uses and emphasize its high importance for local people. Ethnobotanical knowledge of A. leiocarpa was mostly evenly spread between genders and generations, while it slightly differed between villages. Although local people did not actively protect A. leiocarpa, current local harvesting modes and management resulted in sustainable use. However, ongoing land-use intensifications require adapted management strategies to guarantee the persistence of this important species. Our results provide, in combination with ecological results of our previous study, appropriate management recommendations. Our study emphasizes the importance of ethnobotanical studies on a local scale level in order to develop management strategies that are reliable in the specific area under the specific circumstances.
Wild plant species are important nutritious supplements to otherwise nutrient poor diets of rural populations in West Africa. Consequently, a decline of wild food species has a direct negative impact on the nutritional status of local households. In this study, we firstly investigated the preferred wild food species in south-east Burkina Faso, their perceived change in abundance as well as their contribution to wild food income. Secondly, we studied how these species might be substituted in times of species shortfall. Thirdly, we investigated the impact of socio-economic variables on the substitution choice. We conducted 155 household interviews in two villages and found 21 wild food species. With a contribution of almost 70% to wild food income, Vitellaria paradoxa and Parkia biglobosa were economically most important. All species were considered declining to some degree. The wide range of cited substitutes for the ten most important wild food species indicates a great knowledge on alternative plant species in the area. For the majority, the substitution choice did not depend on socio-economic characteristics. Cited as surrogate for several important wild food species, the native tree Balanites aegyptiaca was the most important substitute species. Many valued wild food species were substituted with other highly valued wild food species and therefore the decline of one species can lead to a shortfall of another substitute. Thus, even though our results suggest that people are able to counteract the decrease or absence of wild food species, growing decline of one species would concurrently increase the pressure on other native food species.
Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) make a major contribution to the livelihoods and diets of rural households in the savanna ecosystems of West Africa. However, land use change and climatic variability might affect their availability in the future. Based on a survey among 227 households in Northern Benin, we investigated local substitution patterns for the seeds of the three socio-economically most important NTFP-species in the region, Vitellaria paradoxa, Adansonia digitata and Parkia biglobosa, being major sources for protein, fat, and micronutrients in local daily diets. Our study compared substitution patterns between, firstly, three income groups, to assess whether a households’ socio-economic status has an influence on the choice of surrogates (low cost vs. more costly options). Secondly, we compared substitution patterns between the five major ethnic groups in the study region (the Fulani, the Bariba, the Ditammarie, the Kabiyé and the Yom). The choice of substitutes differed significantly across income groups. However, the poorest households clearly show to be the most vulnerable: up to 30 % of the sampled households stated they would lack an adequate replacement for the NTFPs in question. Furthermore, ethnic affiliation showed to have a considerable impact on the preferred alternative products due to underlying cultural traditions of plant use. Subsequently, aiming at maintaining – and enhancing – the local supply of V. paradoxa, P. biglobosa and A. digitata in order to secure their contributions to local diets, local land use policy should have a particular focus on their ethnic-conditioned use and particularly the specific requirements of the poorest community members.
Dynamics of juvenile woody plant communities on termite mounds in a West African savanna landscape
(2014)
Termites are keystone species in savanna ecology, and their mounds are thought to be an important source of habitat heterogeneity and structural complexity of the savanna. Macrotermes termitaria have been shown to allow woody plant colonisation of landscapes otherwise dominated by C4 grasses. In this study, we assess how resource-rich Macrotermes mounds affect juvenile woody plant and non-woody plant species diversity, community composition, biomass and population dynamics. We repeatedly sampled paired termite mound and savanna plots in Pendjari National Park (Sudanian vegetation zone, North Benin, West Africa) over the course of two years. Despite considerable overlap in their species pools, plant communities of mound and savanna plots were clearly separated in ordinations. Species richness and diversity of juvenile woody plants was consistently higher on termite mounds, while no differences could be detected for non-woody plants. Evenness of juvenile woody plants was generally lower on mounds, whereas density and basal area were higher on mounds. In contrast, we did not detect any influence of the mound microhabitat on colonisation, mortality and turnover of woody juveniles. Therefore, we suggest that differences in the communities on and off mounds should be strongly influenced by directed diaspore dispersal through zoochory.
It is common knowledge that plants have been the world-wide most important source of medicines and that they still play this role in developing countries. However, up to now, complete lists of medicinal and aromatic plants (MAP) exist for comparatively few countries. A review of all lists know to the authors reveals the following results: A total of 20.7 % of the plant species analyzed by either publications or own research are or were used as MAP. However, regarding single countries, the differences are considerably high. Absolutely leading the list are China (36.2 %), Burkina Faso (35.2 %) and the Korean Republic (34.5 %). Also ahead of other countries or regions are the North of Benin (32.8 %) and the entire Pakistan (30.3 %). Still above average rank Great Britain (26.7 %) and Nepal (23.3 %), while the figures for Bul¬garia (21.0 %), Germany (20.2 %) and France (19.4 %) almost represent the average. Jordan (17.3 %), Vietnam (17.1 %), Sri Lanka (16.6 %), India (16.1 %) and Thailand (15.5 %) rank slightly beneath. Clearly below the average are the percentages of MAP for Hungary (12.2 %) and the USA (11.8 %). The average numbers of MAP in the Philippines (9.5 %) and Malaysia (7.7 %) fall far behind. Calculated on a worldwide scale, every fifth plant can be regarded as MAP. This number matches that from Bulgaria, France and Germany. In northern Benin, Burkina Faso, Korea, China and Pakistan, however, every third plant is or was used as MAP, whereas in Hungary and the USA only every eighth plant can be regarded as MAP. This number drops even further for the Philippines ore Malaysia where only every tenth or thirteenth plant can be attributed to medicinal or aromatic use. These differences might be due to various factors. A geographical component of the results is obvious: in most cases geographically close countries show similar percentages. A correlation between the total number of species and the fraction of those used as MAP cannot be confirmed. The countries with percentage of MAP > 30 % in common show that they belong either entirely (Burkina Faso, Benin) or at least in their rural areas to the poorest countries of the world so that it is (was) impossible for the majority of the people to buy "modern" MAP. In those countries the number of traditional healers outnumbers largely the number of modern doctors. Therefore, the tradition of folk medicine was maintained until today. Additionally, China, Korea and partially Pakistan have a very old and well documented tradition of folk medicine. Due to this documentation even in areas where today "modern MAP" are used, the knowledge was not lost. In neighboring countries or regions, which differ with respect to a more arid or a more humid climate, for the arid country (region) more MAPs are reported than for the humid one. The potential reasons for this phenomenon are discussed in the paper. For many countries the percentage given for MAP in literature is too low. But even these low values represent a striking argument for the importance of a world-wide conservation of biodiversity.