Floristic composition and woody species diversity in Campo-Ma’an National Park, South Cameroon
Paper Details
Floristic composition and woody species diversity in Campo-Ma’an National Park, South Cameroon
Abstract
The lack of floristic data represents a fundamental obstacle to effective conservation planning and the long-term monitoring of vegetation change within the Campo Ma’an National Park (CMNP). The aim of this study is to characterize the ligneous flora of CMNP to ease management schemes for biodiversity conservation. Ligneous floral inventory was carried out in 115 sample plots of 25m × 25m. All standing and dead trees above 5cm were registered, name, diameter and height taken. The data from the inventory was processed, diversity indices and floristic parameters were calculated with Excel and Stata Softwares. The floristic inventory carried out in CMNP revealed a remarkably high level of woody plant diversity (232 Ligneous species) with a high stem density of 812 stems/ha, recorded in two main strates, mangrove (851 stems/ha) and tropical lowland evergreen forest (810 stems/ha) . Only 3.4% of species occupied more than 50% of the total area, Diospyros simulans was present in 82.6% of the total park surface area, Strombosia pustulata, (72.2%) and Strombosiopsis tetrandra, (66.1%). In total, 12.93% of species were classified as threatened according to the IUCN Red List, 0.86% endangered species, 7.76% vulnerable species and 4.3% near-threatened species. Guibourtia tessmannii, Calpocalyx heitzii, Millettia laurentii, Drypetes preussii, Entandrophragma spp., Milicia excelsa and Afzelia bipindensis, show signs of demographic vulnerability with the possibility of local extinction in the long-term. It was recommended that active silvicultural interventions, strict enforcement of harvesting bans of all threatened species, and strengthened anti-logging surveillance to preserve the high conservation value of the CMNP.
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Achey Nkenfack Djike Baudelair*, Temgoua Lucie Félicité, Kuete Fogang Marcien, Nfondem Poumie Mohamed Mounir, Atoupka Abdel Malik, Djeuni Duplex Romuald, Kontchiachou Nkana Didier, 2026. Floristic composition and woody species diversity in Campo-Ma’an National Park, South Cameroon. J. Biodiv. Environ. Sci., 28(6), 103-119.
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