Structural characteristics of populations of Vitellaria paradoxa, Parkia biglobosa and Anacardium occidentale in rice-growing areas of the Tioroniaradougou subprefecture (Northern Côte d’Ivoire)
Paper Details
Structural characteristics of populations of Vitellaria paradoxa, Parkia biglobosa and Anacardium occidentale in rice-growing areas of the Tioroniaradougou subprefecture (Northern Côte d’Ivoire)
Abstract
In Côte d’Ivoire, trees outside forests are either planted or are remnants of the past that are maintained on agricultural farms. However, in rice-growing areas in the north of the country, few studies have been conducted on these species. This study aims to determine the demographic structure of Vitellaria paradoxa, Parkia biglobosa, and Anacardium occidentale in rice-based agrosystems in the subprefecture of Tioroniaradougou. Data were collected through floristic surveys conducted on 78 rice farms spread across three villages. The demographic structure of the studied species was determined based on the average tree density, the relative frequency of species, the diameter structure, and the basal area of the stand. The average plant density for the three species studied was 14.27 plants/ha in Fégboho and 9.79 plants/ha in Kaforo and Nambekaha. Vitellaria paradoxa was the species with the highest average plant density regardless of the location (6.72 plants/ha in Fégboho, 6.14 plants/ha in Nambekaha, and 5.76 plants/ha in Kaforo). Vitellaria paradoxa was also the most common species (found on 97.44% of farms), followed by Parkia biglobosa (93.59% of farms) and Anacardium occidentale (46.15% of farms). The diameter structure of the plants was bell-shaped for Parkia biglobosa and Vitellaria paradoxa, whereas it was “inverted J”-shaped for Anacardium occidentale. The Vitellaria paradoxa stand had the largest basal area (0.76 m²/ha), followed by those of Parkia biglobosa (0.24 m²/ha) and Anacardium occidentale (0.04 m²/ha). Thus, the population structure of Vitellaria paradoxa, Parkia biglobosa, and Anacardium occidentale in rice-growing areas of the Tioroniaradougou subprefecture was determined.
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