Successional sequence of forest types in a disturbed dry forest reserve in southern Benin, West Africa

Human pressure on forest resources in southern Benin has led to a dramatic reduction and disturbance of natural forest patches. The largest remaining forest reserve in southern Benin is the Lama forest, which is known to be a reserve for many endangered species and situated in the boundary between d...

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Main Authors: Nansen, C., Tchabi, A., Meikle, W.G.
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Cambridge University Press 2001
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/97193
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author Nansen, C.
Tchabi, A.
Meikle, W.G.
author_browse Meikle, W.G.
Nansen, C.
Tchabi, A.
author_facet Nansen, C.
Tchabi, A.
Meikle, W.G.
author_sort Nansen, C.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Human pressure on forest resources in southern Benin has led to a dramatic reduction and disturbance of natural forest patches. The largest remaining forest reserve in southern Benin is the Lama forest, which is known to be a reserve for many endangered species and situated in the boundary between dry forest and savanna. From cluster analysis and hierarchical classification of tree species composition, five forest types were identified in the Lama forest, and ordination techniques were used to determine to what extent these forest types were associated with physiognomic tree characteristics. The geographical position of vegetation plots was used to examine the spatial distribution of the identified forest types. The forest types were interpreted as levels in a successional sequence ranging from either disturbed forest or formerly cultivated farmland to dense forest. Based on the outlined succession sequence it was suggested that reforestation should focus on establishment of Anogeissus leiocarpus, Albizia zygia, Lannea nigritana, Ficus exasperata and Lonchocarpus sericeus as these tree species are associated with the initial forest types.
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spelling CGSpace971932024-11-15T08:52:14Z Successional sequence of forest types in a disturbed dry forest reserve in southern Benin, West Africa Nansen, C. Tchabi, A. Meikle, W.G. analysis forest types forestry cluster sampling Human pressure on forest resources in southern Benin has led to a dramatic reduction and disturbance of natural forest patches. The largest remaining forest reserve in southern Benin is the Lama forest, which is known to be a reserve for many endangered species and situated in the boundary between dry forest and savanna. From cluster analysis and hierarchical classification of tree species composition, five forest types were identified in the Lama forest, and ordination techniques were used to determine to what extent these forest types were associated with physiognomic tree characteristics. The geographical position of vegetation plots was used to examine the spatial distribution of the identified forest types. The forest types were interpreted as levels in a successional sequence ranging from either disturbed forest or formerly cultivated farmland to dense forest. Based on the outlined succession sequence it was suggested that reforestation should focus on establishment of Anogeissus leiocarpus, Albizia zygia, Lannea nigritana, Ficus exasperata and Lonchocarpus sericeus as these tree species are associated with the initial forest types. 2001-07 2018-09-13T12:01:38Z 2018-09-13T12:01:38Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/97193 en Open Access Cambridge University Press Nansen, C., Tchabi, A. & Meikle, W.G. (2001). Successional sequence of forest types in a disturbed dry forest reserve in southern Benin, West Africa. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 17(4), 525-539.
spellingShingle analysis
forest types
forestry
cluster sampling
Nansen, C.
Tchabi, A.
Meikle, W.G.
Successional sequence of forest types in a disturbed dry forest reserve in southern Benin, West Africa
title Successional sequence of forest types in a disturbed dry forest reserve in southern Benin, West Africa
title_full Successional sequence of forest types in a disturbed dry forest reserve in southern Benin, West Africa
title_fullStr Successional sequence of forest types in a disturbed dry forest reserve in southern Benin, West Africa
title_full_unstemmed Successional sequence of forest types in a disturbed dry forest reserve in southern Benin, West Africa
title_short Successional sequence of forest types in a disturbed dry forest reserve in southern Benin, West Africa
title_sort successional sequence of forest types in a disturbed dry forest reserve in southern benin west africa
topic analysis
forest types
forestry
cluster sampling
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/97193
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