International Journal of Forestry Research
Volume 2015, Article ID 101373, 9 pages
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/101373
Structural Characterization of Prosopis africana Populations (Guill., Perrott., and Rich.) Taub in Benin
1Faculty of Agronomy, Laboratory of Forestry Studies and Research, University of Parakou, BP 123 Parakou, Benin
2Laboratoire de Biomathématiques et d’Estimations Forestières, Faculté des Sciences Agronomiques, Université d’Abomey-Calavi, 04 BP 1525 Cotonou, Benin
Received 26 March 2015; Revised 21 June 2015; Accepted 25 June 2015
Academic Editor: Piermaria Corona
Copyright © 2015 Towanou Houètchégnon et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
The structural characterization of Prosopis africana of Benin was studied on the basis of forest inventory conducted in three different vegetation types (savannah, fallow, and field) and three climate zones. The data collected in 139 plots of 1000 m2 each related to the diameter at breast (1.3 m above ground), total height, identification, and measurement of DBH related P. africana species height. Tree-ring parameters such as Blackman and Green indices, basal area, average diameter, height of Lorey, and density were calculated and interpreted. Dendrometric settings of vegetation type and climate zone (Guinea, Sudan-Guinea, and Sudan) were compared through analysis of variance (ANOVA). There is a significant difference in dendrometric settings according to the type of vegetation and climate zone. Basal area, density, and average diameter are, respectively, 4.47 m2/ha, 34.95 stems/ha, and 37.02 cm in the fields; 3.01 m2/ha, 34.74 stems/ha, and 33.66 cm in fallows; 3.31 m2/ha, 52.39 stems/ha, and 29.61 cm in the savannahs. The diameter distribution and height observed at the theoretical Weibull distribution show that the diameter and height of the populations of the species are present in all positively skewed distributions or asymmetric left, a characteristic of single-species stands with predominance of young individuals or small diameters or heights.