Influence of Anthropization on the Diversity of Woody Vegetation in Muskuwaari Transplanted Sorghum Field in the Sudano-Sahelian Zone of Cameroon

Abstract

Transplanted sorghum is a staple food crop and represents an important part of cereal production in the Far North region. Its cultivation has led to profound agrarian changes and environmental landscape. The main objective of the study carried out from 2017 to 2019 in the Far North area was aimed to study the influence of anthropization on the diversity of woody vegetation, its management and conservation of the transplanted sorghum landscape in the Sudano-Sahelian zone. Population surveys in six (06) villages and floristic surveys through 50 m2 plots in two soil types in these villages were conducted. The results show that the use of herbicide, cutting down and stump removal of woody plants, essential in most cases, have led to profound changes in the Kare with the invasion of the fields by weed plants, post-harvest soil denudation and the disappearance of plant biodiversity. The exploitation of sorghum led to a reduction in the number of woody species from 20 to 9 at the start to the end of the study respectively. Similarly, the average species density decreased over time. The disappearance of 17 individuals was recorded on the clay soil type and 12 on the hydromorphic soil type during the 2 years. Faced with this threat, the practice of agroforestry (4 to 11%), reduction in the use of chemicals (24.19 to 40.32%), abolish harvesting of green wood (0 to 3.33%) and plough to limit the action of fire have been proposed as alternative measures for sustainable exploitation of transplanted sorghum.