Salinity is among the most widespread environmental threats to global plant production, especially in arid and semi-arid climates. Thus, the selection of salt tolerant species is necessary for sustainable plant productivity. The purpose of this study was to measure and understand the salt tolerance of three multipurpose trees used in reforestation programs in many Sahelian countries (Senegalia senegal, Syn. Acacia senegal; Vachellia seyal, Syn. A. seyal, and Prosopis juliflora). The effect of salinity was evaluated at seed germination stage on Petri dishes containing water agar (0.9%, w/v) with seven concentrations of NaCl (0, 86, 171, 257, 342, 428, and 514 mM). Our results showed that all the species had a germination rate higher than 85% at 257 mM. However, it decreased at 342 mM with a reduction of 70 and 20%, respectively for S. senegal and V. seyal. For plants growth and physiological responses, seedlings were individually cultivated in plastic bags (25×12 cm) containing non-sterile soil and watered with four salt solutions (0, 86, 171 and 257 mM NaCl). Four months after the plants' cultivation, the results showed that for all species, the salinity reduced significantly the height, the collar diameter, the shoot and root dry biomass as well as the total chlorophyll, K + and K + /Na + ratio. In the meantime, proline content, Cland Na + accumulation in leaves were increased. It was also found that S. senegal and V. seyal tolerated high concentrations of NaCl (257 mM) and developed physiological and molecular mechanisms, such as salt tolerance genes (NHX1), which allow them to be considered as moderated salt tolerant species and seemed to be potential species for the restoration of salt-affected land as P. juliflora.

Fallow plays an important role in weed flora management and soil fertility restoration. The aim of this study was to determine the structure of flora through systematic composition, life forms and chorology distribution. Thus, phytosociological surveys were carried out during 2015 and 2016 crop years on station in Eastern Senegal, Upper Casamance and Middle Casamance. The results revealed that flora consisted of 109 species distributed in 64 genera and 19 families. Dicotyledon was the most important form. Indeed, it represented 69% of the species, 69% of the genera and 79% of the families. This flora was more diverse in Kolda where it was composed of 91 species, distributed in 57 genera and 15 families. In Sefa, the flora contained 52 species, 38 genera and 11 families while in Sinthiou Maleme, the flora is rich of 43 species, 31 genera and 9 families. The overall analysis of the biological spectrum showed a large dominance of therophytes (78.9%) followed by phanerophytes (9.2%) and hemicryptophytes (6.4%). The biogeographical distribution of the species revealed that african species (49 species) were the most important and followed by pantropical species (29 species). The present study allowed pointing out the flora of fallow lands in Eastern Senegal and Casamance which is essential before elaboration of any management plan for improving crop production.

Investigating soil and climate variability is critical to defining environments for field crops, understanding yield-limiting factors, and contributing to the sustainability and resilience of agro-ecosystems. Following this rationale, the aim of this study was to develop a soil–climate characterization to describe environmental constraints in the Senegal summer-crops region. For the soil database, 825 soil samples were collected characterizing pH, electrical conductivity (EC), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), cation exchange capacity (CEC), and total carbon (C) and nitrogen (N). For the climate, monthly temperature, precipitation, and evapotranspiration layers were retrieved from WorldClim 2.1, CHIRPS and TERRACLIMATE. The same analysis was applied individually to both databases. Briefly, a principal component analysis (PCA) was executed to summarize the spatial variability. The outcomes from the PCA were subjected to a spatial fuzzy c-means algorithm, delineating five soil and three climate homogeneous areas, accounting for 73% of the soil and 88% of the climate variation. To our knowledge, no previous studies were done with large soil databases since availability field data is often limited. The use of soil and climate data allowed the characterization of different areas and their main drivers. The use of this classification will assist in developing strategic planning for future land use and capability classifications.

Situé dans la zone soudanienne du Sénégal, le Centre de recherches zootechniques de Kolda est subdivisé en zone de parcours et en zone de cultures annuelles. Du fait de sa tolérance à la trypanosomose, la race Ndama est la seule race bovine qui fait l’objet d’étude de sélection dans le Centre. Cependant, on assiste depuis quelques années à une forte pression sur les zones de parcours liée à l’augmentation de la taille du troupeau et des superficies allouées aux cultures annuelles. Cela risque de réduire la diversité des espèces fourragères et ainsi d’impacter la performance génétique des animaux, compromettant les objectifs de sélection. Cette étude a eu pour objectif d’évaluer l’effet combiné du surpâturage et des activités agricoles sur la structure taxonomique de la végétation herbacée dans un système semi-extensif. Des relevés de végétation ont été effectués dans les différentes unités d’occupation du sol en fin de saison des pluies dans 75 placettes de 0,25 mètre carré. Ainsi, 69 espèces réparties dans 43 genres et 13 familles ont été inventoriées. La richesse spécifique a été plus importante dans les jachères, suivies des zones de parcours avec respectivement 36 et 26 espèces.m². La diversité spécifique a été faible dans les champs de légumineuses et les champs de coton. Dans les zones de parcours ont surtout dominé les Rubiaceae (Diodia sarmentosa, Spermacoce stachydea) et les Lamiaceae (Mesosphaerum suaveolens), familles de plantes à faible appétibilité, ainsi que des graminées à enracinement profond (Andropogon gayanus, Schizachyrium sanguineum). Les résultats ont révélé que le système d’exploitation des terres du Centre affectait négativement la composition et la diversité des herbacées et favorisait la prolifération des espèces faiblement appétées par les bovins.

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