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BackgroundEcosystems provide humanity with goods and services known as ecosystem services. The value of these services represents a basis for political decision-making. To be sure that these decisions are made on a valid basis, policymakers require an understanding of the biophysical processes involved. This study was carried out around two forest reserves (Alibori-Supérieur and Ouénou-Bénou) in Northern Benin. It aimed to highlight the knowledge of the surrounding communities and their perceptions about the importance of the ecosystem services provided by these forest reserves as well as the factors that influence their knowledge and perceptions.MethodsPrimary data were collected from 25 group discussions in 25 villages surrounding the forest reserves based on predefined ecosystems services of the Millennium Ecosystems Assessment (MA). Multiple linear regression models were used to examine how socio-economic characteristics of the communities influenced the ecosystem services identification rate. Perceptions of importance, levels of satisfaction, and trends of services provided were analyzed using descriptive statistics.ResultsOur results showed that education level, poverty index, household size, and proximity to forests played an important role in the variation in knowledge of ecosystem services (P < 0.05). Provisioning services (such as crops supply, fuelwood, lumber, wild food, and medicinal plants) were mostly identified by the poorest villages located very close to the forests (P < 0.05). The importance of the provided services for well-being has been unanimously recognized. The most recognized cultural services were education and knowledge facilitation (84%) and spiritual value (76%). Climate regulation (84%) and pollination (84%) were the best-known regulating services. However, supporting services (soil formation and pest regulation) that are important for improving production systems were unknown to the communities.ConclusionEducation level, poverty index, and village proximity to the forest were important predictors of regulating and supporting services identification. But use of non-tangible services by local rural communities will require more emphasis on targeted environmental education specifically designed according to the needs of each group.

Background Atacora Chain of Mountains (ACM) is the Benin part of a range of mountains lying from Benin to Ghana through Togo. It provides goods and services to people and is dominated by rural communities with heavy reliance on natural resources. The ACM may be threatened by the increasing resource needs and the possible shift in people’s livelihood priorities brought about by challenges and opportunities ushered in by modernization. This study sought to understand local people’s perception of the services derived from the ACM and the socio-demographic factors (age, gender, and level of urbanization of the place people live in) accounting for these perceptions. Methods Face to face interviews with 12 focus groups in 3 municipalities were carried out to obtain a list of ecosystem services cited by the participants. At the individual level, 144 people (men, women, young, adult, and old people from either rural or urbanized areas) equally distributed in the 3 municipalities were asked whether they acknowledge each of the services cited by the focus groups. Logistic regressions were then used with generalized linear models (GLM) function in R to analyze the relationships between the probability of acknowledgement of a service by the respondents and their socio-demographic characteristics. Results Local people perceived the ACM as a provider of provisioning, supporting, and cultural services but cited more provisioning services than the others. The factors considered in this study (gender, location, and age) were all predictors of ecosystem services perception in the ACM. Location influenced people’s perception of provisioning and supporting services such that respondents from rural municipalities were more likely to perceive provisioning and supporting services. This is because people in rural areas have a heavier reliance on natural resources. Gender was associated with respondents’ perception of supporting, provisioning, and cultural services. Women were more likely to perceive provisioning services and less likely supporting and cultural services. People in each category of gender have a perception of ES linked to their livelihood activities. Young people were less likely to perceive supporting services than adults and old people due to their less involvement in farming activities. Conclusions This study showed that gender, location, and age predict local people’s perception of ecosystem services in the ACM and livelihood orientation is determinant. The omission of regulation and many of the supporting services questions the future of this mountain chain if its exploitation continues without any awareness and conservation measures.

This paper presents a consolidated balance-sheet on the botanical and historical evidence for the role of the cultivated African rice species (Oryza glaberrima Steud) in West and Central Africa as well as its geographical distribution. Because Oryza glaberrima has survived without the help and interference from human, it has developed adaptive and protective mechanisms for resisting major biotic and abiotic stresses. Oryza glaberrima is also very plastic with two major ecotypes: the floating and the non floating, and presents natural hybridization and admixture with its wild parents and the Asian cultivated rice Oryza sativa. Several ecotypes showed good aptitude in response to climatic change effects such as drought, flood, pests and diseases. This review presents several phenotypic diversity aspects on O. glaberrima and highlights its ecological and genetic structuring as well as the management of its diversity. Even if the African rice has undergone less diversification than the Asian rice in their evolutionary process, it presents some interesting assets which are being suggested to exploit through varietal improvement programs.

Lophira lanceolata is an oleaginous tree species whose fruit is used for vegetable oil production in Benin. The present study highlighted the fruit production and characterization of the morphological traits of the fruits and seeds of this species. A total of 196 mature trees in production were randomly sampled in Borgou-Nord, Borgou-Sud and Atacora Chain phytodistricts. Descriptors were characterized globally at the level of phytodistricts surveyed. Pearson correlation test stands out the relationships between the different descriptors. The effect of phytodistricts on fruit production was analyzed using a Generalized Linear Model (GLM) and the variation of morphological traits between phytodistricts was examined through Kruskal-Wallis test. Finally, SMA regression was used to test the influence of the phytodistrict on the relationship between L. lanceolata seed and fruit weight. This study revealed that there is a positive and significant correlation between the morphological traits of fruits and those of seeds. Trees descriptors (e.g. total height, diameter at breast height, and leaf petiole length) predict fruit production of L. lanceolata, but are not significantly correlated with fruit and seed traits. In the Atacora Chain phytodistrict, breeding trees are entering production with small diameter, low height and produce little number of fruits per tree with higher weight, unlike the Borgou-Nord and Borgou-Sud phytodistricts. These results can be useful in the selection of early breeding tree in Atacora Chain phytodistrict and high-yielding trees from individuals in the Borgou-Nord and Borgou-Sud phytodistricts.