Plant species richness and diversity in urban and peri-urban gardens of Niamey, Niger

Abstract

Urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) significantly contributes to food and nutritional security of urban dwellers in many African countries. Economic and demographic pressures often lead to transformation of subsistence-oriented traditional homegardens into commercial production units. Such transformation is claimed to result in decreasing plant diversity, particularly of local species. A study was therefore undertaken in 51 gardens of Niamey, Niger, to assess the factors determining plant diversity and the suitability of UPA for in situ conservation of plant genetic resources. In each garden, the number and abundance of all human-used plant species were determined, and species density, Shannon index and Shannon evenness were calculated. In the 51 surveyed gardens, a total of 116 plant species were cultivated, most of them for the production of fruits or vegetables. Annual vegetables dominated, particularly exotic species grown for sale. In the cold season, an average of 14 species were cultivated per garden, the Shannon index was 0.96 and evenness was 0.39. Commercial gardens had a species richness similar to that of subsistence gardens, but a lower evenness (P \ 0.005), caused by the dominance of a few vegetable species. Gardens of immigrants had a lower Shannon index than those of members of the local Djerma ethnic group.Stepwise multiple regression analysis showed significant influence of various variables on plant species richness and diversity parameters: garden size (richness and Shannon index), ethnicity of the gardener (richness and evenness), gender of the gardener and cash-oriented production (evenness), household size (richness) and garden possession status (Shannon index). Cluster analysis revealed the existence of five garden types. The highest species richness and diversity, particularly of perennial and local species, was found in large, peri-urban, commercial gardens managed by relatively wealthy, elderly gardeners with large families and a regular non-agricultural income.

Linking Plant Diversity and Dietary Diversity of Home Gardens: Examining the Nexus Through Structural Equation Modelling

“…Being complying with the findings of Abdoellah et al (2006), Bernholt et al (2009) and Major et al (2005), this study too implies a negative relationship between the degree of commercialization and plant diversity, by reporting a negative coefficient for the IEI. When the objective becomes the commercialization, people tend to grow more plants in the same species as it facilitates more convenient management, than that of managing multiple plants in different species.…”

Homegardens in a micro-regional scale: contributions to agrobiodiversity conservation in an urban-rural context

“…In Niger, higher diversities of species were present in large periurban gardens (Bernholt et al 2009). Based on the notion that the increasing urbanization accelerates the loss of biodiversity and displaces native species, a study in São Luís, North Brazil (Akinnifesi et al 2010) showed that the urban areas might serve as a repository of indigenous species, including those with risk of disappearance in the wild.…”

Jardines Domésticos Urbanos: Sitios Potenciales De Conservación Biológica Y De Producción Agrícola

“…De hecho, muy poca investigación cuantitativa ha sido hecha con el intento de se comprender los jardines domésticos urbanos como sitios de conservación de la diversidad biológica La mayor parte de los estudios disponibles son meramente descriptivos, y métodos cuantitativos, incluyéndose herramientas estadísticas multivariantes que permitan desvelar estándares de la biodiversidad en los jardines domésticos urbanos raramente son usados (LORAM et al, 2008 (XIV ); MARCO et al, 2008;BERNHOLT et al, 2009).…”