Prioritizing West African medicinal plants for conservation and sustainable extraction studies based on market surveys and species distribution models

Abstract

Sub-Saharan African human populations rely heavily on wild-harvested medicinal plants for their health. The trade in herbal medicine provides an income for many West African people, but little is known about the effects of commercial extraction on wild plant populations. Detailed distribution maps are lacking for even the most commonly traded species. Here we combine quantitative market surveys in Ghana and Benin with species distribution models (SDMs) to assess potential species' vulnerability to overharvesting and to prioritize areas for sustainable extraction studies. We provide the first detailed distribution maps for 12 commercially extracted medicinal plants in West Africa. We suggest an IUCN threat status for four forest species that were not previously assessed (Sphenocentrum jollyanum, Okoubaka aubrevillei, Entada gigas and Piper guineense), which have narrow distributions in West Africa and are extensively commercialized. As SDMs estimate the extent of suitable abiotic habitat conditions rather than population size per se, their output is of limited use to assess vulnerability for overharvesting of widely distributed species. Examples of such species are Khaya senegalensis and Securidaca longipedunculata, two trees that were reported by market vendors as becoming increasingly scarce in the wild. Field surveys should start in predicted suitable habitats closest to urban areas and main roads, as commercial extraction likely occurs at the shortest cost distance to the markets. Our study provides an example of applying SDMs to conservation assessments aiming to safeguard provisioning ecosystems.

Nepenthes as Tourism Flagship Species: the Conservation Strategies in Dayak Seberuang Settlements Area

“…Both of this Nepenthes status is need to increase into next level to maintain their natural population. Status raised is one of the solutions to maintain the population and makes local government aware about population threats in their region [22,23].…”

Tree response to bark harvest: the case of a medicinal species, <i>Garcinia lucida</i>, as source of raw materials for plant-based drug development

“…The global demand for medicinal bark is steadily growing and has caused some valued indigenous plant species, very sensitive to high levels of harvest, to become threatened (Ndoye et al, 2000;2001;Djaligue, 2007;Tshisikhawe et al, 2012;Cunningham, 2014a,b;Bodeker et al, 2014). Therefore, there is an increasing concern about the management of medicinal bark harvesting (Pandey & Das, 2013;Baldauf & dos Santos, 2014;Mariot et al, 2014;van Andel et al, 2015;Pandey, 2015). The term bark refers to all tissues outside the vascular cambium, comprising dead and live tissue (Camefort, 1977;Senkoro et al, 2014).…”

Prioritization of useful medicinal tree species for conservation in Wari-Maro Forest Reserve in Benin: A multivariate analysis approach

“…In a recent past, the exploitation of trees for non-timber purposes such as medicinal and food uses was more sustainable than timber uses. However, the shift from subsistence harvesting to extraction for commercial purpose has resulted in a decline of native populations of many medicinal plant species (Cunningham, 1993;Delvaux et al, 2009;Veldman et al, 2014;van Andel et al, 2015). This trend is likely to be exacerbated by the current demographic boom in African developing countries (Alamu and Agbeja, 2011).…”