Structure et Régénération des Peuplements Naturels de Balanites Aegyptiaca (L.) Del. Et Ziziphus Mauritiana Lam. Suivant un Gradient Écologique dans la Région de Maradi au Niger

Rabiou, Habou; Massaoudou, Moussa; Abasse, Tougiani; Mahamane, Ali; Larwanou, Mahamane; Damme, Patrick Van

doi:10.1163/2031356x-03301006

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Researchers at ORSTOM (now IRD) have always found that farmers intensify mainly on the fields close to their homes and that agriculture becomes more extensive when moving away from the village. Dan Saga had an average density of 74 trees/hectare in 2009, but Rabiou et al (2020) report an average density of 153 trees/hectare in this village just 10 years later. The phenomenon of protection and management of natural regeneration is older in the villages of the Zinder region, where customary legislation in Damagaram prohibited the felling of a Faidherbia albida tree at the risk of decapitation.…”

Section: Characterization Of Woody Vegetation Structurementioning

confidence: 85%

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Farmer managed natural regeneration in Niger: the state of knowledge

Abasse¹,

Massaoudou²,

Ribiou³

et al. 2023

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Faced with environmental degradation and strong land pressure, farmers in south-central Niger have intensified their agricultural production systems. Since the 1980s, farmers in the regions of Zinder, Maradi and Tahoua have increased the number of trees and shrubs on their fields, creating new agroforestry parklands over about 5 million hectares. This regreening is not based on tree planting, however, but on farmers protecting and managing natural regeneration of woody species on their crop lands. This has been well documented over the years, but until now, there has not been a thorough review of all of the published peer-referenced as well as grey literature. This report presents the first comprehensive state of knowledge of farmer managed natural regeneration (FMNR) in Niger. Studies show the scale and dynamics of FMNR as well as its multiple impacts. It has increased crop yields (+31 kg/ha to +350 kg/ha), and that supports family food security even in drought years. FMNR has increased the income of all social categories, even the most vulnerable women, men and youth, through the sale of fuelwood and service wood. The pruning of trees in fields has also reduced the distances travelled by women to collect fuelwood. FMNR increased the availability of fodder from trees to farmers and agropastoralists, with households practising FMNR harvesting 30-45 kg of fodder per day. Economists have not calculated all the multiple impacts in monetary terms, but studies on the costs and benefits all indicate that it is economically rational for farmers to invest their labour in FMNR. The costs are modest (no equipment and little labour), and the benefits are substantial, also helping smallholder farmers adapt to climate change, while sequestering millions of tonnes carbon. As a consequence of FMNR, tree cover has been sustained without external incentives (e.g. food or cash-for-work), an outcome that distinguishes this farmer-driven practice from large-scale tree planting projects where farmers’ stewardship ended when the external incentives ended. Agroforestry landscapes are thus being created at scale due to decisions made by hundreds of thousands of individual farmers. It is hoped that information in this report that shows the clear benefits of FMNR in Niger will encourage policy makers in Africa’s drylands to invest in the promotion of FMNR. This foundational practice must form the backbone of landscape wide initiatives if the ambitious targets of the Great Green Wall, AFR100 and similar ambitious restoration initiatives are to be achieved. FMNR is a low cost sustainable land use management practice with a considerable potential for scaling, which can and must be adopted and scaled immediately.

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Section: Characterization Of Woody Vegetation Structurementioning

confidence: 85%

“…Currently, villagers are reintroducing species that disappeared in the 1970s and 1980s (Zarafi, 2002;Larwanou and Saadou, 2005). On RNA sites, tree density can be as high as 153 trees per hectare in Dan Saga, in contrast to non-RNA sites where the density does not exceed 40 trees/ha (Baggnian et al, 2019;Rabiou et al, 2020).…”

Section: Biodiversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Farmer managed natural regeneration in Niger: the state of knowledge

Abasse¹,

Massaoudou²,

Ribiou³

et al. 2023

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Development of Vegetative Propagation Strategies for Balanites aegyptiaca in the Sahel, Niger

Massaoudou

Rabiou²,

Félix

et al. 2022

International Journal of Forestry Research

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Forests have always been a source of wood, food, and medicine for the rural populations of the Sahel. Anthropogenic and animal pressures often lead to low tree recruitment rates and seedling survival. Under certain conditions, multipurpose species such as Balanites aegyptiaca have shown dramatic decreases in population numbers. The objective of the present study is to determine the natural colonisation behaviour of B. aegyptiaca and to develop vegetative propagation strategies. Surveys were carried out in the agroforest parklands of the Regional Centre for Agricultural Research of Maradi Research Station. An inventory was carried out in 1,500 m2 plots to determine the species’ regeneration methods. We then tested seed germination success, and suckering induction, air-layering, and stem cuttings were carried out to determine the techniques best suited for the propagation of B. aegyptiaca. It emerged from this study that in nature, B. aegyptiaca is propagated naturally by dispersion of seeds (81.2%), as well as by rejection of the strain (13.5%) and by suckering (5.2%). The germination test showed that heavy seeds (38.4%) germinated best because they have a higher nutrient reserve. With a success rate of 11.1%, distal suckers react better than proximal suckers (5.5%) because they quickly acquire relative independence from the mother plant. As for air-layering, stems with large diameters react better (53.3%) than those with small diameters (46.6%) because they have thicker bark and store a large amount of elaborate sap responsible for rhizogenesis. In the stem segment cutting test, cuttings of small diameter react better at 30.8% than those of large diameter (12.6%) because they have a higher number of meristematic tissues. The stem segment cuttings seem to be the best adaptable alternative to the natural propagation of B. aegyptiaca because it combines ease of use, low cost, and a significant success rate.

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Structure et Régénération des Peuplements Naturels de Balanites Aegyptiaca (L.) Del. Et Ziziphus Mauritiana Lam. Suivant un Gradient Écologique dans la Région de Maradi au Niger

Cited by 2 publications

References 13 publications

Farmer managed natural regeneration in Niger: the state of knowledge

Farmer managed natural regeneration in Niger: the state of knowledge

Development of Vegetative Propagation Strategies for Balanites aegyptiaca in the Sahel, Niger

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