Volume 26, Issue 1, August 2016, Pages 23–38
Wouyo Atakpama1, Kpérkouma Wala2, Gérard Nounagnon Gouwakinnou3, Hodabalo Pereki4, Aniko Polo-Akpisso5, Amah Akodewou6, Batawila Komlan7, and Koffi Akpagana8
1 Laboratory of Botany and Plant Ecology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lomé, Togo
2 Laboratory of Botany and Plant Ecology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lomé, Togo
3 Laboratory of Applied Ecology, Faculty of Agronomic Sciences, University of Abomey-Calavi, Benin
4 Laboratory of Botany and Plant Ecology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lomé, Togo
5 Laboratory of Botany and Plant Ecology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lomé, P.O. Box 1515, Lomé, Togo
6 Laboratory of Botany and Plant Ecology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lomé, Togo
7 Laboratoire de Botanique et Écologie Végétale, Faculté des Sciences, Université de Lomé, BP 1515, Lomé, Togo
8 Laboratory of Botany and Plant Ecology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lomé, Togo
Original language: English
Copyright © 2016 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
The present study aims to: (i) check its abundance and distribution Sterculia setigera Del. in Togo according to biophysical factors and (ii) forecast its potential suitable habitat. S. setigera trees (DBH ≥ 10 cm) were numbered and human activities were recorded within 518 plots. Geographic Information System offers applications for evaluation of the abundance in relation to anthropogenic threats, human population density, elevation, annual mean temperature, annual mean precipitation, and types of soils. The distribution model based on Maximum Entropy was used to forecast the potential suitable habitat using the species occurrence data and environmental data. Occurrence data were gathered from fieldworks, herbarium records, and scientific published papers. Environmental data were formed by 19 bioclimatic variables and altitude data. Based on cross-correlations among variables, variables’ contribution, and jackknife test of variables’ importance, six bioclimatic variables were selected for model running. The two main variables that contributed towards predicting the potential suitable habitat were the annual precipitation and the temperature seasonality. The abundance of the species is more positively correlated by the soil type and the topography while it is negatively correlated to rainfall. Anthropogenic threats’ importance increase from the south to the north of the country while human population density decrease. The most suitable habitat of S. setigera were predicted in eco-floristic zones I and III of Togo. Further studies on the nursery, the regeneration, the cultivar selection and the assessment of the future climate impact will be a great asset for its sustainable management and domestication.
Author Keywords: Sterculia setigera, abundance, habitat suitability, sustainable management, Togo.
Wouyo Atakpama1, Kpérkouma Wala2, Gérard Nounagnon Gouwakinnou3, Hodabalo Pereki4, Aniko Polo-Akpisso5, Amah Akodewou6, Batawila Komlan7, and Koffi Akpagana8
1 Laboratory of Botany and Plant Ecology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lomé, Togo
2 Laboratory of Botany and Plant Ecology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lomé, Togo
3 Laboratory of Applied Ecology, Faculty of Agronomic Sciences, University of Abomey-Calavi, Benin
4 Laboratory of Botany and Plant Ecology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lomé, Togo
5 Laboratory of Botany and Plant Ecology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lomé, P.O. Box 1515, Lomé, Togo
6 Laboratory of Botany and Plant Ecology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lomé, Togo
7 Laboratoire de Botanique et Écologie Végétale, Faculté des Sciences, Université de Lomé, BP 1515, Lomé, Togo
8 Laboratory of Botany and Plant Ecology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lomé, Togo
Original language: English
Copyright © 2016 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
The present study aims to: (i) check its abundance and distribution Sterculia setigera Del. in Togo according to biophysical factors and (ii) forecast its potential suitable habitat. S. setigera trees (DBH ≥ 10 cm) were numbered and human activities were recorded within 518 plots. Geographic Information System offers applications for evaluation of the abundance in relation to anthropogenic threats, human population density, elevation, annual mean temperature, annual mean precipitation, and types of soils. The distribution model based on Maximum Entropy was used to forecast the potential suitable habitat using the species occurrence data and environmental data. Occurrence data were gathered from fieldworks, herbarium records, and scientific published papers. Environmental data were formed by 19 bioclimatic variables and altitude data. Based on cross-correlations among variables, variables’ contribution, and jackknife test of variables’ importance, six bioclimatic variables were selected for model running. The two main variables that contributed towards predicting the potential suitable habitat were the annual precipitation and the temperature seasonality. The abundance of the species is more positively correlated by the soil type and the topography while it is negatively correlated to rainfall. Anthropogenic threats’ importance increase from the south to the north of the country while human population density decrease. The most suitable habitat of S. setigera were predicted in eco-floristic zones I and III of Togo. Further studies on the nursery, the regeneration, the cultivar selection and the assessment of the future climate impact will be a great asset for its sustainable management and domestication.
Author Keywords: Sterculia setigera, abundance, habitat suitability, sustainable management, Togo.
How to Cite this Article
Wouyo Atakpama, Kpérkouma Wala, Gérard Nounagnon Gouwakinnou, Hodabalo Pereki, Aniko Polo-Akpisso, Amah Akodewou, Batawila Komlan, and Koffi Akpagana, “Abundance, distribution pattern and potential suitable habitat of Sterculia setigera Del. in Togo (West Africa),” International Journal of Innovation and Scientific Research, vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 23–38, August 2016.
