Master Thesis: 

Donalde Dolorès DEGUENON (2017).  Biodiversity, priotization and impacts of potential future climate changes on the utilities vegetal species of the resident population of the forests manage by the Office National du Bois du Bénin. Faculty of Agricultural Sciences of the University of Abomey-Calavi, Benin. 48p.

Supervisors: Prof ASSOGBADJO Achille and Dr IDOHOU Rodrigue

Abstract of the Master Thesis: The diversity of forest resources is threatened in its present form of exploitation by rural communities. In order to contribute to the sustainable conservation of these resources in a context of climate change and population growth, the present work aims to: (i) assess the diversity of plant species used by populations living in the 11 forests classified as managed by the Office (ii) identify priority species for conservation; and (iii) assess the impact of climate change on habitat dynamics in favor of these species. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 385 residents of these forests. In addition, a literature review synthesis was carried out on the species of these forests in order to verify the reliability of the information obtained. The data collected was focused on plant biodiversity; the points of occurrence of the priority species recorded in the field in Benin, were complemented by those from the literature and the GBIF (Global Biodiversity Facility website. The ecological parameters of habitats such as the number of genus and species according to families were calculated. Moreover, the prioritization method using 4 approaches and 8 criteria made it possible to identify priority species for conservation. Then, the maximum entropy approach was used for modeling the ecological niche of the identified priority species. Also, current and future (horizon 2050) distribution maps were produced with QGIS and ArcGIS software. The results of this study revealed the existence of 97 utilitarian species distributed in 33 families and 76 genera in the forest sectors. The priority species for conservation are: Khaya senegalensis, Afzelia africana, Khaya grandifoliola, Pterocarpus erinaceus, Anogeissus leiocarpa, Milicia excelsa, Albizia zygia, Vitex doniana, Antidesma laciniatum, Bombax costatum. The modeling of their ecological niche has fundamentally revealed the conversion of some currently unfavorable habitats into habitats that are very favorable to conservation (eg Khaya grandifoliola, Khaya senegalensis and Vitex doniana) and the extension of some unfavorable habitats (Anogeissus leiocarpa, Bombax costatum, and Pterocarpus erinaceus) by the year 2050. This study provides scientific support for planning and is a decision-making tool for the conservation of these species socioeconomic. In addition, it would be important to study the water and temperature tolerance limits of each of these species for more sustainable management strategies.

Key words: Utility species, ecological niche, gazetted forests, climate change, prioritization.