Abstract
Agroforestry practices are known for its multiple roles such as contribution to food security, environmental protection and biodiversity conservation. To determine the extent of contribution of some traditional agroforestry practices to woody species conservation, data were collected from the Natural Fallow land, Agroforestry Systems and natural forest in and around the Laf-Madjam Forest Reserve, near Moutourwa subdivision at Far North Region of Cameroon. The area was sampled in a group of twelve 0.04 ha (20 m × 20 m) plots per land use type. All woody plants with diameter at breast height greater than or equal to 5 cm were identified. A total of 0.4 ha of natural fallow, Agroforestry systems and natural forest were surveyed. 366 individuals belonging to 40 taxa and 23 families were identified in the 0.4 ha of natural forest surveyed. In the natural fallow, 344 individuals belonging to 34 taxa in 22 families were encountered while the Agroforestry systems had 228 individuals belonging to 26 taxa in 16 families. The Sahelian forest had the highest density of woody species (907.5 trees/ha) while the lowest (570 trees/ha) was observed on the Agroforestry systems. The values of Shannon diversity index differ significantly among the land use types with the Sahelian forest having the highest (1.56), while the Agroforestry systems the least (1.36). Despite the lowest species diversity of Agroforestry systems, when they were kept well, they constitute an excellent area of biodiversity conservation. However important efforts could be done in order to sensitize the farmers on the organization, improvement and the sustainable management of the agroforestry systems.
Key Words: Agroforestry systems, Natural fallow, Sahelian forest, Woody species conservation
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