DOES A CHANGE IN LAND USE AFFECT WOODY VEGETATION IN SUB-HUMID SUDANIAN SAVANNA IN SENEGAL?

Little attention has been paid to response of sub-humid savannas to changes in management. The aim of the study was to test whether changes in management had any effect on richness, diversity, composition, and density of woody species in subhumid West African savanna. In Fathala Forest (Senegal), we compared woody vegetation in communal land (FUC) with that on protected area fenced-off for 8 years either with (FFW) or without (FFE) wildlife. Species richness and diversity of woody plants were 5.6 and 0.5 per 0.02 ha plot on average and both were consistent throughout the study area. Density of all woody plants (saplings and full-grown trees together) was 4700 individuals per ha in FFW which was significantly higher than in FFE and FUC. No differences were found among densities of full-grown trees, while density of saplings in FFW (3429 individuals per ha) was higher, although this only differed significantly from FUC. Different management did not affect density of species used for construction, fodder or medicine probably due to low intensity of recent exploitation. We concluded that in subhumid conditions, 8 years of fencing was not enough for manifestation of the change in management and human exploitation of lower intensity cannot be connected with degradation of sub-humid tropical woodlands.