Comparative Study of the Herbaceous Biomass of 3- and 7-year-old Management Sites in Western Niger

For years, degraded land in western Niger has been subject to unprecedented reclamation. The aim of this study, carried out in the Ouallam department (western Niger), was to characterise the herbaceous vegetation of two (2) sites of different ages, developed by building sylvopastoral half-moons. Aligned quadrat points and abundance-dominance methods were used. The quantity of fodder was estimated by cutting flush with the ground and weighing, after drying, all the above-ground biomass in the half-moon. The inventory identified 38 and 55 species in the 3 and 7 year-old sites respectively, divided into 20 families dominated by the Poaceae family. The Jaccard index shows that the sites are similar, but the similarity is greater between sites of the same age. The highest rate of herbaceous cover (29%) was obtained on the 3-year-old site. The best values for yield and animal carrying capacity, 350 ± 109.68 and 0.07 ± 0.2 respectively, were recorded on the 3-year-old site. The herbaceous vegetation changed with the age of the site. The development favoured the gradual return of vegetation, thus contributing to the restoration of ecosystem services.