Articles

Influences of Historical and Anthropogenic Factors on the Dynamics of Reconstitution of Post-Cultivation Vegetation in the Sub-Sudanese Zone: The Case of the Department of Dianra, North-West Côte D’ivoire

Prior knowledge of vegetation dynamics, including post-crop recovery dynamics, is necessary for rational and sustainable management of land assets. This study was initiated to assess the influence of historical and anthropogenic factors on post-cultivation reconstitution in the Dianra Department. To this end, information on the history and post-cultivation human activities was collected from farmers. The Phytoecological and dendrometric data were collected using the surface botanical method in the post-cultivation plots. In total, 105 plots of 400 m² were planted in post-cultivation plots between 1 and 32 years old. The influence of historical and anthropogenic factors was assessed using an Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA), in which the functional traits of the species and the structural attributes of the plots were considered as the variables to be explained and the historical and anthropogenic factors as the explanatory variables. This analysis shows that post-cultivation reconstitution in the sub-Sudanese environment is subject to the influence of several factors, the most perceptible of which are: age, number of years of cultivation, grazed area, cultivation history, groundnut cultivation as the last crop, and cultivation technique by horse and cart. The age, groundnut cultivation as the last crop and the Open Forest/Wooded Savannah cultivation history favoured reconstitution. In contrast, a high number of years of cultivation, grazing and ploughing by horse and cart were unfavourable to reconstitution.