Contribution of Avenue Trees Planted Along Managed Roadways in the Provision of Ecosystem Services to the Population of the Municipality of Sèmè-Podji in Benin

Abstract

The plant needs of city dwellers sometimes force them to make use of the local plant diversity of which the avenue trees are a part. In the municipality of Sèmè-Podji, avenue trees provide social and environmental advantages to residents in daily practices. However, they are poorly valued and subjected to anthropogenic pressures. The objective of this study is to analyze the contribution of avenue trees in the provision of ecosystem services to the populations along roadways of the municipality of Sèmè-Podji. The methodological approach used is based on counting the forms of harvesting from the different species of trees over 26 kilometers of developed streets. Then, semi-structured interviews are carried out with 260 peoples, divided into 4 socio-professional categories. The Pearson correlation test was used to assess the agreement between the opinions of the respondents, then the prioritization matrix and the factorial correspondence analysis were used to assess the involvement of species and organs in the availability of ecosystem services. The results obtained reveal 7 forms of use classified into 4 categories of ecosystem services, confirmed by the opinions of the socio-professional categories with high degree of consensus between traders and craftsmen (r = 0.955; p = 0.001). The usage values vary between 0.53 (regulation service) and 0.04 (support service). However, supply services are the most cited and come from the species <i>Coccoloba uvifera</i>, <i>Terminalia catappa</i>, <i>Cocos nucifera</i>, <i>Manguifera indica</i> and <i>Eleais guineensis</i>. Taking into account the information provided by the populations on ecosystem services could facilitate the integration of alignment plantations in the sustainable development of this city.