Abstract
The Niokolo Koba National Park (NKNP) in Senegal is the last refuge of the critically endangered antelope of the subspecies Derby Eland (Taurotragus derbianus derbianus Gray, 1847). Woody plants, that provide shelters and forage for the Eland in NKNP, were assessed for their floristic diversity to characterize its confined habitat. Hence, 156 square plots of 20m x 20m were established randomly in the confined area of the Derby Eland. In each plot, list of plants species, their number of individuals, and the environmental factors (soil hardness and type, altitude, percentages of vegetation cover and fire occurrence) were noted. Fifty (50) trees species belonging to 40 genera and 29 families were recorded. The most represented families were Combretaceae (13.92%), Leguminosae-mimosoideae (12.66 %), Leguminosae-caesalpinioideae (11.39 %), Leguminosae-papilionoideae (7.59 %), Rubiaceae (7.59 %) and Tiliaceae (6.33 %). The most abundant species were Combretum glutinosum Perr. ex DC., (28.79%), Pterocarpus erinaceus Poir. (12.42%), Crossopteryx febrifuga (Afzel. ex G. Don) (7.30%), Strychnos spinosa Lam. (7.18%) and Hexalobus monopetalus (A. Rich.) Engl. & Diels (7.06 %). Altitude, fire occurrence and vegetation cover were the most important environmental factors influencing the distribution of plants species. Results suggest conservation defenders of Eland, for a sustainable management plan, to invest in in-situ fencing in order to increase possibilities of conservation of this critically endangered species in its native area. Key words: Plant inventory, specie composition, confined habitat, wild, sustainable management.
Highlights
IntroductionSenegal in the west to Ethiopia in the east
For millennia the earth’s greatest diversity of ungulates has been carried by African savannahs that extend from 1Senegal in the west to Ethiopia in the east
The confined habitat of the Derby Eland identified through a survey with the elder evicted villagers, the researchers and the retired elder and current park rangers, were divided in zone of medium probability of Eland occurrence (ZMPEO) and in zone of high probability of Eland occurrence (ZHPEO) (Figure 1)
Summary
Senegal in the west to Ethiopia in the east These biomes include tropical ecosystems characterized by a continuous grass layer occurring together with trees under a different climatic regime (Justice et al, 1994). These ecosystems provide shelters and food for wildlife. During these last decades, researches have shown that savannahs are undergoing degradation and fragmentation due to combined effects of fire, human activities and climate variation (Riggio et al, 2013). Some species are highly endangered and at risk of extinction among which the large mammals like ungulates are the most threatened (Baskaran et al, 2011). In West Africa in Senegal, the Derby Eland (Taurotragus derbianus derbianus Gray, 1847) is one of the mammalian species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list of critically endangered species and even close to extinction (UICN, 2008)
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