Floristic and phytogeographic analysis of the woody vegetation of the cliff of Ngaoundéré and its peripheries

Abstract

Field investigations have been carried out in the forest landscapes of the Ngaoundere cliff and its outskirts, in the Vina Department of Cameroon. To learn more about the floristic richness and the chorologic position of the site of interest, an analysis of the flora, the autoecological and phytogeographic spectra of species has been undertaken. This analysis is based on floristic material from different surveys carried out in seven villages. On an area of 8.4 hectares prospected, through 84 phytosociological surveys, a floristic matrix of 87 species distributed in 46 genera and in 39 families was retained. Some of these species are of high ecological importance to the instar Terminalia laxiflora (16.58%), Isoberlinia doka (15.26%), Terminalia glaucescens (13.55%), Vitellaria paradoxa (10.17%), Parkia biglobosa (8.78%), Sarcocephalus latifolius (8.30%), Pterocarpus lucens (8.22%), Daniellia oliveri (7.92%).The families of the Fabaceae (64.83%), Combretaceae (43.18%), Euphorbiaceae (22.98%), Moraceae (16.35%), Rubiaceae (16.34%), Anacardiaceae (16.02%), Sapotaceae (10.17%), Myrtaceae (9.89%), Meliaceae (8.85%) and Annonaceae (7.51%) are the most diversified in cash. The ecological spectra highlight the high representativeness of microphanerophytes and ballochorous. On the phytogeographic level, the preponderance of multiregional species detected indicates the instability of forest landscapes in the study area. Moreover, the high rate of species with limited distribution in the African continent is an indication of disturbance and shows that the flora loses its specificity. All in all, this vegetation is in gradual degradation because of human activities.