Vitellaria Research Articles

Genome-Wide Association Mapping of Oil Content and Seed-Related Traits in Shea Tree (Vitellaria paradoxa subsp. nilotica) Populations

Shea tree (Vitellaria paradoxa) is an important fruit tree crop because of its oil used for cooking and the industrial manufacture of cosmetics. Despite its essential benefits, quantitative trait loci linked to the economic traits have not yet been studied. In this study, we performed association mapping on a panel of 374 shea tree accessions using 7530 Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) markers for oil yield and seed-related traits. Twenty-three SNP markers significantly (−log10 (p) = 4.87) associated with kernel oil content, kernel length, width, and weight were identified. The kernel oil content and kernel width had the most significant marker–trait associations (MTAs) on chromosomes 1 and 8, respectively. Sixteen candidate genes identified were linked to early induction of flower buds and somatic embryos, seed growth and development, substrate binding, transport, lipid biosynthesis, metabolic processes during seed germination, and disease resistance and abiotic stress adaptation. The presence of these genes suggests their role in promoting bioactive functions that condition high oil synthesis in shea seeds. This study provides insights into the important marker-linked seed traits and the genes controlling them, useful for molecular breeding for improving oil yield in the species.

Land Use Change and the Structural Diversity of Affem Boussou Community Forest in the Tchamba 1 Commune (Tchamba Prefecture, Togo)

Affem Boussou community forest (AFC) abounds in important biological resources. This study, which contributes to its better management, examines the spatiotemporal dynamics of the vegetation and its ecological and structural characteristics to propose a zoning plan for said forest. The analysis of the spatiotemporal dynamics of land use in the AFC from Google Earth images of 2015, 2018, and 2021 revealed a regressive trend of formations: crops and fallows (−33.98%), dense dry forests (−7.92%), gallery forests (−3.46%), plantations (−100%), grassy savannahs, and meadows (−18.84%), except for tree/shrub savannahs (484.23%). The floristic inventory identified 163 species divided into 129 genera and 55 families. Fabaceae (14.02%), and Combretaceae (10.55%) are the most represented families. Anogeissus leiocarpa (5.19%) and Vitellaria paradoxa (4.72%) are the most frequent species. We note the dominance of individuals of small diameters. The regeneration potential of the AFC is 64 feet/ha due to 21 feet/ha of suckers, 29 feet/ha of seedlings, and 14 feet/ha of shoots. As a zoning plan, the AFC was subdivided into four zones: the agroforestry zone (18.80%), the sustainable production forest zone (42.22%), the buffer zone (11%), and the biological conservation zone (28%). These results constitute a scientific basis for testing ecological indicators of the sustainable management of community forests in Togo.

Genetic diversity and population structure among Ugandan shea tree (Vitellaria paradoxa subsp. nilotica) accessions based on DarTSeq markers

AbstractMolecular markers such as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and SilicoDArT are important in dissecting the genetic diversity of a population at DNA level. The two marker types were analyzed using the same genotyping platform. Although the two marker types were analyzed using the same genotyping platform, they were filtered using a different marker stringency. We determined the genetic diversity of 623 half‐sibs of shea tree (Vitellaria paradoxa a C. F. Gaertn. nilotica) assembled from five geographical locations (Katakwi, Otuke, Amuru, Moyo, and Arua) in Uganda's shea parklands. A total of 27,063 Diversity Arrays Technology (DArT) SNP and 9018 SilicoDArT markers were used to assess genetic diversity and population structure. The populations showed a low genetic diversity (Gst = 0.21), very low population differentiation (FST = 0.02), low‐to‐moderate linkage disequilibrium (r = 0.2), and Hardy–Weinberg Equilibrium (HWE = 0.1982). The study further revealed a higher genetic diversity within population (0.26) than among the population (0.21). A high level of heterozygosity was observed within individuals (0.26) and markers (0.32) revealing a high non‐random association of alleles at different loci that offer opportunities to design association studies and allele transfer in marker‐assisted selection in the population. The markers varied in their polymorphic information content values (SilicoDArT = 0.11) and (SNPs = 0.15) on genetic diversity. This study reveals the importance of genetic diversity and population structure analysis using high‐density DArT‐Seq SilicoDaRT and SNP makers in the conservation and breeding of shea tree in Uganda.

Formulation And Evaluation Of Herbal Soap

The majority of commercial soaps contain ingredients that may hurt skin. Natural herbal soaps can be a good substitute. In terms of medicine and commerce, herbal products have gained relevance on a global scale, and their use has grown due to their efficacy and safety. The most common skin infections in people are caused by bacteria, necessitating careful attention for treatment, improved skin preservation, and maintenance of healthy, youthful-looking skin. Some herbal plant extracts have properties that are antimicrobial, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and so forth. The current study's goal is to create antibacterial poly herbal bath soap using ingredients like Curcuma longa, citrus limon, olea europaea, crocus sativus L., vitellaria paradoxa, cocos nucifera (L.), Prunus amygdalus dulcis, and ricinus communis, among others. Good results were seen when the manufactured Polyherbal soap was tested for several physicochemical parameters like ph and foam retention time. Plants are easily accessible, have positive skin effects, and provide producers with advantages in terms of cost-effectiveness, accessibility, and side effects that are minimal or nonexistent. The purpose of this research is to create an antibacterial poly herbal bath soap using Curcuma longa, Citrus limon, and Olea europaea because some herbal plant extracts have antibacterial qualities. After the polyherbal formulation was created, it was evaluated for pH, moisture content, saponification, foaming index, foam retention duration, ethanol soluble matter, and antibacterial activity using various soap solution concentrations and comparing them to standards. Additionally, the assessment tests revealed that the herbal soap has good antibacterial outcomes.

Production of fuel ethanol from Vitellaria paradoxa fruit pulp by simultaneous saccharification and fermentation

Biofuels have become the world’s greatest, safest, cleanest and cheapest alternative to fossil fuels. Transport sector continues to receive influx of cars and general machinery every year worldwide leading to an overwhelming use of fossil fuel. The fossil fuel sources are gradually becoming depleted. Sustainable bioethanol recovered from inexhaustible sources are constantly been used to replace fossil fuels in the transport sector. The shea nut pulp (SNP) is a cheap source of carbon, nitrogen and calcium for the production of bioethanol. This study has employed the shea nut pulp as substrate, Saccharomyces cerevisiae-the Baker’s Yeast strain-as the fermentation microbe, Alpha Amylase enzyme for hydrolysis of the substrate and supported the simultaneous fermentation process with nutrient supplements. The data were subjected to statistical analysis. Approximately 37.8 and 40.0 g/L of ethanol after 16 and 20 h, were produced from without-α-amylase and with-α-amylase treatments, respectively. Fermentation efficiencies of 58.6 and 65.0 % were observed ethanol yields for without-α-amylase and with-α-amylase, respectively when compared to the theoretical yield. This research is useful in harnessing the potentials of the shea nut pulp as industrially relevant substrate for use independently or in combination with other substrates in microbial fermentation processes for ethanol production. An assessment of the fermentation process has revealed that the SNP is a good source of bioethanol going into the future. The research therefore recommends further work on scale-up of the bioethanol production process from the shea nut pulp.

Morphopedological Characteristics of Soils under Shea Trees in the Bouna Region of Northeast Côte d'Ivoire

The present study was initiated to characterize the soils of three (03) ecological zones of natural establishment of shea in the region of Boukani, in the north-east of Côte d'Ivoire. The study consisted of opening soil pits for morphological characterization following the approach of the Office of Scientific and Technical Research Overseas, based on in situ observation. Botanical data such as density per square meter, trunk diameter at 1.30 m from the ground and their spatial arrangement were also collected. The areas concerned are the villages of Gnarkèradouo, Assoum 2 and Nakélé. The results observed show a significant difference between sites. The shea park is denser in Gnarkèradouo (44.16%), followed by the Assoum 2 park with 38.32% of shea trees and finally the Nakélé site where 17.52% are observed. For the circumference of trees at 1.30 m from the ground, the results show that it is at Nakélé that large trees are observed with high values of 144 cm, then at Assoum 2 (126.2 cm) and finally at Gnarkèradouo with 114.8 cm.
 The characteristics of the soils show similarities on the 3 sites. These are gravelly soils with obstacles (indurations). However, the soil at Assoum 2 appears to be different because it is deep. The texture is sandy-clay on all three sites.

Gendered rights and challenges of women’s ownership, access, and investment in land and shea trees in selected peri-urban communities of Ghana

ABSTRACT This study examined the gendered rights and challenges of ownership, access, and investments in land and shea trees in Ghana. It mainstreams women into policies regarding land and shea tenures. A qualitative approach through focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with key stakeholders was used. From the study, women do not own land or shea trees, but they can exploit them. The loss of farmlands and shea trees through urbanisation worsens women's welfare, incomes, and bargaining power. To ensure the effective management of shea parklands, collaborative governance of land and shea trees between the landowners and local government is proposed.

Stem borer-attributed mortality of shea trees in Northern Ghana: Infestation, tree death and associated factors

The shea tree is important in several African countries, supporting livelihoods and providing foreign exchange. Shea tree mortality as a result of pest infestation was reported in two parklands in Northern Ghana in June 2018. This study reports on tree mortality in the parklands with reference to stem borer infestation and related characteristics. Standing shea trees in the parklands were randomly sampled to determine stem borer infestation and its role in tree mortality. Nutrient concentration of soil and pest-infested shea were also analyzed. Stem borer infestation at Maluwe (34%) was higher than Gindabo (2%) with tree mortality of 4% and 0%, respectively. Stem borer (Philematium festivum) larvae were absent on standing shea trees but pervasive on windthrown trees. Nutrient (N, P, K, Mg) concentration was significantly different among plant parts, pest infestation status of tree and their interaction at Maluwe. However, at Gindabo, there was no significant difference in pest infestation status and plant parts-pest infestation status interaction for N and plant parts for K. At Maluwe, stem borer-infested trees had the highest N and K levels, while co-infested and un-infested trees had the highest P and Mg levels, respectively. However, un-infested trees contained the highest nutrient levels at Gindabo. Soil characteristics of both sites were similar and although soil nutrient levels at Gindabo were relatively higher, the shea trees had lower nutrient accumulative potential. The reported death was due to abiotic factors including wind/storms that predisposed the trees to proximate factors such as stem borers.

A Comparison of Machine Learning Models for Mapping Tree Species Using WorldView-2 Imagery in the Agroforestry Landscape of West Africa

Farmland trees are a vital part of the local economy as trees are used by farmers for fuelwood as well as food, fodder, medicines, fibre, and building materials. As a result, mapping tree species is important for ecological, socio-economic, and natural resource management. The study evaluates very high-resolution remotely sensed WorldView-2 (WV-2) imagery for tree species classification in the agroforestry landscape of the Kano Close-Settled Zone (KCSZ), Northern Nigeria. Individual tree crowns extracted by geographic object-based image analysis (GEOBIA) were used to remotely identify nine dominant tree species (Faidherbia albida, Anogeissus leiocarpus, Azadirachta indica, Diospyros mespiliformis, Mangifera indica, Parkia biglobosa, Piliostigma reticulatum, Tamarindus indica, and Vitellaria paradoxa) at the object level. For every tree object in the reference datasets, eight original spectral bands of the WV-2 image, their spectral statistics (minimum, maximum, mean, standard deviation, etc.), spatial, textural, and color-space (hue, saturation), and different spectral vegetation indices (VI) were used as predictor variables for the classification of tree species. Nine different machine learning methods were used for object-level tree species classification. These were Extra Gradient Boost (XGB), Gaussian Naïve Bayes (GNB), Gradient Boosting (GB), K-nearest neighbours (KNN), Light Gradient Boosting Machine (LGBM), Logistic Regression (LR), Multi-layered Perceptron (MLP), Random Forest (RF), and Support Vector Machines (SVM). The two top-performing models in terms of highest accuracies for individual tree species classification were found to be SVM (overall accuracy = 82.1% and Cohen’s kappa = 0.79) and MLP (overall accuracy = 81.7% and Cohen’s kappa = 0.79) with the lowest numbers of misclassified trees compared to other machine learning methods.

The Effects of Prescribed Dry Season Burning on Woody Species Composition, Mole National Park, Ghana

Fire use in protected savannas of Africa is a common practice. Fires in these savannas create many environmental benefits, such as reducing grass, brush and trees that can fuel large and severe wildfires and improving wildlife habitat. However, wrong timing of fire can threaten plants, animals and habitats. This study investigated the effects of time of burning on woody plant composition, diversity and density in the Mole National Park, Ghana. A total of twelve 300 m2 plots were systematically sampled in a 200 m × 200 m treatment plot established by Park Management each for early burn, late burn and no-burn plots. Twenty-seven different woody species belonging to fourteen families were recorded in all the treatments. Most of the species identified belonged to the families Fabaceae and Combretaceae. Vitellaria paradoxa (Shea), Terminalia avicennioides, Combretum adenogonium and Combretum molle were the most common and abundant in all treatments. A TWINSPAN on sites and species revealed four species groups based on affinity to burning time. A follow-up DCA showed a strong association between burning time and species composition, with the first two axes explaining 65% of variation. The late burn and no-burn treatments recorded the lowest diversity amongst the three treatments. Stem density was highest in no-burn treatment which had lowest species richness and diversity compared to early and late burn treatments. Early burn treatment had the highest diversity and the lowest density of woody species. The study revealed that the different times of prescribed burning influenced vegetation differently. Prescribed early dry season burning could contribute to the management of indigenous woody species in protected fire-prone savannas, because it can promote the diversity of species, as found in the Mole National Park in the Guinea savanna of Ghana.

An ethnobotanical survey of traditional medicinal plants used against tuberculosis and symptoms associated in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire

Abstract. Kande B, Grah ZM, Moyabi AGA, Soro Y, Kone WM. 2023. An ethnobotanical survey of traditional medicinal plants used against tuberculosis and symptoms associated in Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire). Asian J Ethnobiol 6: 38-47. Infectious diseases, including tuberculosis, are responsible for one-third of the world's mortality due to the mechanism of resistance to antibiotics. Faced with this alarming situation, the search for active principles from natural substances is a primordial need. In this study, semi-structured questionnaires conducted an ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants used against tuberculosis and associated symptoms in Abidjan. Information was gathered from 171 herbalists. The respondents were asked questions regarding their use of medicinal plants to treat tuberculosis and associated symptoms. Information entailing plants used to treat tuberculosis, associated symptoms, plant parts used, mode of preparation, and dosage was recorded. The results showed that it is known among traditional medicine practitioners to cure tuberculosis but is better understood by its associated symptoms. These surveys revealed a diversity of 41 species of medicinal plants against this disease and its associated symptoms. They are mostly trees. Alchornea cordifolia (Schumach. & Thonn.) Müll.Arg. (Euphorbiaceae), Bombax costatum Pellegr. & Vuillet (Bombacaceae), Ficus sur Forssk. (Moraceae), Kigelia africana (Lam.) Benth. (Bignoniaceae), Nephrolepis bisserata (Sw.) Schott (Nephrolepidaceae), Terminalia glaucescens Planch. ex Benth. (Combretaceae) and Vitellaria paradoxa C.F.Gaertn. (Sapotaceae) are the most cited plant species. Leaves are the most used organs, decoction is the main mode of preparation, and the oral route is the main way to administer the remedies.

Chemical Composition and Evaluation of Anti-tyrosinase and Anti-Oxidative Effects of Topical Cream Formulation from Acacia sieberiana, Vitellaria paradoxa and Beeswax

Skin diseases can get natural therapies from medicinal plant-based products. In this study, a topical cream was formulated from ethanol extract of Acacia sieberiana, beeswax and Vitellaria paradoxa (shea) butter. GC-MS characterization with co-injection of the topical cream revealed Stearic acid (31.43%), Palmitic acid (23.15%), Oleic acid (21.44%) and Linoleic acid (16.20%) as the major components. Seven phenolic conpounds were identified and quantified by HPLC- DAD and Ferulic acid (12.81±0.26 mg/g) was the most abundant. The cream showed good antioxidant properties evaluated through ?-Carotene-linoleic acid assay, DPPH• radical scavenging, ABTS•+ assay, CUPRAC assay, and metal chelating assay. The cream had higher activity in the DPPH• assay (IC50 = 32.10±0.84 µg/mL), ABTS•+ assay (IC50 = 22.49±0.62 µg/mL) and CUPRAC assay (IC50 = 49.27±0.79 µg/mL) than ?-Tocopherol. The antioxidant effects are an indication that the cream can reduce oxidative stress on the skin including aging, carcinogenesis and inflammation. At 100 µg/mL, the topical cream showed tyrosinase inhibition of 48.23±0.87% regarded as relatively good compared to the standard tyrosinase inhibitor kojic acid, which showed 79.50±0.32% inhibition at the same concentration. The cosmetic cream was able to inhibit the melanin production rate-limiting enzyme, tyrosinase, indicating that it can control hyperpigmentation and skin spots.

Heritability and Genetic Advance Estimates of Key Shea Fruit Traits

Genetic erosion of shea trees, which has been on-going at an alarming rate, has necessitated urgent conservation attentions. Owing to the vast geographical distribution of the species across Ghana, in situ germplasms conservation was established by tagging and monitoring selected trees annually. Technologies have been developed that enable shea germplasms to be grafted, allowing for the development of germplasm banks at the research station of the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana, Bole. However, before these materials could be used in crop improvement programs, there is a need to evaluate them for key fruit traits relevant to the global shea business. This experiment was carried out to evaluate the tagged in situ shea trees for fruit and nut traits. Freshly harvested shea fruits were evaluated for their brix, pulp yield and kernel size properties to see if there was the needed diversity for crop improvement gains. Eight key traits were studied, with all showing significant difference, with high broad sense heritability and genetic advance for all the traits, indicating the potential for genetic gains in breeding programs. Qualitative analysis classified the fruits into five shapes, ellipsoid fruit shape was the most frequent observation (69.5%), while oblong was the least represented (1%). Fruit surface pubescence indicated that the surfaces without hairs (smooth) were slightly higher in number (52.6%) than the surface with hairs (rough), which were 47.4%. Pearson correlation studies showed a positive significant relationship between kernel weight and fruit weight (0.68), fruit length (0.48), fruit width (0.51), pulp weight (0.5) and shell weight (0.77). Key components responsible for total variations observed were decomposed from the first two principal components (PC), which cumulatively explained 78.4% of the total observed variation within the materials. PC1 alone contributed 46.4%, while PC2 contributed 32%. Fruit weight, fruit length, fruit width, pulp weight, nut weight, shell weight and kernel weight were contributing traits to variations observed in PC1, while brix and percent pulp contributed to the variations observed in PC2. Percent kernel to nut ratio contributed to the variations observed in PC3. Clustering of the germplasms showed no regular pattern based on location or any particular trait, indicating a high level of diversity at 58% of the Pearson dissimilarity index.

Socio-economic Characteristics of German International Corporation (GIZ) Technology Intervention on Shea Nut Processors in Niger State, Nigeria

This study assessed the activities of GIZ (German International Corporation) intervention technology on shea nut processors in Niger State, Nigeria. A two-stage sampling technique was adopted for the study. The first stage involved a purposive selection of 15 Local Government Areas of GIZ’s intervention. The second stage involved a proportionate random selection of 297 beneficiaries constituting 10% processors in the GIZ profile list. Also, in the same LGAs, snow-balling technique was used to randomly select 297 Shea nut processors that were GIZ non-beneficiaries, thereby making a total sample size of 594. Data were collected through interview schedule and were analysed using percentages and mean and multiple regression analysis. The study revealed that majority (75.1 %) of the respondents had non-formal education, 76.6 % were between 41-60 years with mean age of 48.1 years. All the respondents (100.0 %) were female and married with average of experience of 15.5 years. The most severe constraints were; inadequate funding (=1.875), poor market channels (=1.737) and inadequate extension contact (=1.542), and there was positive relationship between some selected socio-economic characteristics and the level of adoption of GIZ’s technologies (F=23.59, p <0.001). The results from this study showed that the processors were constrained by inadequate fund, poor market channels and inadequate extension services because the gap from the existing one is lower before the intervention of GIZ Shea nut technology due to high quality of production of premium shea butter produced by the beneficiaries which attracted income. The continuity of the GIZ’s intervention with effective extension services and provision of credit facilities to ameliorate the problem of inadequate fund is highly recommended.

Effectiveness of hermetic bag storage technology to preserve physical quality attributes of shea nuts

Shea nuts are a nutritionally and economically important tree crop harvested seasonally in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa. Storage losses are a major constraint in the shea nut value chain, with substantial amounts lost prior to processing and marketing. Hermetic bags have proven to be a viable technology for the effective storage of grains, oilseeds and pulses in sub-Saharan Africa due to their efficacy, low cost, and commercial availability. However, hermetic bag storage technology has not been investigated for the preservation of shea nut quality. In this study, shea nut storage in hermetic bags was compared to storage in jute sacks and woven polypropylene (PP) bags. Shea nuts had an initial moisture content of 7.3% (w.b.) and insect damage of 28%. Each storage treatment consisted of 12 bags of 20 kg shea nuts with samples taken from 3 bags every 6 weeks over a 30-week storage period. As ambient temperature and relative humidity conditions varied over time, moisture content varied within 1 percentage point in hermetic bags compared to 3 percentage points in the jute sacks and PP bags. Insect damage was maintained below 30% in hermetic bags, compared to 80% and 82% in PP bags and jute sacks, respectively. Weight loss due to insect damage was 4.5% in the hermetic bags compared to 10.1% and 11.6% in the jute sacks and PP bags, respectively. Carbon dioxide concentration in the hermetic bags remained below 6% over 30 weeks, indicating low insect and microbial activity. The results of this study have proven hermetic bag storage technology to be a viable option for the quality preservation of dry shea nuts, which should be strongly considered for adoption in the shea nut value chain.

Comparative Study of Green Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles Using Leaf Extracts of Vitellaria Paradoxa and Their Antioxidant Activities

The synthesis of nanoparticles from plant extracts has gained much attention in recent times. The objective of this work is to assess and contrast the antibacterial and antioxidant properties of silver nanoparticles mediated from Vitellaria paradoxa and its crude methanolic extracts against several enteric microbes. Silver nanoparticles synthesized with Vitellaria paradoxa (VPAgNP) and methanol extracts of Vitellaria paradoxa (MVP) were characterized using Ultraviolet-Visible Spectrometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction spectroscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Antioxidant assays were carried out on both samples. The assessment of the antibacterial activity of both synthesized and methanol extracts of Vitellaria paradoxa was determined using disc diffusion method varied at different concentration. The minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration was also determined. Data were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance and the difference (ρ≤0.05) separated by Duncan multiple range test. The UV-visible spectrum of VPAgNP and MVP revealed peak at 450 nm and 420 nm respectively. The FTIR spectra of VPAgNP and MVP revealed the presence of 18 and 9 peaks values and their functional group respectively. The extracts and VPAgNPs produced higher inhibition zones ranges between 8-45 mm against the isolated pathogenic organisms compared to the methanol extract while the MICs ranged from 0.1-5.0 µg/mL for extracts and VPAgNPs. The study concluded that the silver nanoparticles synthesized using V .paradoxa has exhibited higher antibacterial activity against pathogenic organisms as compared to the methanol extract and could be used in future for therapeutic and pharmacological purposes in treating ailment or diseases caused by multidrug resistance. Keywords: AgNPs, antioxidant, Vitellaria paradoxa, Methanol extract, Nanoparticles

Morphological traits and sustainability of plus shea trees (Vitellaria paradoxa C.F.Gaertn.) in Côte d'Ivoire

Description of the subject. Shea tree (Vitellaria paradoxa C.F.Gaertn.) is an essential component of natural/semi-natural savannas and agroforestry systems of Africa. It contributes to local household incomes and represents an important cash crop for export. It is important to improve our knowledge about the viability and genetic diversity of “plus shea tree” (PST: shea trees whose genetic superiority has not yet been proven by an appropriate progeny test) genotypes to conserve the genetic diversity of the species and the potential for producing improved species. Objectives. We characterized the diversity of an in situ PST collection in Côte d’Ivoire and evaluated its long-term sustainability. Method. Twelve qualitative morphological traits were studied on 220 PSTs randomly sampled among 405 PSTs also randomly selected from in situ collections in the Bagoué and Tchologo districts of northern Côte d’Ivoire to assess in situ conservation sustainability. Results. Most qualitative morphological traits were highly diverse based on the Shannon diversity index (0.55-0.98 range) with significant differences between districts. Hierarchical ascending classification gathered the PSTs into three groups. The lack of sustainability of the in situ collection for long-term conservation of the species was confirmed because it is endangered by a high mortality rate (8.15% after three years) and high levels of infestation by Loranthaceae (83.68%). Conclusions. We recommend the establishment of an ex situ collection of shea trees managed by a research organization to preserve this important genetic heritage. To maximize the genetic diversity of the future ex situ collection, we suggest establishing a core collection based on molecular diversity characterized from molecular markers, such as single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP).

From Ghana to the dry-hot valleys of China: assessing factors influencing fruit yield in agroforestry species <i>Vitellaria paradoxa</i> after 54 years of cultivation outside Africa

From Ghana to the dry-hot valleys of China: assessing factors influencing fruit yield in agroforestry species <i>Vitellaria paradoxa</i> after 54 years of cultivation outside Africa

Spatial Diversity Mapping of Plant Species in Karlahi Forest Reserve, Fufore Local Government Area of Adamawa State

The analysis of the spatial species diversity in Karlahi Forest Reserve of Fufore Local Government of Adamawa State, Nigeria was carried out and it was aimed at analyzing the distribution of tree species within the forest reserve which is vital to the understanding of changes that occurred within the forest. This research adopted three methodological approaches that are, the use of Geographic Information System (GIS) and field investigation to determine the species diversity. The results of the species diversity show that zone 3 has the highest species richness with Bauhinia thonningii and Anogeissus Leiocarpus also known as “Kalgoo” and “Mark” in Hausa language respectively as dominant species and species endemism, zone 4 has the highest species red list followed by zone 3 and 2. The common species that make the red list are Pterocarpus Erinaceus, ziziphus spina-christi, Balanites Aegyptiaca, Vitellaria paradoxa, Anogeissus Leiocarpus, banhinia thonningii, Parkia Biglobosa, Detarium microcarpum. It is recommended that Land Cover information and regular species diversity audit should be incorporated into the conservation practices and Nation and state policies on Forest reserves and parks should be adhered to strictly.

Climate change mitigation potential of agroforestry farms in West African Savanna

Agroforestry is a land management strategy which interfaces between agriculture and forestry. It is a reliable means to combating climate change in different parts of the world. Although majority of smallholder farmers in Ghana are aware of the benefits associated with agroforestry practice, degradation of trees on farmlands remains a major concern. This study investigates the potential of agroforestry as a climate change mitigation strategy in the Nandom Municipal. Eight (8) agroforestry farms were selected for assessment using the non-destructive method. In each farm, the trees were identified by both scientific and local names. The diameter at breast height and height of the trees were measured. The biomass was estimated using the allometric model developed by Aabeyir et al. (2020). The carbon was estimated from the biomass using a factor of 0.47. The results indicate that carbon sequestration is high among trees species like Lannea velutina, Parkia biglobosa and Vitellaria paradoxa which often have large DBH. The study therefore recommends for nursery and integration of such tree species with smallholder crops for purposes of agroforestry.