Floristic diversity, origins and properties of city trees in Burkina Faso

Abstract

In Burkina Faso, insufficient or partial information exists on the forest potential of urban areas, marked mainly by the introduction of many exotic species. The objective of this study was to assess the floristic diversity of city trees, to reveal the benefits and risks associated with their properties in a context of climate change, increasing demography and accelerated urbanization. Surveys on 49 urban municipalities were conducted from 2015 to 2020 to identify and describe species at different phenological stages to enable photographic image recognition. Confirmations are made with floras, previous works and documentary compilations. The analyses relate to the biological diversity of species, their origins and uses. The floristic diversity of Burkina Faso's city trees consists of 251 species belonging to 174 genera and 58 families. It is comprised of 178 introduced species and 73 native species. The most represented families are Arecaceae with 7.97% of species, Euphhorbiaceae (7.57%), Moraceae (6.37%), Fabaceae - Mimosoideae (5.98%), Apocynaceae (5.98%) and the Fabaceae - Caesalpinioideae (5.58%). The most common species are Khaya senegalensis, Mangifera indica and Azadirachta indica. This work has helped to characterize the city trees of Burkina Faso. It will update the flora of the country, which is enriched with 36 new exotic species.

Keywords: Urban tree, characterization, biological diversity, communes.