Population structure and regeneration status of Sclerocarya birrea (A. Rich.) Hochst. under different land use types in Burkina Faso, West Africa

Population structure and regeneration status of Sclerocarya birrea (A. Rich.) Hochst. under different land use types in Burkina Faso, West Africa | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Population structure and regeneration status of Sclerocarya birrea (A. Rich.) Hochst. under different land use types in Burkina Faso, West Africa Satassa Hien, Lassina Traoré, Yaya Maiga, Aziz Abdoul Kaboré, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7372915/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 15 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Sclerocarya birrea is a keystone species in the diet, traditions, and culture of local communities in West Africa. This study assessed the impact of land use type on the woody’s diversity, regeneration pattern and population structure of Sclerocarya birrea stands to implement a strong management scheme. Data were collected from 150 plots across field, fallow, and forest in Burkina Faso. Regeneration was recorded as seedling, suckers and coppices in diameter height classes. Hill diversity indices were used to determine the effect of land use in stands diversity. Weibull theoretical model was applied to analyze size classes distribution. Land use significantly influenced Sclerocarya birrea stands diversity and structure, with the lowest diversity recorded in field. The largest and tallest individuals were recorded in field while fallow and forest had the maximum tree density. Seedling is the most common regeneration type, especially with higher density in flied. However, diameter size classes distribution revealed unstable structure population in field while fallow and forest were more stable. This study highlights the need to improve juvenile management and promote low-cost nursery techniques for Sclerocarya birrea . Famer’s should support seedlings protection in agroforestry systems for better sustainable use and long-term preservation of the species. Sclerocarya birrea regeneration population structure West Africa Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 Introduction In West African savannas, anthropogenic activities, land use and climate change have led to a decline of many indigenous tree species (Zoungrana et al. 2023 ; Lykke et al. 2025 ). For example, defoliation, debarking and full fruit harvesting of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) reduced populations of several multipurpose tree species (Nacoulma et al. 2011 ; Long et al. 2021). Since most people in this region rely on land for agriculture, wood, and non-timber forest products, these negative trends seriously affect ecosystems and their associated goods and services (Houehanou et al. 2013 ; Guissou et al. 2015 ; Sanou et al. 2019 ). Furthermore, this situation induced a regressive dynamic of stand composition and low regeneration often with no juvenile individuals (Abdourhamane et al. 2017 ; Zon et al. 2022 ; Ouédraogo et al. 2025 ). As a result, biodiversity and ecosystem functions in savannas are increasingly at risk (Aleza et al. 2015 ; Zerbo et al. 2018 ; Li et al. 2025 ). Given the benefits of multipurpose species, like Sclerocarya birrea , it is important to prevent their decline to enhance environmental functions and support local livelihoods. Sclerocarya birrea plays a key role in the diet, traditions, and culture of local communities in West Africa. S. birrea fruit pulp contains four times vitamin c than lemon and mango (Glew et al. 2004). It also has strong potential in both local and international markets (Gouwakinnou et al. 2011; Lykke et al. 2021; Leakey et al. 2021). In rural areas, Women and children exploit fruit pulp and seeds. Its fruits are eaten fresh or fermented into beverages, while the kernels are consumed raw or used for oil (Bationo/Kando et al. 2016; Moussa et al. 2022; Chauke et al. 2025 ). S. birrea is well-adapted to semi-arid savanna conditions, and is often retained in agroforestry systems for its ecological services and as a source of income, particularly for smallholder farmers (Emanuel et al. 2005 ; Leakey 2017 ; Sinthumule and Mashau 2019 ). Despite its apparent preservation in agroforestry systems, populations of S. birrea are experiencing a gradual decline (Jacobs and Biggs 2001 ; Shackleton 2002 ). Natural regeneration of the species is comprised by inappropriate farming practices, overexploitation, livestock damage to young plants, and limited human support for regeneration(Agbogan et al. 2015 ; Helm et al. 2011 ). S. birrea density varies by land use. In Benin, 27 trees/ha vs 3 trees/ha were recorded in protected areas and agroforestry systems, respectively (Gouwakinnou et al. 2009 ). A similar pattern was observed, with 25 trees/ha in protected areas and 6 trees/ha in cultivated fields in Niger (Abdourhamane et al. 2017 ). Farmers tend to favor species of direct use, thus shaping the floristic composition of fallows and farmlands. Moreover, shortened fallow periods further compromising the natural regeneration of S. birrea populations (Zermeño-Hernández et al. 2016 ). S. birrea is fast-growing with high seed germination potential (Hien et al. 2024 ). Given that this species is not currently domesticated in West Africa, regeneration relies predominantly on natural processes which still poorly documented (Bognounou et al. 2009 ; Helm et al. 2011 ). The distribution of diameter size classes is a key indicator of regeneration potential and vegetation dynamics (Glèlè-Kakaï et al. 2016; Lykke et al. 2025 ). The population structures, abundance patterns, and spatial distribution are essential indicators for the sustainable management of woody resources. These characteristics are habitat-dependent and must be assessed across land-use types to inform conservation strategies (Jurisch et al. 2012 ; Munyebvu et al. 2018 ; Hounwanou et al. 2025 ). In particular, A better understanding of these ecological patterns is necessary to guide effective resource management, ensure long-term sustainability and use of S. birrea . Therefore, it is important to assess the ecological impact of land use type on the woody’s diversity, regeneration pattern and population structure of S. birrea stands to implement a strong management scheme. This study aims to (1) assess the influence of land use types on the diversity and the composition of woody species associated with S. birrea stands, (2) analyze the effect of land use type on the density of adult, seedling, sapling and coppices, and (3) to assess regeneration potential via size class distribution of S . birrea across land use types. Materials and Methods Study area The study was carried out at four sites in classified forest, field and fallow along a phytogeographic level in Burkina Faso. The sites were Wayen (11°55'08"N and 3°43'33"W), Tiogo (12°10'36"N and 2°41'29"W), Bondoukuy (11°55'08"N and 3°43'33"W) and Boromo (11°44'47"N and 2°55'54"W) (Fig. 1 ). The vegetation in the classified forests is characterized by various savanna types including shrub savannas, tree savannas, woodlands, dry forests, and gallery forests (Traore et al. 2020 ). Fallow and field were dominated by agroforestry parks. Wayen and Tiogo sites are located in the North Sudanian sector with annual rainfall varies from 600 to 700 mm, and 40–70 rainy days per year. Soils are mostly lithosols. Bondoukuy and Boromo are located in the South Sudanian sector. Annual rainfall ranges from 800 to 900 mm, with 70 to 90 rainy days per year. Soils are mainly ferralsols (Bognounou et al. 2009 ). Subsistence agriculture, livestock and exploitation of NTFPs are the main livelihood activities in all sites. A wide variety of annual crops are cultivated: cotton, maize, sorghum, groundnut, cowpea and millet. These are often associated with multipurpose species trees like Vitellaria paradoxa , Parkia biglobosa , and Sclerocarya birrea (Cissé et al. 2019 ). Description of study species Sclerocarya birrea , a dioecious tree in the Anacardiaceae family, is found in West Africa, northern Cameroon, Sudan, Tanzania, and northern Kenya (Hall et al. 2002 ). Female trees bear yellow drupes, 3–4 cm in diameter and 15–25 g in weight (Shackleton et al. 2003 ). The leaves are borne in clusters at the apex of stout branchlets, and are alternate and compound, 8–38 cm long imparipinnate, bearing 3–18 pairs of opposite or subopposite leaflets (Arbonnier 2009). The flowers are small, shortly pediculate, whitish purple to red. The fruits are obovoid fleshy and juicy drupes, 23.5 cm in diameter, green becoming yellow at maturity with a weight of 18–35 g (Diallo et al. 2006). The species thrives with 500 to 1600 mm of annual rainfall over different soil types (Gouwakinnou et al. 2009 ). It occurs across a range of vegetation types, principally mixed deciduous woodland, wooded grassland and through the open dry savannas of northern Tropical Africa and the Sahelian region (Nyoka et al. 2015). In Burkina Faso, it occurs in Sudanian zone, sometimes forming monospecific stands (Tingueri et al. 2021 ). Sampling design and data collection Three land use types were considered regarding the different anthropogenic pressures: field, fallow and classified forest (Fig. 2 ). In this study, classified forests are legally designated areas of natural savanna or forest established by public authorities to limit human disturbances and protect resources, ecosystem functions, and services (Fig. 2 c). The classified forests of Tiogo and Wayen were sampled in the North Sudanian sector, while the classified forests of Bale and Tuy were sampled in the South Sudanian sector. However, except the classified forest of Tiogo, which operates under participatory management with local communities, the other forests were fully controlled by the States services (Kagambega et al. 2019). All these classified forests are designated by IUCN Category IV of protected areas (IUCN 2012 ). Despite their status, illegal logging and NTFPs harvesting occur in these forests (Traore et al. 2020 ). Fields are currently active croplands under intensive cultivation (Fig. 2 a). Fallows refers to previously cultivated lands left uncultivated for over five years to restore vegetation and soil fertility (Fig. 2 b). Data were collected during the rainy season (July to October 2023). In each site, the fields were visited with the owner's permission to identify accessible populations of S. birrea for measurements and understand their management. A total of 150 plots were selected using a stratified random sampling method across the three land-use types. In fields and fallows, 120 square plots (50 × 50 m) were established, while 30 rectangular plots (50 × 20 m) were set up in classified forest. Plot sizes followed the savannas vegetation surveys guidelines (Thiombiano et al. 2016 ). Sampling was based on the presence at least four trees of S. birrea individuals, with a minimum distance of 100 m maintained between plots within each land use type (Aleza et al. 2015 ). In each plot, all woody species were recorded to assess diversity and composition. Species that could not be identified in situ , were sampled for later determination using the catalogue of vascular plants of Burkina Faso (Thiombiano et al. 2012 ), and names were checked with World Plant Names Index ( https://wfoplantlist.org/plant-list ). Tree height and diameter at breast height (DBH ≥ 5 cm) were measured for all woody species. To assess S. birrea regeneration, five subplots of 5 x 5 m were placed at each plot’s four corners and center. In each sub-plot, seedlings, suckers and coppices was recorded and classified following previous studies (Aleza et al. 2015 ; Kabré et al. 2020 ; Ouédraogo et al. 2025 ). Seedlings grow from germination of seed (Fig. 3 a), suckers from lateral roots (Fig. 3 b) and coppices are juvenile plant from cut or burned tree stumps (Fig. 3 c). Statistical analysis Influence of land use on the diversity and composition of woody species associated with S. birrea stands The composition, abundance, and taxonomic diversity of woody species associated with S. birrea were analyzed across land use types. Stand diversity was assessed using Hill’s framework (Hill 1973 ) with the BiodiversityR package (Kindt 2022), by calculating four indices: N0 = S; with S the number of species in a plot; N1 = e H’ ; with H’ Shannon’s index; N2 = 1/D, D = is the Simpson’s diversity index; Evenness (E) = H′/ln(S). One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to assess the effect of land use on diversity indices (N0, N1, N2, and Evenness). When significant, Tukey’s HSD test identified pairwise differences between land use types. Species composition across land-use types was assessed using ANOSIM and visualized with NMDS based on species abundance and dominance data. The ecological importance of woody species co-occurring with S. birrea was evaluated using the Importance Value Index (IVI), which ranges from 0 to 300 (Mueller-Dombois and Ellenberg 1974 ). The IVI was calculated by summing three components: Relative Frequency = frequency of a species/sum of all frequencies × 100; Relative density = number of individuals of a species / total number of individuals × 100 Relative Dominance = total basal area of a species/basal area of all species × 100 Importance Value Index = Relative density + Relative dominance + Relative frequency. For each land use type, the 20 species with the highest IVI were selected to illustrate patterns in dominant woody species composition. Effect of land use on the density of adult, seedling, suckers and coppices of S. birrea Structural parameters of S. birrea included basal area (G), density (N), mean diameter (D g ), and Lorey’s mean height (HL) were assessed. G \(\:=\frac{{\pi\:}}{40000\:\text{S}}\sum\:_{\text{i}=1}^{\text{n}}\text{d}\text{i}²;\) \(\:di\:\) the DBH of i-th tree (Philip, 2002). N= n/S, with n the average number of individuals per plot and S as the area expressed in hectares. HL expressed: \(\:\text{H}\text{L}=\frac{\sum\:_{i=1}^{k}gihi}{{\sum\:}_{i=1}^{k}gi}\) ; expresses the height of the individuals adjusted by the basal area. The natural regeneration was calculated \(\:Nr=\frac{\sum\:_{l=1}^{k}{N}_{l}{\stackrel{-}{N}}_{rl}}{n}\) ; with \(\:{\stackrel{-}{N}}_{rl}=\left(\frac{1}{{n}_{l}}\right)\sum\:_{i=1}^{{n}_{l}}{y}_{li}\) ; \(\:Nr\) is the mean density of S. birrea regeneration within land use, n the total number of sampling, \(\:\:{N}_{l}\) is the mean density of adults S. birrea , \(\:{y}_{li}\) , the regeneration density withon i th plot of the stand (Bonou et al. 2009 ). ANOVA was used to compare structural parameters among land use types. Size class distribution of S. birrea across land use Diameter and height class distributions based on Condit et al. ( 1998 ) were used to interpret the status of S. birrea populations according to land use types. DBH data were computed and assembled in ten diameter classes of regular interval whereas five height classes were established for regeneration stratum. To assess population structure, the 3-parameter Weibull theoretical distribution model was applied due to its flexibility and simplicity (Glèlè Kakaï et al. 2016 ). The density function f(x) was define below: \(\:\:f\left(x\right)=\frac{c}{b}{\left(\frac{x-a}{b}\right)}^{c-1}\text{exp}\left[-{\left(\frac{x-a}{b}\right)}^{c}\right];\) where, a is the location parameter, b is the scale parameter, c is the shape parameter, x is the diameter. The Weibull distribution can take several forms depending on the value of the shape parameter. Value of c < 1 generally indicate populations with high regeneration potential (reverse J-shaped distribution), whereas values of c near or greater than 1 (flatter, unimodal, or left skewed distributions) indicate populations with a lower regeneration potential. Many factors, however, affect the c value and it, must be interpreted with caution, but generally the higher the c , the higher the tendency for population decline and vulnerability to extirpation (Lykke et al. 2025 ). A log-linear analysis was performed to test the adequacy of the observed structure to the Weibull distribution. The hypothesis of adequacy between both distributions is accepted if the probability value of the test is higher than 0.05. All statistical analyses were performed in R (R Core Team, 2022). Results Influence of land use type on diversity and composition of woody species associated with S. birrea stands A total of 99 woody species belonging to 66 genera and 28 families were recorded across the four study sites (Appendix A). The represented families were Fabaceae (29%), Combretaceae (15%), Malvaceae (7%), Rubiaceae (6%), and Anacardiaceae (5%). Forest areas had the highest species richness with 84 species, followed by fallow areas with 80 species, and fields with 58 species (Fig. 4 ). Hill’s diversity indices revealed significant differences among land-use types for N0, N1, and N2, but not for evenness (Table 1 ). Table 1 Diversity indices of S. birrea stand according to and land use Parameters Field Fallow Forest Fisher statistic Pr(> F) N0 (Richness) 18.1 ± 4.96c 24.1 ± 11.3b 27.6 ± 7.76a 4.63 0.0122 ** N1 (Exp. H ) 11.0 ± 3.23b 14.3 ± 7.53a 15.0 ± 4.31a 2.10 0.0135** N2 (1/D) 1.10 ± 0.06b 1.18 ± 0.08a 1.90 ± 0.04a 2.56 0.038* Evenness (E) 0.80 ± 0.05a 0.81 ± 0.07a 0.821 ± 0.04a 0.67 0.516 ns Legend: a, b, c = Tukey-HPT: levels with different letters are significantly different, *** P < 0.001, ** P < 0.01, * P < 0.05; ns = non-significant; F = Statistic of Fisher. NMDS ordination showed a forest-fallow-field gradient (Fig. 5 ). Sclerocarya birrea had an IVI in fields (146.0), fallows (127.3), and forest (123.4) (Table 2 ). Other dominant species included Combretum micranthum , Combretum glutinosum , and Guiera senegalensis , especially in forest and fallow. Senegalia gourmaensis was mainly found in forest, while Vitellaria paradoxa dominated field and fallow but was less common in forest. Table 2 Variation in S. birrea stands composition according to land use types Species Importance value Index Fallow Field Forest Balanites aegytiaca 74.0 71.5 81.7 Combretum adenogonium 56.0 14.2 55.7 Combretum glutinosum 76.8 74.9 66.1 Combretum micranthum 104.3 44.7 110.5 Combretum nigricans 60.6 72.8 76.8 Dichrostachys cinera 34.6 42.2 49.1 Entada africana 34.1 34.3 68.5 Feretia apodanthera 49.1 13.7 66.3 Gardenia ternifolia 20.5 - 55.2 Grewia bicolor 48.8 7.1 55.9 Grewia flavescens 13.5 37.2 62.7 Grewia mollis 78.6 27.9 70.4 Guiera senegalensis 87.2 51.8 61.6 Lannea acida 76.4 47.6 68.5 Lannea microcarpa 76.9 78.4 54.8 Sclerocarya birrea 127.3 146.0 123.4 Senegalia gourmaensis - - 56.1 Senegalia macrostachya 78.1 51.0 95.7 Vitellaria paradoxa 6.2 56.8 48.9 Structural parameters of S. birrea among land use types Adult tree density was twice as high in forest compared to fallow and quadrupled as high compared to field (Table 3 ). Conversely, field had the highest basal area, mean diameter and Lorey’s mean height compared to fallow and forest. Furthermore, G, Dg and HL did not differ significantly between forest and fallow (Fig. 6 ). In terms of natural regeneration, seedling was higher abundant in field compared to fallow and forest, whereas sucker and coppices densities showed no significant variation (Table 3 ). Table 3 Natural regeneration of S. birrea in different land use type. Regeneration Field Fallows Forest F Pr(> F) Seedlings 311.7 ± 42.9 40.3 ± 75.5 88.6 ± 89.6 3.146 0.0459 * Suckers 1.3 ± 12.9 13.6 ± 58.6 4.6 ± 22.4 1.461 0.235 ns Coppices 7.3 ± 51.1 2.6 ± 33.0 5.3 ± 37.0 0.583 0.559 ns * Significantly different values Confidence intervalle 95%, ns = non-significant, F = Fischer statistic Size classes distribution and population structure of S. birrea across land use types DBH size classes distribution showed a bell-shaped curve in fields indicating low regeneration potential, with low abundance of individuals in the smallest diameter size, and a high individual ranging from 25 to 40 cm (Fig. 7 a). In contrast, fallows and forests showed reverse J-shaped distributions, characteristic of stable populations, though dominated by intermediate diameters (10–25 cm), reflecting moderate but insufficient regeneration. Slope and r² values confirm the absence of small individuals in fields and a steady population trend in fallows and forests (Table 4 ). Regarding the height classes structure, seedlings were dominant across all land use types, especially in fields followed by forests (Fig. 7 b). Coppices and suckers were rare and uneven, with suckers slightly more frequent in fallows. Table 4 Linear regression models illustrating the demographic trend of the S. birrea by land use type Land use type Equations r² p-value Field Y = 0.3683x + 1.9609 0.24 0.15 Fallow Y = -1.0548x + 0.2405 0.96 0.031 Forest Y = -0.3929x + 4.2792 0.77 0.002 Discussion This study assessed the ecological impact of land use type on the woody’s diversity, regeneration pattern and population structure of S. birrea stands. Results indicated that land use type affect composition and diversity of S. birrea across land use. Higher abundance of adults in the protected areas than in field and fallow where the biggest individuals were found. Higher abundance of seedling was recorded in field than both fallow and forest, whereas suckers and coppices showed similar densities across all land use. There was a marked difference in the population structure of the species according to land use. Influence of land use on diversity and composition of woody species associated with S. birrea stands The woody species associated with S. birrea show high diversity, with 99 species recorded across study sites, representing about 19% of Burkina Faso’s vascular flora (Thiombiano et al. 2012 ). This richness aligns with previous studies in similar savanna zones (Balima et al. 2020 ; Taonda et al. 2024 ). Dominant families include Fabaceae, Combretaceae, Malvaceae, and Anacardiaceae, all typical of dry tropical savannas (Zerbo et al. 2023 , 2024 ). These families are adapted to harsh climates and frequent disturbances. S. birrea tends to associate with stress-tolerant species, contributing to system resilience. Hill diversity indices confirm its coexistence with ecologically compatible taxa (Pennington et al. 2018 ). The species' broad ecological tolerance supports its persistence in degraded or managed areas. Land use strongly influences species composition. Forests and fallows had higher IVI and diversity values than fields, suggesting better ecological conditions and lower disturbance levels. NMDS ordination revealed a forest-fallow-field gradient in species composition indicating that field showed low richness and altered population structures due to intensive land use. Farmers select trees based on utility, often preserving Vitellaria paradoxa and removing less useful species (Djossa et al. 2008 ; Aleza et al. 2015 ). Key species like Combretum micranthum , Guiera senegalensis , and Vitellaria paradoxa co-occur with S. birrea , indicating ecological compatibility and reflecting field management. Senegalia gourmaensis was restricted to forests, while V. paradoxa dominated field and fallow. Forest and fallow harbored more native species and lower human impact, supporting functional ecosystems. Despite illegal logging, protected areas remain among the most diverse savannas in West Africa (Traoré et al. 2020; Zon et al. 2022 ). Across land uses, Fabaceae and Combretaceae remained dominant, showing adaptation to disturbance. These findings highlight the need to integrate biodiversity conservation into land-use planning, particularly in agricultural landscapes. Structural parameters of S. birrea among land use types The study revealed a significant difference in tree density among land use types, for both adults and juveniles, with a higher abundance in forest, followed by fallow, and tend to be critically reduced in field. Similar patterns were observed in Benin, where adult density dropped ninefold from protected areas to agroforestry systems due to human activities (Gouwakinnou et al. 2009 ). Despite this trend, our study recorded higher densities of S. birrea than several previous studies (Shackleton et al. 2003 ; Nghitoolwa et al. 2003 ; Agbogan et al. 2015 ; Abdourahmane et al. 2017). For instance, Shackleton et al. ( 2003 ) reported 4.2 stems/ha in fields and 13.4 stems/ha in protected areas in South Africa, while Nghitoolwa et al. ( 2003 ) found only 1.5 stems/ha in Namibian farms. Agbogan et al. ( 2015 ) noted variable densities across topographies: 39 stems/ha on low plateaus, 2 on plains, 9 on foothills, and 3 on hills. Larger individuals in fields may result from lower interspecific competition and disturbance. Positive community attitudes towards S. birrea management, as seen in South Africa (Sinthumule and Mzamani 2019), also prevail in Burkina Faso, explaining the higher abundance of the species. This appreciation is linked to its socio-economic importance and market value, enhancing rural livelihoods. S. birrea pulp is mostly use by children and women who pick up mature fallen fruits for processing to local juice and seed extraction for pit (Moussa et al. 2002). Seedling, coppices and suckers occur as patterns of natural regeneration of the S. birrea across land use. Similar observation was reported for Senegalia macrostachya and Saba senegalensis across the same land use types (Kabre et al. 2020; Ouedraogo et al. 2025). These results prove that S. birrea has a good natural regeneration potential that can be promoted for sustainable management and conservation of the species in agroforestry systems. However, higher seedling abundance in field compared to fallow and forest, result from farming practices that bury fallen fruits, enhancing seed germination, as previously observed by Gouwakinnou et al. ( 2009 ). In contrast, higher abundance of coppices suggesting that S. birrea individuals are facing anthropogenic threat, and good management challenges in field and fallow due to tree cutting. This required specific attention by raising famer’s awareness to integrate natural assisted regeneration practices of the species, such it is done for most multipurpose species like Tamarindus indica , Vitellaria paradoxa and Parkia biglobosa (Fandohan et al. 2010; Byakagaba et al. 2011; Lokonon et al. 2022). In contrast, the densities of suckers and coppices did not show significant variation among land-use types, suggesting that vegetative regeneration is less influenced by land use and more dependent on micro-site conditions or the physiological state of individual trees. These patterns indicate that while agricultural fields may favor sexual regeneration through seeds, vegetative regeneration remains stable across landscapes, underlining the resilience of S. birrea and the need for land-use sensitive conservation strategies. Furthermore, S. birrea is found in all climatic zones in Burkina Faso and can be promoted as an agroforestry species to improve yield and diversify production systems. Size classes distribution and population structure of S. birrea across land use types The bell-shaped DBH distribution in field, characterized by a scarcity of small-diameter individuals and dominance of larger size classes trees, suggests a senescing population with limited regeneration. This may result from a selective preservation of mature trees and total fruit harvesting by farmers causing poor regeneration conditions. According to Nightoolwa et al. (2003), farmers likely preserved trees with ≤ 40 cm Dbh in fields for fruit yield. Agricultural land clearing, grazing and/or harvesting of fodder, medicinal products providence, and absence of protection measures led to the unstable structure. In contrast, the reverse J-shaped curves observed in fallow and forest indicate of more stable populations, although the dominance of intermediate diameter classes (10–25 cm) points to regeneration constraints, possibly due to competition, grazing, or fire. The presence of trees in 5 to 10 cm class is influenced by age of the fallow (at a mean of 7 years), and to the good monitoring of the forest concerned in this study. This supports the assertion that protected areas are more effective in conserving woody species (Houehanou et al. 2013 ) and highlights the role of fallows in restoring soil fertility and biodiversity (Kaboré et al. 2012). Height class analysis showed an overall predominance of seedlings, particularly in field, which may reflect favorable germination conditions, although seedling survival and growth into larger classes appear limited. Similar result was reported by Abdourhamane et al. ( 2017 ) for the same species. According the above authors, S . birrea has bulk germination in field during cultivating period, but famers destroyed most of seedlings which limited the recruitment in juvenile stage in field. Coppices and suckers were rare and unevenly distributed across land uses, indicating that vegetative regeneration plays a minor role in S. birrea population renewal. It is therefore important to develop simple and effective techniques to enhance seed germination, making it easier to produce vigorous seedlings in nurseries. These seedlings can then be used for reforestation efforts, supporting the integration of S. birrea into agroforestry systems and the restoration of degraded lands. Conclusion This study showed that land use type influences both regeneration and population structure of S. birrea . The population structure is well conserved in fallow and forest, but unstable in fields. The absence of good management practices, such as seedling protection, compromises long-term resource availability. Fields under cultivation showed low tree densities and larger individuals in diameter, height, and basal area. This reflects the species’ importance for local people. However, S. birrea faces over-exploitation and poor management. Nursery production could help farmers interested in planting. Natural-assisted regeneration is also needed to conserve saplings in fields. Plantations are recommended for both protected and degraded areas to enhance ecosystem functions and services for S. birrea . Declarations Acknowledgments The authors are grateful to Danida for financial support through Climate change Resilience of Ecosystem Services (CRES) project (project no 20-13-GHA). They are indebted to field guides their kind assistance in data collection, and also to forest managers in Wayen, Tiogo, Boromo and Bondoukuy for facilitation accessibility in forest. Credit authorship contribution: Satassa Hien : Writing- original draft, Visualization, Software, Methodology, Investigation, Formal analysis, Data curation and Conceptualization. Lassina Traore : Writing- Original draft, Validation, Software, Methodology, Data curation, Conceptualization, Review and editing draft. Abdoul Aziz Kabore : Writing-original draft, Validation, Software, Methodology, Data curation, Conceptualization and draft editing, Yaya Maiga : Vizualization, Anne Mette Lykke : Visualization, Methodology, Formal analysis and conceptualization. Formal analysis, Data curation, Writing-review and editing, Kuilpoko Marie Laure Guissou : Writing review and editing, Visualization, Validation, Supervision, Funding acquisition, Supervision and Project administration. Funding This work was supported by the Danida through Climate change Resilience of Ecosystem Services (CRES) project (project no 20-13-GHA). Competing interests This article is an original research and the authors declare that they have known competing financial interest or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence this work. Data availability Data will be made available on request. References Abdourhamane H, Rabiou H, Diouf A, Morou B, Mahamane A, Bellefontaine R (2017) Structure démographique et répartition spatiale des populations de Sclerocarya birrea (A. Rich.) Hochst. du secteur sahélien du Niger. Bois & Forets des Tropiques 333:55–66. https://doi.org/10.19182/bft2017.333.a31468 . Agbogan A, Tozo K, Wala K, Bellefontaine R, Akpavi S, Woegan YA, Dimobe K (2015) Structure des populations de Sclerocarya birrea Lannea microcarpa et Haematostaphis barteri au nord du Togo. Journal of Plant and Animal Sciences 25(2):3871–3886. 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10:04:04","extension":"html","order_by":18,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":213476,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"earlyproof.html","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7372915/v1/6ff035bff80c106a349ee4ee.html"},{"id":97683603,"identity":"d36df1b6-2873-4acd-bdf0-0ad4103c113f","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-12-08 10:03:59","extension":"jpeg","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":118164,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eLocation of study sites.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage1.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7372915/v1/1f974f21c5094a2f66c8c846.jpeg"},{"id":97683699,"identity":"3209b61e-11f3-4e2f-96a5-8dba56f5e7d1","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-12-08 10:04:05","extension":"png","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":880025,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eLand use type: (a) field showing Zea mays associated with S. birrea and V. paradoxa trees, (b) fallow showing S.birrea stands in Bondoukuy, (c) Tiogo classified forest, Burkina Faso.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage2.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7372915/v1/4c22aa0e75c3952c2bcb31de.png"},{"id":97683442,"identity":"7872ac39-95a0-4287-9ff8-d38a99e016a3","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-12-08 10:03:41","extension":"png","order_by":3,"title":"Figure 3","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":1029580,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eRegeneration patterns of S. birrea: seedling(a), suckering(b) coppices (c, d) under the different land use\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage3.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7372915/v1/fb58dc2cd5cec69afe348769.png"},{"id":97683573,"identity":"b850dd5c-8169-43a7-a96b-4fe0b5dfba37","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-12-08 10:03:57","extension":"png","order_by":4,"title":"Figure 4","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":214549,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eSpecies richness of S. birrea stands among land use types.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage4.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7372915/v1/4519ab4c907c66e649b78903.png"},{"id":97683574,"identity":"58b3af18-9247-4e28-80c7-ecc31f10ef9a","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-12-08 10:03:57","extension":"png","order_by":5,"title":"Figure 5","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":314022,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eSimilarity and co-occurrence of S. birrea stands according to land use types\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage5.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7372915/v1/cb8bd7f9f884a75a6061b6a4.png"},{"id":97892542,"identity":"929b49ae-b43a-49a3-a71e-876b919bcf2e","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-12-10 15:13:30","extension":"png","order_by":6,"title":"Figure 6","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":230583,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eDifference of S. birrea structural parameters between land use types.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage6.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7372915/v1/076792adea8db4996440a3bc.png"},{"id":97683438,"identity":"db366420-3b77-4731-9771-a357206b6488","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-12-08 10:03:39","extension":"png","order_by":7,"title":"Figure 7","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":436204,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eSize classes structure of S. birrea in each land use type with Weibull distribution added (black line)\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage7.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7372915/v1/eebc4a691eabd4ec3dac9ea1.png"},{"id":98621858,"identity":"295f5087-c8c5-474b-87df-48d0fdc88ea9","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-12-19 16:25:53","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":4373041,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7372915/v1/3230911f-a0ef-4888-a707-be590d3541e5.pdf"},{"id":97683715,"identity":"b5aa139a-c1c0-4d8a-95ef-1f4ac79f76e1","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-12-08 10:04:11","extension":"docx","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":28097,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"AppendixListofwoodyspeciesacrosslandusetypesinthestudysites.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7372915/v1/07ff21a76dd5955fd1465416.docx"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Population structure and regeneration status of Sclerocarya birrea (A. Rich.) Hochst. under different land use types in Burkina Faso, West Africa","fulltext":[{"header":"Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eIn West African savannas, anthropogenic activities, land use and climate change have led to a decline of many indigenous tree species (Zoungrana et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR49\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e; Lykke et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e). For example, defoliation, debarking and full fruit harvesting of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) reduced populations of several multipurpose tree species (Nacoulma et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR31\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e; Long et al. 2021). Since most people in this region rely on land for agriculture, wood, and non-timber forest products, these negative trends seriously affect ecosystems and their associated goods and services (Houehanou et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e; Guissou et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e; Sanou et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR35\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e). Furthermore, this situation induced a regressive dynamic of stand composition and low regeneration often with no juvenile individuals (Abdourhamane et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e; Zon et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR48\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e; Ou\u0026eacute;draogo et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR33\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e). As a result, biodiversity and ecosystem functions in savannas are increasingly at risk (Aleza et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e; Zerbo et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR45\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e; Li et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e). Given the benefits of multipurpose species, like \u003cem\u003eSclerocarya birrea\u003c/em\u003e, it is important to prevent their decline to enhance environmental functions and support local livelihoods.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSclerocarya birrea\u003c/em\u003e plays a key role in the diet, traditions, and culture of local communities in West Africa. \u003cem\u003eS. birrea\u003c/em\u003e fruit pulp contains four times vitamin c than lemon and mango (Glew et al. 2004). It also has strong potential in both local and international markets (Gouwakinnou et al. 2011; Lykke et al. 2021; Leakey et al. 2021). In rural areas, Women and children exploit fruit pulp and seeds. Its fruits are eaten fresh or fermented into beverages, while the kernels are consumed raw or used for oil (Bationo/Kando et al. 2016; Moussa et al. 2022; Chauke et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e). \u003cem\u003eS. birrea\u003c/em\u003e is well-adapted to semi-arid savanna conditions, and is often retained in agroforestry systems for its ecological services and as a source of income, particularly for smallholder farmers (Emanuel et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2005\u003c/span\u003e; Leakey \u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e; Sinthumule and Mashau \u003cspan citationid=\"CR38\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDespite its apparent preservation in agroforestry systems, populations of \u003cem\u003eS. birrea\u003c/em\u003e are experiencing a gradual decline (Jacobs and Biggs \u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2001\u003c/span\u003e; Shackleton \u003cspan citationid=\"CR36\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2002\u003c/span\u003e). Natural regeneration of the species is comprised by inappropriate farming practices, overexploitation, livestock damage to young plants, and limited human support for regeneration(Agbogan et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e; Helm et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e). \u003cem\u003eS. birrea\u003c/em\u003e density varies by land use. In Benin, 27 trees/ha vs 3 trees/ha were recorded in protected areas and agroforestry systems, respectively (Gouwakinnou et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e). A similar pattern was observed, with 25 trees/ha in protected areas and 6 trees/ha in cultivated fields in Niger (Abdourhamane et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e). Farmers tend to favor species of direct use, thus shaping the floristic composition of fallows and farmlands. Moreover, shortened fallow periods further compromising the natural regeneration of \u003cem\u003eS. birrea\u003c/em\u003e populations (Zerme\u0026ntilde;o-Hern\u0026aacute;ndez et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR47\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e). \u003cem\u003eS. birrea\u003c/em\u003e is fast-growing with high seed germination potential (Hien et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e). Given that this species is not currently domesticated in West Africa, regeneration relies predominantly on natural processes which still poorly documented (Bognounou et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e; Helm et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe distribution of diameter size classes is a key indicator of regeneration potential and vegetation dynamics (Gl\u0026egrave;l\u0026egrave;-Kaka\u0026iuml; et al. 2016; Lykke et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e). The population structures, abundance patterns, and spatial distribution are essential indicators for the sustainable management of woody resources. These characteristics are habitat-dependent and must be assessed across land-use types to inform conservation strategies (Jurisch et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e; Munyebvu et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e; Hounwanou et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e). In particular, A better understanding of these ecological patterns is necessary to guide effective resource management, ensure long-term sustainability and use of \u003cem\u003eS. birrea\u003c/em\u003e. Therefore, it is important to assess the ecological impact of land use type on the woody\u0026rsquo;s diversity, regeneration pattern and population structure of \u003cem\u003eS. birrea\u003c/em\u003e stands to implement a strong management scheme.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis study aims to (1) assess the influence of land use types on the diversity and the composition of woody species associated with \u003cem\u003eS. birrea\u003c/em\u003e stands, (2) analyze the effect of land use type on the density of adult, seedling, sapling and coppices, and (3) to assess regeneration potential via size class distribution of \u003cem\u003eS\u003c/em\u003e. \u003cem\u003ebirrea\u003c/em\u003e across land use types.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Materials and Methods","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003eStudy area\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe study was carried out at four sites in classified forest, field and fallow along a phytogeographic level in Burkina Faso. The sites were Wayen (11\u0026deg;55'08\"N and 3\u0026deg;43'33\"W), Tiogo (12\u0026deg;10'36\"N and 2\u0026deg;41'29\"W), Bondoukuy (11\u0026deg;55'08\"N and 3\u0026deg;43'33\"W) and Boromo (11\u0026deg;44'47\"N and 2\u0026deg;55'54\"W) (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e). The vegetation in the classified forests is characterized by various savanna types including shrub savannas, tree savannas, woodlands, dry forests, and gallery forests (Traore et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR43\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). Fallow and field were dominated by agroforestry parks. Wayen and Tiogo sites are located in the North Sudanian sector with annual rainfall varies from 600 to 700 mm, and 40\u0026ndash;70 rainy days per year. Soils are mostly lithosols. Bondoukuy and Boromo are located in the South Sudanian sector. Annual rainfall ranges from 800 to 900 mm, with 70 to 90 rainy days per year. Soils are mainly ferralsols (Bognounou et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e). Subsistence agriculture, livestock and exploitation of NTFPs are the main livelihood activities in all sites. A wide variety of annual crops are cultivated: cotton, maize, sorghum, groundnut, cowpea and millet. These are often associated with multipurpose species trees like \u003cem\u003eVitellaria paradoxa\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eParkia biglobosa\u003c/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eSclerocarya birrea\u003c/em\u003e (Ciss\u0026eacute; et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eDescription of study species\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSclerocarya birrea\u003c/em\u003e, a dioecious tree in the Anacardiaceae family, is found in West Africa, northern Cameroon, Sudan, Tanzania, and northern Kenya (Hall et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2002\u003c/span\u003e). Female trees bear yellow drupes, 3\u0026ndash;4 cm in diameter and 15\u0026ndash;25 g in weight (Shackleton et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2003\u003c/span\u003e). The leaves are borne in clusters at the apex of stout branchlets, and are alternate and compound, 8\u0026ndash;38 cm long imparipinnate, bearing 3\u0026ndash;18 pairs of opposite or subopposite leaflets (Arbonnier 2009). The flowers are small, shortly pediculate, whitish purple to red. The fruits are obovoid fleshy and juicy drupes, 23.5 cm in diameter, green becoming yellow at maturity with a weight of 18\u0026ndash;35 g (Diallo et al. 2006). The species thrives with 500 to 1600 mm of annual rainfall over different soil types (Gouwakinnou et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e). It occurs across a range of vegetation types, principally mixed deciduous woodland, wooded grassland and through the open dry savannas of northern Tropical Africa and the Sahelian region (Nyoka et al. 2015). In Burkina Faso, it occurs in Sudanian zone, sometimes forming monospecific stands (Tingueri et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR42\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eSampling design and data collection\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThree land use types were considered regarding the different anthropogenic pressures: field, fallow and classified forest (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e). In this study, classified forests are legally designated areas of natural savanna or forest established by public authorities to limit human disturbances and protect resources, ecosystem functions, and services (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003ec). The classified forests of Tiogo and Wayen were sampled in the North Sudanian sector, while the classified forests of Bale and Tuy were sampled in the South Sudanian sector. However, except the classified forest of Tiogo, which operates under participatory management with local communities, the other forests were fully controlled by the States services (Kagambega et al. 2019). All these classified forests are designated by IUCN Category IV of protected areas (IUCN \u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e). Despite their status, illegal logging and NTFPs harvesting occur in these forests (Traore et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR43\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). Fields are currently active croplands under intensive cultivation (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003ea). Fallows refers to previously cultivated lands left uncultivated for over five years to restore vegetation and soil fertility (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003eb).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eData were collected during the rainy season (July to October 2023). In each site, the fields were visited with the owner's permission to identify accessible populations of \u003cem\u003eS. birrea\u003c/em\u003e for measurements and understand their management. A total of 150 plots were selected using a stratified random sampling method across the three land-use types. In fields and fallows, 120 square plots (50 \u0026times; 50 m) were established, while 30 rectangular plots (50 \u0026times; 20 m) were set up in classified forest. Plot sizes followed the savannas vegetation surveys guidelines (Thiombiano et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR40\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e). Sampling was based on the presence at least four trees of \u003cem\u003eS. birrea\u003c/em\u003e individuals, with a minimum distance of 100 m maintained between plots within each land use type (Aleza et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e). In each plot, all woody species were recorded to assess diversity and composition. Species that could not be identified \u003cem\u003ein situ\u003c/em\u003e, were sampled for later determination using the catalogue of vascular plants of Burkina Faso (Thiombiano et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR41\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e), and names were checked with World Plant Names Index (\u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://wfoplantlist.org/plant-list\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"https://wfoplantlist.org/plant-list\" targettype=\"URL\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e). Tree height and diameter at breast height (DBH\u0026thinsp;\u0026ge;\u0026thinsp;5 cm) were measured for all woody species.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTo assess \u003cem\u003eS. birrea\u003c/em\u003e regeneration, five subplots of 5 x 5 m were placed at each plot\u0026rsquo;s four corners and center. In each sub-plot, seedlings, suckers and coppices was recorded and classified following previous studies (Aleza et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e; Kabr\u0026eacute; et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e; Ou\u0026eacute;draogo et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR33\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e). Seedlings grow from germination of seed (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003ea), suckers from lateral roots (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003eb) and coppices are juvenile plant from cut or burned tree stumps (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003ec).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec6\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003eStatistical analysis\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"BlockQuote\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eInfluence of land use on the diversity and composition of woody species associated with\u003c/b\u003e \u003cb\u003eS. birrea\u003c/b\u003e \u003cb\u003estands\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe composition, abundance, and taxonomic diversity of woody species associated with \u003cem\u003eS. birrea\u003c/em\u003e were analyzed across land use types. Stand diversity was assessed using Hill\u0026rsquo;s framework (Hill \u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1973\u003c/span\u003e) with the \u003cem\u003eBiodiversityR\u003c/em\u003e package (Kindt 2022), by calculating four indices:\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eN0\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;S; with S the number of species in a plot;\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eN1\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;e\u003csup\u003eH\u0026rsquo;\u003c/sup\u003e; with H\u0026rsquo; Shannon\u0026rsquo;s index;\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eN2\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;1/D, D\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;is the Simpson\u0026rsquo;s diversity index;\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEvenness (E)\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;H\u0026prime;/ln(S).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOne-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to assess the effect of land use on diversity indices (N0, N1, N2, and Evenness). When significant, Tukey\u0026rsquo;s HSD test identified pairwise differences between land use types. Species composition across land-use types was assessed using ANOSIM and visualized with NMDS based on species abundance and dominance data. The ecological importance of woody species co-occurring with \u003cem\u003eS. birrea\u003c/em\u003e was evaluated using the Importance Value Index (IVI), which ranges from 0 to 300 (Mueller-Dombois and Ellenberg \u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1974\u003c/span\u003e). The IVI was calculated by summing three components:\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRelative Frequency\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;frequency of a species/sum of all frequencies \u0026times; 100;\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRelative density\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;number of individuals of a species / total number of individuals \u0026times; 100\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRelative Dominance\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;total basal area of a species/basal area of all species \u0026times; 100\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eImportance Value Index\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Relative density\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;Relative dominance\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;Relative frequency.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor each land use type, the 20 species with the highest IVI were selected to illustrate patterns in dominant woody species composition.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eEffect of land use on the density of adult, seedling, suckers and coppices of\u003c/b\u003e \u003cb\u003eS. birrea\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eStructural parameters of \u003cem\u003eS. birrea\u003c/em\u003e included basal area (G), density (N), mean diameter (D\u003csub\u003eg\u003c/sub\u003e), and Lorey\u0026rsquo;s mean height (HL) were assessed. G\u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\:=\\frac{{\\pi\\:}}{40000\\:\\text{S}}\\sum\\:_{\\text{i}=1}^{\\text{n}}\\text{d}\\text{i}\u0026sup2;;\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\:di\\:\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003ethe DBH of i-th tree (Philip, 2002). N= n/S, with n the average number of individuals per plot and S as the area expressed in hectares. HL expressed: \u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\:\\text{H}\\text{L}=\\frac{\\sum\\:_{i=1}^{k}gihi}{{\\sum\\:}_{i=1}^{k}gi}\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e ; expresses the height of the individuals adjusted by the basal area. The natural regeneration was calculated \u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\:Nr=\\frac{\\sum\\:_{l=1}^{k}{N}_{l}{\\stackrel{-}{N}}_{rl}}{n}\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e; with \u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\:{\\stackrel{-}{N}}_{rl}=\\left(\\frac{1}{{n}_{l}}\\right)\\sum\\:_{i=1}^{{n}_{l}}{y}_{li}\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e; \u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\:Nr\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e is the mean density of S. birrea regeneration within land use, n the total number of sampling,\u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\:\\:{N}_{l}\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e is the mean density of adults \u003cem\u003eS. birrea\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\:{y}_{li}\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e, the regeneration density withon i\u003csup\u003eth\u003c/sup\u003e plot of the stand (Bonou et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e). ANOVA was used to compare structural parameters among land use types.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize class distribution of\u003c/b\u003e \u003cb\u003eS. birrea\u003c/b\u003e \u003cb\u003eacross land use\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDiameter and height class distributions based on Condit et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1998\u003c/span\u003e) were used to interpret the status of \u003cem\u003eS. birrea\u003c/em\u003e populations according to land use types. DBH data were computed and assembled in ten diameter classes of regular interval whereas five height classes were established for regeneration stratum. To assess population structure, the 3-parameter Weibull theoretical distribution model was applied due to its flexibility and simplicity (Gl\u0026egrave;l\u0026egrave; Kaka\u0026iuml; et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e). The density function f(x) was define below:\u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\:\\:f\\left(x\\right)=\\frac{c}{b}{\\left(\\frac{x-a}{b}\\right)}^{c-1}\\text{exp}\\left[-{\\left(\\frac{x-a}{b}\\right)}^{c}\\right];\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e where, a is the location parameter, b is the scale parameter, c is the shape parameter, x is the diameter. The Weibull distribution can take several forms depending on the value of the shape parameter. Value of \u003cem\u003ec\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;1 generally indicate populations with high regeneration potential (reverse J-shaped distribution), whereas values of \u003cem\u003ec\u003c/em\u003e near or greater than 1 (flatter, unimodal, or left skewed distributions) indicate populations with a lower regeneration potential. Many factors, however, affect the \u003cem\u003ec\u003c/em\u003e value and it, must be interpreted with caution, but generally the higher the \u003cem\u003ec\u003c/em\u003e, the higher the tendency for population decline and vulnerability to extirpation (Lykke et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e). A log-linear analysis was performed to test the adequacy of the observed structure to the Weibull distribution. The hypothesis of adequacy between both distributions is accepted if the probability value of the test is higher than 0.05. All statistical analyses were performed in R (R Core Team, 2022).\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Results","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eInfluence of land use type on diversity and composition of woody species associated with\u003c/b\u003e \u003cb\u003eS. birrea\u003c/b\u003e \u003cb\u003estands\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA total of 99 woody species belonging to 66 genera and 28 families were recorded across the four study sites (Appendix A). The represented families were Fabaceae (29%), Combretaceae (15%), Malvaceae (7%), Rubiaceae (6%), and Anacardiaceae (5%). Forest areas had the highest species richness with 84 species, followed by fallow areas with 80 species, and fields with 58 species (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHill\u0026rsquo;s diversity indices revealed significant differences among land-use types for N0, N1, and N2, but not for evenness (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eDiversity indices of \u003cem\u003eS. birrea\u003c/em\u003e stand according to and land use\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/caption\u003e\u003ccolgroup cols=\"6\"\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eParameters\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eField\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eFallow\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eForest\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eFisher statistic\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePr(\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;F)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/thead\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eN0 (Richness)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e18.1\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;4.96c\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e24.1\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;11.3b\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e27.6\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;7.76a\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e4.63\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.0122 **\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eN1 (Exp.\u003csup\u003eH\u003c/sup\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e11.0\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;3.23b\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e14.3\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;7.53a\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e15.0\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;4.31a\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e2.10\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.0135**\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eN2 (1/D)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1.10\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.06b\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1.18\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.08a\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1.90\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.04a\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e2.56\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.038*\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eEvenness (E)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.80\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.05a\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.81\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.07a\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.821\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.04a\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.67\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.516\u003csup\u003ens\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLegend: a, b, c\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Tukey-HPT: levels with different letters are significantly different, *** P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001, ** P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01, * P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05; ns\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;non-significant; F\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Statistic of Fisher.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNMDS ordination showed a forest-fallow-field gradient (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e). \u003cem\u003eSclerocarya birrea\u003c/em\u003e had an IVI in fields (146.0), fallows (127.3), and forest (123.4) (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e). Other dominant species included \u003cem\u003eCombretum micranthum\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eCombretum glutinosum\u003c/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eGuiera senegalensis\u003c/em\u003e, especially in forest and fallow. \u003cem\u003eSenegalia gourmaensis\u003c/em\u003e was mainly found in forest, while \u003cem\u003eVitellaria paradoxa\u003c/em\u003e dominated field and fallow but was less common in forest.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eVariation in \u003cem\u003eS. birrea\u003c/em\u003e stands composition according to land use types\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/caption\u003e\u003ccolgroup cols=\"4\"\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSpecies\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c4\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eImportance value Index\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eFallow\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eField\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eForest\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/thead\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eBalanites aegytiaca\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e74.0\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e71.5\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e81.7\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eCombretum adenogonium\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e56.0\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e14.2\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e55.7\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eCombretum glutinosum\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e76.8\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e74.9\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e66.1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eCombretum micranthum\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e104.3\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e44.7\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e110.5\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eCombretum nigricans\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e60.6\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e72.8\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e76.8\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDichrostachys cinera\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e34.6\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e42.2\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e49.1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eEntada africana\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e34.1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e34.3\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e68.5\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eFeretia apodanthera\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e49.1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e13.7\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e66.3\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eGardenia ternifolia\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e20.5\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e55.2\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eGrewia bicolor\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e48.8\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e7.1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e55.9\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eGrewia flavescens\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e13.5\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e37.2\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e62.7\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eGrewia mollis\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e78.6\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e27.9\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e70.4\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eGuiera senegalensis\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e87.2\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e51.8\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e61.6\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eLannea acida\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e76.4\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e47.6\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e68.5\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eLannea microcarpa\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e76.9\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e78.4\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e54.8\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSclerocarya birrea\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e127.3\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e146.0\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e123.4\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSenegalia gourmaensis\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e56.1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSenegalia macrostachya\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e78.1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e51.0\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e95.7\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eVitellaria paradoxa\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e6.2\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e56.8\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e48.9\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eStructural parameters of\u003c/b\u003e \u003cb\u003eS. birrea\u003c/b\u003e \u003cb\u003eamong land use types\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAdult tree density was twice as high in forest compared to fallow and quadrupled as high compared to field (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e). Conversely, field had the highest basal area, mean diameter and Lorey\u0026rsquo;s mean height compared to fallow and forest. Furthermore, G, Dg and HL did not differ significantly between forest and fallow (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig6\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e). In terms of natural regeneration, seedling was higher abundant in field compared to fallow and forest, whereas sucker and coppices densities showed no significant variation (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab3\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 3\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eNatural regeneration of \u003cem\u003eS. birrea\u003c/em\u003e in different land use type.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/caption\u003e\u003ccolgroup cols=\"6\"\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eRegeneration\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eField\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eFallows\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eForest\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eF\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePr(\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;F)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/thead\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSeedlings\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e311.7\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;42.9\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e40.3\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;75.5\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e88.6\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;89.6\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e3.146\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.0459 *\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSuckers\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1.3\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;12.9\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e13.6\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;58.6\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e4.6\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;22.4\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1.461\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.235\u003csup\u003ens\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eCoppices\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e7.3\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;51.1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e2.6\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;33.0\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e5.3\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;37.0\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.583\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.559\u003csup\u003ens\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\u003ctfoot\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"6\"\u003e* Significantly different values Confidence intervalle 95%, ns\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;non-significant, F\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Fischer statistic\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tfoot\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize classes distribution and population structure of\u003c/b\u003e \u003cb\u003eS. birrea\u003c/b\u003e \u003cb\u003eacross land use types\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDBH size classes distribution showed a bell-shaped curve in fields indicating low regeneration potential, with low abundance of individuals in the smallest diameter size, and a high individual ranging from 25 to 40 cm (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig7\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003ea). In contrast, fallows and forests showed reverse J-shaped distributions, characteristic of stable populations, though dominated by intermediate diameters (10\u0026ndash;25 cm), reflecting moderate but insufficient regeneration. Slope and r\u0026sup2; values confirm the absence of small individuals in fields and a steady population trend in fallows and forests (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e). Regarding the height classes structure, seedlings were dominant across all land use types, especially in fields followed by forests (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig7\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003eb). Coppices and suckers were rare and uneven, with suckers slightly more frequent in fallows.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab4\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 4\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eLinear regression models illustrating the demographic trend of the \u003cem\u003eS. birrea\u003c/em\u003e by land use type\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/caption\u003e\u003ccolgroup cols=\"4\"\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eLand use type\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eEquations\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003er\u0026sup2;\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ep-value\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/thead\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eField\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eY\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.3683x\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;1.9609\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.24\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.15\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eFallow\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eY = -1.0548x\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;0.2405\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.96\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.031\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eForest\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eY = -0.3929x\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;4.2792\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.77\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.002\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThis study assessed the ecological impact of land use type on the woody\u0026rsquo;s diversity, regeneration pattern and population structure of \u003cem\u003eS. birrea\u003c/em\u003e stands. Results indicated that land use type affect composition and diversity of \u003cem\u003eS. birrea\u003c/em\u003e across land use. Higher abundance of adults in the protected areas than in field and fallow where the biggest individuals were found. Higher abundance of seedling was recorded in field than both fallow and forest, whereas suckers and coppices showed similar densities across all land use. There was a marked difference in the population structure of the species according to land use.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eInfluence of land use on diversity and composition of woody species associated with\u003c/b\u003e \u003cb\u003eS. birrea\u003c/b\u003e \u003cb\u003estands\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe woody species associated with \u003cem\u003eS. birrea\u003c/em\u003e show high diversity, with 99 species recorded across study sites, representing about 19% of Burkina Faso\u0026rsquo;s vascular flora (Thiombiano et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR41\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e). This richness aligns with previous studies in similar savanna zones (Balima et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e; Taonda et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR39\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e). Dominant families include Fabaceae, Combretaceae, Malvaceae, and Anacardiaceae, all typical of dry tropical savannas (Zerbo et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR46\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR44\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e). These families are adapted to harsh climates and frequent disturbances. \u003cem\u003eS. birrea\u003c/em\u003e tends to associate with stress-tolerant species, contributing to system resilience. Hill diversity indices confirm its coexistence with ecologically compatible taxa (Pennington et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR34\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e). The species' broad ecological tolerance supports its persistence in degraded or managed areas. Land use strongly influences species composition. Forests and fallows had higher IVI and diversity values than fields, suggesting better ecological conditions and lower disturbance levels. NMDS ordination revealed a forest-fallow-field gradient in species composition indicating that field showed low richness and altered population structures due to intensive land use. Farmers select trees based on utility, often preserving \u003cem\u003eVitellaria paradoxa\u003c/em\u003e and removing less useful species (Djossa et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2008\u003c/span\u003e; Aleza et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e). Key species like \u003cem\u003eCombretum micranthum\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eGuiera senegalensis\u003c/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eVitellaria paradoxa\u003c/em\u003e co-occur with \u003cem\u003eS. birrea\u003c/em\u003e, indicating ecological compatibility and reflecting field management. \u003cem\u003eSenegalia gourmaensis\u003c/em\u003e was restricted to forests, while \u003cem\u003eV. paradoxa\u003c/em\u003e dominated field and fallow. Forest and fallow harbored more native species and lower human impact, supporting functional ecosystems. Despite illegal logging, protected areas remain among the most diverse savannas in West Africa (Traor\u0026eacute; et al. 2020; Zon et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR48\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e). Across land uses, Fabaceae and Combretaceae remained dominant, showing adaptation to disturbance. These findings highlight the need to integrate biodiversity conservation into land-use planning, particularly in agricultural landscapes.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eStructural parameters of\u003c/b\u003e \u003cb\u003eS. birrea\u003c/b\u003e \u003cb\u003eamong land use types\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe study revealed a significant difference in tree density among land use types, for both adults and juveniles, with a higher abundance in forest, followed by fallow, and tend to be critically reduced in field. Similar patterns were observed in Benin, where adult density dropped ninefold from protected areas to agroforestry systems due to human activities (Gouwakinnou et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e). Despite this trend, our study recorded higher densities of \u003cem\u003eS. birrea\u003c/em\u003e than several previous studies (Shackleton et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2003\u003c/span\u003e; Nghitoolwa et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR32\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2003\u003c/span\u003e; Agbogan et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e; Abdourahmane et al. 2017). For instance, Shackleton et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2003\u003c/span\u003e) reported 4.2 stems/ha in fields and 13.4 stems/ha in protected areas in South Africa, while Nghitoolwa et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR32\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2003\u003c/span\u003e) found only 1.5 stems/ha in Namibian farms. Agbogan et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e) noted variable densities across topographies: 39 stems/ha on low plateaus, 2 on plains, 9 on foothills, and 3 on hills. Larger individuals in fields may result from lower interspecific competition and disturbance. Positive community attitudes towards \u003cem\u003eS. birrea\u003c/em\u003e management, as seen in South Africa (Sinthumule and Mzamani 2019), also prevail in Burkina Faso, explaining the higher abundance of the species. This appreciation is linked to its socio-economic importance and market value, enhancing rural livelihoods. \u003cem\u003eS. birrea\u003c/em\u003e pulp is mostly use by children and women who pick up mature fallen fruits for processing to local juice and seed extraction for pit (Moussa et al. 2002). Seedling, coppices and suckers occur as patterns of natural regeneration of the \u003cem\u003eS. birrea\u003c/em\u003e across land use. Similar observation was reported for \u003cem\u003eSenegalia macrostachya\u003c/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eSaba senegalensis\u003c/em\u003e across the same land use types (Kabre et al. 2020; Ouedraogo et al. 2025). These results prove that \u003cem\u003eS. birrea\u003c/em\u003e has a good natural regeneration potential that can be promoted for sustainable management and conservation of the species in agroforestry systems. However, higher seedling abundance in field compared to fallow and forest, result from farming practices that bury fallen fruits, enhancing seed germination, as previously observed by Gouwakinnou et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e). In contrast, higher abundance of coppices suggesting that \u003cem\u003eS. birrea\u003c/em\u003e individuals are facing anthropogenic threat, and good management challenges in field and fallow due to tree cutting. This required specific attention by raising famer\u0026rsquo;s awareness to integrate natural assisted regeneration practices of the species, such it is done for most multipurpose species like \u003cem\u003eTamarindus indica\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eVitellaria paradoxa\u003c/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eParkia biglobosa\u003c/em\u003e (Fandohan et al. 2010; Byakagaba et al. 2011; Lokonon et al. 2022). In contrast, the densities of suckers and coppices did not show significant variation among land-use types, suggesting that vegetative regeneration is less influenced by land use and more dependent on micro-site conditions or the physiological state of individual trees. These patterns indicate that while agricultural fields may favor sexual regeneration through seeds, vegetative regeneration remains stable across landscapes, underlining the resilience of \u003cem\u003eS. birrea\u003c/em\u003e and the need for land-use sensitive conservation strategies. Furthermore, \u003cem\u003eS. birrea\u003c/em\u003e is found in all climatic zones in Burkina Faso and can be promoted as an agroforestry species to improve yield and diversify production systems.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize classes distribution and population structure of\u003c/b\u003e \u003cb\u003eS. birrea\u003c/b\u003e \u003cb\u003eacross land use types\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe bell-shaped DBH distribution in field, characterized by a scarcity of small-diameter individuals and dominance of larger size classes trees, suggests a senescing population with limited regeneration. This may result from a selective preservation of mature trees and total fruit harvesting by farmers causing poor regeneration conditions. According to Nightoolwa et al. (2003), farmers likely preserved trees with \u0026le;\u0026thinsp;40 cm Dbh in fields for fruit yield. Agricultural land clearing, grazing and/or harvesting of fodder, medicinal products providence, and absence of protection measures led to the unstable structure. In contrast, the reverse J-shaped curves observed in fallow and forest indicate of more stable populations, although the dominance of intermediate diameter classes (10\u0026ndash;25 cm) points to regeneration constraints, possibly due to competition, grazing, or fire. The presence of trees in 5 to 10 cm class is influenced by age of the fallow (at a mean of 7 years), and to the good monitoring of the forest concerned in this study. This supports the assertion that protected areas are more effective in conserving woody species (Houehanou et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e) and highlights the role of fallows in restoring soil fertility and biodiversity (Kabor\u0026eacute; et al. 2012). Height class analysis showed an overall predominance of seedlings, particularly in field, which may reflect favorable germination conditions, although seedling survival and growth into larger classes appear limited. Similar result was reported by Abdourhamane et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e) for the same species. According the above authors, \u003cem\u003eS\u003c/em\u003e. \u003cem\u003ebirrea\u003c/em\u003e has bulk germination in field during cultivating period, but famers destroyed most of seedlings which limited the recruitment in juvenile stage in field. Coppices and suckers were rare and unevenly distributed across land uses, indicating that vegetative regeneration plays a minor role in \u003cem\u003eS. birrea\u003c/em\u003e population renewal. It is therefore important to develop simple and effective techniques to enhance seed germination, making it easier to produce vigorous seedlings in nurseries. These seedlings can then be used for reforestation efforts, supporting the integration of \u003cem\u003eS. birrea\u003c/em\u003e into agroforestry systems and the restoration of degraded lands.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Conclusion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThis study showed that land use type influences both regeneration and population structure of \u003cem\u003eS. birrea\u003c/em\u003e. The population structure is well conserved in fallow and forest, but unstable in fields. The absence of good management practices, such as seedling protection, compromises long-term resource availability. Fields under cultivation showed low tree densities and larger individuals in diameter, height, and basal area. This reflects the species\u0026rsquo; importance for local people. However, \u003cem\u003eS. birrea\u003c/em\u003e faces over-exploitation and poor management. Nursery production could help farmers interested in planting. Natural-assisted regeneration is also needed to conserve saplings in fields. Plantations are recommended for both protected and degraded areas to enhance ecosystem functions and services for \u003cem\u003eS. birrea\u003c/em\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAcknowledgments \u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors are grateful to Danida for financial support through Climate change Resilience of Ecosystem Services (CRES) project (project no 20-13-GHA). They are indebted to field guides their kind assistance in data collection, and also to forest managers in Wayen, Tiogo, Boromo and Bondoukuy for facilitation accessibility in forest.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCredit authorship contribution:\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSatassa Hien\u003c/strong\u003e: Writing- original draft, Visualization, Software, Methodology, Investigation, Formal analysis, Data curation and Conceptualization. \u003cstrong\u003eLassina Traore\u003c/strong\u003e: Writing- Original draft, Validation, Software, Methodology, Data curation, Conceptualization, Review and editing draft. \u003cstrong\u003eAbdoul Aziz Kabore\u003c/strong\u003e: Writing-original draft, Validation, Software, Methodology, Data curation, Conceptualization and draft editing, \u003cstrong\u003eYaya Maiga\u003c/strong\u003e: Vizualization, \u003cstrong\u003eAnne Mette Lykke\u003c/strong\u003e: Visualization, Methodology, Formal analysis and conceptualization. Formal analysis, Data curation, Writing-review and editing, \u003cstrong\u003eKuilpoko Marie Laure Guissou\u003c/strong\u003e: Writing review and editing, Visualization, Validation, Supervision, Funding acquisition, Supervision and Project administration.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFunding\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis work was supported by the Danida through Climate change Resilience of Ecosystem Services (CRES) project (project no 20-13-GHA).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCompeting interests\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis article is an original research and the authors declare that they have known competing financial interest or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence this work.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eData availability\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eData will be made available on request.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAbdourhamane H, Rabiou H, Diouf A, Morou B, Mahamane A, Bellefontaine R (2017) Structure d\u0026eacute;mographique et r\u0026eacute;partition spatiale des populations de \u003cem\u003eSclerocarya birrea\u003c/em\u003e (A. 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Global Ecology and Conservation. 44. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2023.e02476\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1016/j.gecco.2023.e02476\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"agroforestry-systems","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"agfo","sideBox":"Learn more about [Agroforestry Systems](http://link.springer.com/journal/10457)","snPcode":"10457","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/10457/3","title":"Agroforestry Systems","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Sclerocarya birrea, regeneration, population structure, West Africa","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7372915/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7372915/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSclerocarya birrea\u003c/em\u003e is a keystone species in the diet, traditions, and culture of local communities in West Africa. This study assessed the impact of land use type on the woody\u0026rsquo;s diversity, regeneration pattern and population structure of \u003cem\u003eSclerocarya birrea\u003c/em\u003e stands to implement a strong management scheme. Data were collected from 150 plots across field, fallow, and forest in Burkina Faso. Regeneration was recorded as seedling, suckers and coppices in diameter height classes. Hill diversity indices were used to determine the effect of land use in stands diversity. Weibull theoretical model was applied to analyze size classes distribution. Land use significantly influenced \u003cem\u003eSclerocarya birrea\u003c/em\u003e stands diversity and structure, with the lowest diversity recorded in field. The largest and tallest individuals were recorded in field while fallow and forest had the maximum tree density. Seedling is the most common regeneration type, especially with higher density in flied. However, diameter size classes distribution revealed unstable structure population in field while fallow and forest were more stable. This study highlights the need to improve juvenile management and promote low-cost nursery techniques for \u003cem\u003eSclerocarya birrea\u003c/em\u003e. Famer\u0026rsquo;s should support seedlings protection in agroforestry systems for better sustainable use and long-term preservation of the species.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Population structure and regeneration status of Sclerocarya birrea (A. Rich.) Hochst. under different land use types in Burkina Faso, West Africa","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-12-08 09:51:23","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7372915/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2026-01-08T11:27:41+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-01-06T20:38:01+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-01-05T19:52:47+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-01-02T13:54:45+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"312201586130716284972884872821507679639","date":"2025-12-06T16:37:52+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-12-06T16:00:50+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"79453298097248182720079449531128344233","date":"2025-12-06T12:08:21+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"204197956085811370854140311770944504283","date":"2025-12-04T22:18:16+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"84616103179318680169309775725537365021","date":"2025-12-04T19:29:57+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"86124011989380948628589235646083140885","date":"2025-12-04T19:29:42+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"244599817996732860449943822256022428858","date":"2025-12-04T19:13:57+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-12-04T16:33:51+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-08-14T12:19:46+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-08-14T11:40:56+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Agroforestry Systems","date":"2025-08-14T10:35:38+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"agroforestry-systems","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"agfo","sideBox":"Learn more about [Agroforestry Systems](http://link.springer.com/journal/10457)","snPcode":"10457","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/10457/3","title":"Agroforestry Systems","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"ba5f624c-305d-4739-91ad-be1f86fd8f54","owner":[],"postedDate":"December 8th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-04-24T12:53:32+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-12-08 09:51:23","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7372915","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7372915","identity":"rs-7372915","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}