Influence of environmental conditions on Faidherbia albida Parklands in the Sudano Sahelian Zone of Cameroon

Natural populations or landraces contains a high level of genetic variation that can be used for the selection of plus trees in Faidherbia albida agroforestry parklands in the Sudano-Sahelian zone of Cameroon. With the high rate of deforestation and overpopulation in recent times, there is the danger of losing these naturally adapted landraces of trees. This study investigates the influence of environmental conditions (altitude, human activity, rainfall and soil types) on four (Kodex, Mambang, Dinao and Parkine) Faidherbia albida agroforestry parklands in Cameroon. A forest inventory sampling method with a set of 33 plots 200 m in diameter was established in the parklands to collect data. Phenotypic measurements (height, diameter at breast height, number of branches, crown diameter and calculated biovolume) were taken and leaf phenology was observed on 156 trees in addition to environmental conditions of the parklands. Species diversity was recorded only in the transects of Kodek and Parkine agroforestry parklands during the inventory. Significant differences were observed among the agroforestry parklands, the soil types, altitude, and human activities on the morphological parameters measured. The inverse phenology of Faidherbia albida was observed in three of the parklands with Mambang still conserving its leaves in the rainy season. A total of 1904 trees (1233 from Kodek and 671 from Parkine) were recorded during the species diversity inventory process from 63 species with Parkine parkland being the most diverse in species types with Shannon H = 2,058 index at Kodek and Shannon H = 2.53 index at Parkine. The results of this study indicated that diverse environmental conditions do exist in these parklands and have influenced the measured parameters. This information can aid in the selection of plus-trees for breeding, conservation and management of the species while the information on species diversity will assist in monitoring the dynamic of the parklands