Abstract:
The Haut-Sassandra Classified Forest (HSCF), located in the West-Center of Ivory Coast, has
suffered from forest cover reduction during the last decade because of both the politico-military
crises and claims for cocoa plantations. This reduction led to a decline in floristic diversity. The
present study consists in a current characterization and analysis of floristic composition
dynamics of HSCF over the past decade based on Kouamé's work in 1998. The methodology
used consisted of systematic sampling of the flora along transects. This study shows that the
HSCF embeds 622 plant species divided into 410 genera and 104 families. This flora is
composed of 45 endemic species from West Africa and 5 endemic species from Ivory Coast. 16
rare species and 23 vulnerable species are composing the other special-status species. The
regression of the forest cover has led to a major change in the flora with a decrease of about 40
% of the species richness compared to the inventories of Kouamé in 1998. |
