Anarchic urbanization and land artificialization expose urban ecosystems and ecosystem services (ES) to threat. Urban ecosystems and trees play a crucial role in improving urban environments, and their management depends on the perceptions and preferences of urban residents. An assessment of the socio-ecological factors determining the perception of the actors allows for the proper design and planning of ecological urban policies and urban adaptation to climate change. The objective of this work was to determine the key determinants (factors) of urban stakeholders’ perceptions of ES in generating socio-ecological information for planning and preservation of ecosystems in Cotonou municipality. In this way, we assessed the perception and discriminating variables of the different stakeholders of urban ES provided in the city of Cotonou. Thus, 381 city dwellers were individually interviewed after statistical sampling. Focus group discussions with the stakeholders also made it possible to highlight the ES provided in the different land use units (LU). The results show that 73.23% of the city dwellers agreed that they were aware of ecosystem services. The hierarchical classification shows two homogeneous groups of perceivers with ethnicity, age, and education as statistically discriminating sociological variables (pv ˂ 0.001). Urban dwellers in the city of Cotonou perceived more SEs in the cultural and regulatory services category significantly (pv < 0.001; v-test > 3). The principal component analysis (PCA) reveals the varying availability of ES according to the different LU in the city. It will be worthwhile to apply this study in the processes of decision-making in climate and environment policy planning for sustainable cities in Africa and all over the world because it adds scientific value.

Wetlands are recognized as hotspots of biodiversity and providers of several ecosystem services, including water purification, sediment stabilization, and flood, erosion, and climate regulation. This article aims to investigate the floristic diversity of the wetlands the Haho River watershed in southern Togo. Spatial data from Astrium service and Google Earth were collected, and phytosociological data were classified following the Braun–Blanquet approach. The findings indicate that 72 families in total have evolved in this environment, with Poaceae (14.95%) and Fabaceae (11.98%) dominating. The number of species was estimated to be 323; the three species that were most prevalent in the wetland’s habitats were Elaeis guineensis Jacq (2.44%), Panicum maximum Jacq (2.29%), and Lonchocarpus sericeus (Poir) H. B. K. (1.71%). The most prevalent and abundant life forms in these moist habitats were micro-phanerophytes (34.70%) and therophytes (23.50%). However, the most common and abundant chorological categories included pantropical (31.05%) and Guinean-Congolese species (21.46%). Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to examine how abiotic parameters, including depth/degree of immersion, influence the distribution of plant species in a wetland landscape. This research has the potential to be developed into a more robust action study for wetland classification and recognition.

L'étude caractérise les unités phytoécologiques des inselbergs granito-gneissiques du Sud-Est du Togo. La végétation a été décrite selon l'approche phytosociologique sigmatiste de BRAUN-BLANQUET. Sur chaque inselberg, des relevés floristiques (placettes de 100 m2 à 500 m2) ont été réalisés le long d'un transect joignant la pénéplaine au sommet. Chaque relevé est en outre caractérisé par des descripteurs écologiques. Les données collectées ont été encodées dans plusieurs matrices, adaptées aux formats des logiciels, en vue des traitements statistiques. La Detendred Correspondance Analysis (DCA), la Classification Ascendante Hiérarchique (CAH) et le Twinspan ont été appliqués aux relevés afin d'identifier les unités phytosociologiques et leurs caractéristiques écologiques. Les inventaires floristiques ont permis de relever 291 espèces appartenant à 223 genres et 79 familles dont les plus représentées sont les Fabaceae (38,0 %), les Poaceae (30,4 %) et les Rubiaceae (26,6 %). Les phanérophytes et les thérophytes sont les types biologiques les plus abondants. Les espèces guinéo-congolaises (18,1 %) et les espèces soudano-guinéennes (18,1 %) sont les types phytogéographiques prépondérants. Les espèces telles que Afrotrilepis pilosa et Cyanotis lanata représentent les angio-spermes endémiques ; mais l'étude a également révélé la présence d'une gymnosperme endémique (Encephalartos barteri). Six groupements végétaux ayant des physionomies de forêts sèches, de savanes, et de pelouses ont été identifiés. La distribution des formations végétales est liée à la profondeur des sols, en relation avec la position sur les inselbergs.

Anarchic urbanization and land artificialization expose urban ecosystems and Ecosystem Services (ES) to the threat. Urban ecosystems and trees play a crucial role in improving urban environments, and their management depends on the perceptions and preferences of urban residents. An assessment of the socio-ecological factors determining the perception of the actors allows for the proper design and planning of ecological urban policies and urban adaptation to climate change. In this study, we assessed the perception and discriminating variables of the different stakeholders of urban ES provided in the city of Cotonou. Thus, 381 city dwellers were individually interviewed after statistical sampling. Focus group discussions with the stakeholders also made it possible to highlight the ES provided in the different Land Use Units (LU). The results show that 73.23% of the city dwellers agreed that they were aware of ecosystem services. The hierarchical classification shows two homogeneous groups of perceivers with ethnicity, age and education as statistically discriminating sociological variables (pv˂0.001). Urban dwellers in the city of Cotonou perceived more SEs in the cultural and regulatory services category significantly (pv3). The principal component analysis (PCA) reveals the varying availability of ES according to the different LU in the city. This study adds scientific value in the application of urban ecology to decision-making in climate and environment policy planning for sustainable cities in Africa and all over the world.