Background: African locust bean tree (Parkia biglobosa) is a multipurpose species used widely in arid Africa by local communities. The present study focused on ethnic differences in use values and use patterns of P. biglobosa in Northern Benin, where the species widely grows. The use values according to the various ethnic groups in the study area have been evaluated in detail for P. biglobosa. Methods: From 13 ethnic groups, 1587 people were interviewed in the study area using semi-structured questionnaires. Principal Component Analysis was applied to analyze the use value and the use patterns of P. biglobosa for the different ethnic groups. Results: All interviewees in the study area knew at least one use of P. biglobosa. The various uses identified were medicinal (47%), handicraft and domestic (3%), medico-magic (1%), veterinary (1%), cultural (1%), food (25%) and commercial (22%). The various parts involved in these types of uses were: fruits [shell (2%), pulp (22%) and seeds (36%)], bark (17%), leaves (9%), roots (3%), flowers (1%) and branches (10%). The ethnic group consensus values for P. biglobosa parts showed that the seeds are used the most. The interviewees diversity value (ID) and equitability value (IE) indicated that knowledge concerning P. biglobosa use was distributed homogeneously among the ethnic groups. Conclusions: P. biglobosa is well-known and used in different ways by the local populations in the study area. Local knowledge on the species is diversified and influenced by ethnic group. Ethnic differences in use values and use patterns of the species were evident in this study.

Dialium guineense is a multipurpose species useful in many respects. It is used in agroforestry and the trade of most of its organs is source of income for rural populations. Despite the high interests of this species to populations, we do not know much about how its spatial distribution could be impacted by climate change and which strategies to implement for its sustainable use and conservation. In order to overcome these challenges, MaxEnt was used to model the ecological niche of D. guineense and different decision thresholds were used to interpret and classify the outputs. Climate will impact the distribution of D. guineense. Indeed under Africlim rcp 4.5 horizon 2055, the predicted stable areas of species distribution will be about 73% of West Africa when the threshold of the minimum training presence is considered and will decrease to 12% when the threshold of the maximum training sensitivity plus specificity is considered. Under Africlim 8.5 horizon 2055, the corresponding values for the stable areas of the species are, respectively 70 and 8% of the study area. In comparison with the global results of West Africa, in Benin, D. guineense will be less threatened by climate change. As strategies for sustainable use and conservation of the species, growing and introducing it in its favorable areas to account for its absence or low densities, is recommended. Also, building capacities to the users of the species so that they can grow it on their farms is recommended. Key words: Dialium guineense, ecological niche modeling, biodiversity conservation.

Chrysophyllum albidumis a forest food tree species of the Sapotaceae family bearing large berries of nutrition, sanitary, and commercial value in many African countries. Because of its socioeconomic importance,C. albidumis threatened at least by human pressure. However, we do not know to what extent climate change can impact its distribution or whether it is possible to introduce the species in other tropical regions. To resolve our concerns, we decided to model the spatial distribution of the species. We then used the SDM package for data modeling in R to compare the predictive performances of algorithms among the most commonly used: three machine learning algorithms (MaxEnt, boosted regression trees, and random forests) and three regression algorithms (generalized linear model, generalized additive models, and multivariate adaptive regression spline). We performed model transfers in tropical Asia and Latin America. At the scale of Africa, predictions with respect to Maxent under Africlim (scenarios RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5, horizon 2055) and MIROCES2L (scenarios SSP245 and SSP585, horizon 2060) showed that the suitable areas ofC. albidum, within threshold values of the most contributing variables to the models, will extend mostly in West, East, Central, and Southern Africa as well as in East Madagascar. As opposed to Maxent, in Africa, the predictions for the future of BRT and RF were unrealistic with respect to the known ecology ofC. albidum.All the algorithms except Maxent (for tropical Asia only), were consistent in predicting a successful introduction ofC. albidumin Latin America and tropical Asia, both at present and in the future. We therefore recommend the introduction and cultivation ofChrysophyllum albidumin the predicted suitable areas of Latin America and tropical Asia, along with vegetation inventories in order to discover likely, sister or vicarious species ofChrysophyllum albidumthat can be new to Science. Africlim is more successful than MIROCES2L in predicting realistic suitable areas ofChrysophyllum albidumin Africa. We therefore recommend to the authors of Africlim an update of Africlim models to comply with the sixth Assessment Report (AR6) of IPCC.

The impact of anthropogenic activities on the spatiotemporal dynamics of the forest of Dogo-Kétou has been studied in relation to climate change observed in southeastern Benin. Especially, this study has detected the changes in climate parameters in southeast Benin from 1954 to 2016 and in forestland use from 1986 to 2018. A climatic break was detected, and the annual and monthly rainfall and temperature averages, the rainfall indexes, the concentration of precipitation, the number of rainy days according to the World Meteorological Organization and the bioclimatic aridity indexes were assessed. A GIS analysis was also performed based on Landsat images from 1986, 2000 and 2018 to detect the dynamic of land use and land cover of the classified forest of Dogo-Kétou. Excel 2016, R_{x64 4.1.2}, Rclimdex₃₀₁, Khronostat_1.01 and ArcGIS were used. The rainfall series showed a break in 1969. The segment from 1954 to 1968 was a period of excess rainfall with an average of 1420.46 mm/year. The segment from 1969 to 2016 was a rainfall deficit period with a reduction of 12 to 37% of rainy days and an increase of dry days for 21.4 days/year. In this last segment, southeast Benin experienced trends of its climate towards a sub-arid and arid climate. The agglomerations and bare soil of the forest of Dogo-Kétou increased to an area almost double the size between 1986 and 2018. The tree and shrub savannas gained in space from 12.1% in 2000 to 38.9% in 2018 and the dense forest and wooded savannas regressed by 52.6% in 1986 to 36.1% in 2000 then to 4.3% of the forest area in 2018. The subequatorial climate of southeastern Benin is gradually evolving towards a dry climate. The dense forest in this area is also gradually disappearing, giving way to savannas. This transformation towards the savannas was due to anthropogenic actions whose effects were strongly accentuated by climate change in this part of Benin and West Africa.

Discovery of and access to primary biodiversity data are critical components in informed decision-making regarding sustainable use of biological resources and conservation of biodiversity. Primary biodiversity data are increasingly available from Benin, but information about completeness of this information across the country is still lacking for most groups. This study analyzed the Digital Accessible Knowledge regarding the plants of Benin to identify gaps in both geographic and environmental dimensions. Many gaps exist in plant data for Benin, particularly in the northern most departments; central and southern Benin are better known, but some gaps remain even there. The resulting view of Beninese Digital Accessible Knowledge can guide future inventory and data discovery efforts.

Benin is not a big forest country, and the sustainable management of forest relics and their resources is a priority for the managers. This study was conducted in the forest regions of Pob and Ktou located in Southeast Benin with the objective of characterizing the ethnobotanical forest species prioritized by the local populations for their different uses. Specifically, it aimed to identify the ethnobotanical priority species for conservation, characterize the ethnobotanical value of these priority species, and analyze the tree organ harvesting methods used for the sustainable management of the forest species. Data have been collected from 287 local populations investigated and on the specimens collected on the field, which allowed to identify the scientific name. The combination of the citation frequencies, the method of reproduction, the vulnerability scores, and the IUCN status of the species has allowed to identify five priority ethnobotanical species per forest. The software R_i386_3.5.1 has been used for the different analysis such as the calculation of the various frequencies and the correspondence factor analysis to show the relationships between socioethnic groups, organs used, and the categories of use. The priority species identified in the forest of Pob are Milicia excelsa, Khaya senegalensis, Anogeissus leiocarpa, Ceiba pentandra, and Adansonia digitata. The priority species identified in the forest of Dogo-Ktou are Vitellaria paradoxa, Prosopis africana, Pterocarpus erinaceus, Khaya senegalensis, and Anogeissus leiocarpa. This study has revealed 54 tree species gathered into 47 genera and 25 botanical families. Their different parts have been harvested for many kinds of utilization such as medicinal, commercial, feeding, medico-magic, and artisanal. The most commonly used organs were leaves, fruits, seeds, barks, roots, and wood. The harvesting methods include cutting poles, cutting twigs and branches to harvest leaves, debarking the trunk, felling trees for wood, cutting roots, picking and harvesting fruits and seeds, and harvesting of flowers. Cutting down trees and picking flowers, fruits, and seeds have been the methods of harvesting, which affect negatively regeneration of the tree populations. It is then important to sensitize the local people on the sustainable management of their forest resources through the conception and implementation of a project program focused on forest conservation.