Abstract
Accurate assessment and
monitoring of biomass are important for managing terrestrial ecosystems,
their sustainability especially for developing world. This case study
is interested in the Sudan Savanna agroforestry Parklands of North
Western Benin, where agroforestry parklands’ systems play key roles in
the socio-ecological system among which firewood energy.
For
many years, research endeavours reported the sustainability of the
system, nevertheless with little importance to population growth and the
related increasing firewood demand. To address this, various
biophysical and socio-economic data were collected on 137 households and
their plots belonging to 17 villages spread across Dassari catchment.
The
first Key findings are that, among the 3 main utilisations of trees in
the area, firewood is in the front line. Around 100% and 76% of the
households use firewood and NTFPs respectively, while only 8% of them
use trees for fodder.
Secondly, with an average firewood consumption of
1.026 kg per capita in rainy season again 0.814 kg in dry season, the
farmers consume more firewood in the rainy season (p<0.05). These
values correspond respectively to 1.559 kg and 2.015 kg when considering
farmers ‘perceptions. Therefore we conclude farmers tend to
overestimate the overall quantity consumed (p<0.01). Yet, there are
many factors impacting the amount of firewood used at the household
level although the farmers lack straightforward explanations.
Tree
branching (30%) is the most encountered firewood collection method. The
farmers prefer Combretum sp. (69%) among shrubs and Anogeissus
leiocarpus (23%) among trees. The analysis of the biomass (1, 153, 363,
780.44 ± 636305.2 kg corresponding to 235, 384, 2526 kg in terms of dry
wood) revealed that the catchment is a valuable source of carbon sink.
Nevertheless, the effect of population growth and climate change humper
its sustainability.