Land Use and Plant Diversity of the Dahliafleur Reserve of Bingerville (South of Côte d’Ivoire)

Abstract

Bingerville is one of the cities of the District of Abidjan which are experiencing rampant urbanization. Despite this urbanization, the government has managed to preserve an area called the Dahliafleur Reserve as a refuge for biodiversity in this highly urbanized area. The sustainable management of this Reserve inevitably requires knowledge of the different types of land use and flora. The objective of the present study was to determine the ecological role that this Reserve could play. Land cover mapping and botanical inventories were the main methods used. The results obtained revealed a variability of the types of occupation and of the soil with different surface areas. The Reserve is made up of mosaics of secondary forests, fallow land and bamboo groves. The characterization of the flora made it possible to identify 107 species divided into 87 genera and 44 families. The Guinean-Congolese species are the most abundant. Phanerophytes are dominant in the Reserve. The presence of a non-negligible number of species with special status marks an interest in conservation in this anthropized environment. The diversity indices and specific richness are low. These relatively low values confirm the state of degradation of the vegetation already revealed by satellite images in the Reserve.