Impact of climate change and land use on the conservation of Pterocarpus species in Burkina Faso (West Africa)

Plant biodiversity is essential to the survival of the human being and the whole biosphere. Unfortunately, plant species such as multipurpose woody species are subjected to diverse threats, amongst them the overexploitation of their resources, habitats destruction, biological invasions, climate change and pollution. The global objective of this study is to determine the impacts of climate change and anthropogenic factors on Pterocarpus species for the sustainable management of their resources in Burkina Faso. Data on the structural characteristics of Pterocarpus species, environmental parameters including climate, soil and topography and the species occurrence points have been collected in Burkina Faso. GLMs analysis and least square regression will be used to highlight the impact of the environmental variables on the structural characteristics and the species population trends. Species distribution modelling (SMD) will be used to determine the impact of climate change on the priority areas of the conservation of Pterocarpus species in Burkina Faso. The findings will allow the publication of at least two scientific articles in refereed scientific journals with impact factors and to attend to scientific communications. A workshop will be held on the current state of research on ecological niche modelling and overexploited woody species conservation in Africa.