The use of plants by local people for health care has long been observed. This practice still persists in different communities. This study presents a bibliographic summary highlighting the knowledge of plants used in traditional pharmacopoeia in Niger. Analysis of the scientific literature, such as articles, dissertations and theses from the Google Scholar and PubMed search engines, as well as grey literature, revealed a number of items of information. A total of 315 medicinal species, including 8 fungi, were identified, divided into 220 genera and 88 families. The Papilionaceae, Poaceae and Caesalpiniaceae, with 30, 18 and 16 species respectively, are the best represented families. Leaves (28.89%) and bark (18.33%) are the most commonly used plant parts. The predominant methods of preparation are decoction (37%), maceration (23%) and powder (13%), while the oral route (44.87%) is the main method of administering plant-based remedies. Recipes are mainly administered 3 times a day (52.34%) and the predominant duration of treatment is one day (26%). Analysis of the scientific data available on medicinal plants in Niger suggests that further research is needed to gain a better understanding of the practices and uses of plants in traditional medicine.
This work was a literature review of the available data on the plant diversity in protected areas in Niger. It was based on several studies carried out in the period from 2005 to 2021 in nine (9) reserves of Niger. It aimed to assess the current state of the floristic diversity and ecosystem services in these protected areas. The results revealed the information on species richness, ecological spectrums and ecosystems services provided to local population living around these protected areas. A total of 648 plants species, mostly herbaceous, and dominated by Poaceae, were recorded. The spectrum of biological types is dominated by Therophytes (43.57%) and Microphanerophytes (19.07%), which are characteristic of Sahelian vegetation. The chorology revealed a predominance of multi-regional African species and species with a wide distribution. The study highlighted six (6) main categories of ecosystem services for local populations: human food, fodder, traditional pharmacopoeia, energy wood, service wood and craft wood. This review showed that the assessment of plant diversity in the protected area of Niger was far from exhaustive, and much remains to be updated.
The ecology of a species is a fundamental aspect in its sustainable management. The objective is to study the ecological and floristic characteristics of plant formations with D. mespiliformis. The study was conducted in western Niger along the main tributaries of the Niger River crossing two agroecologicals compartments. Abiotic factors and forestry data where collected in 220 plots of 2500 m2. Thus, the species is present in all types of soil in the area near streams. The area is moderately diverse with 41 woody species dominated by D. mespiliformis with 50% of Importance Value Index. The Shannon diversity index was 2.61 in Dargol and 2.19 in Goroubi and the Sorensen similarity index between the two zones was 0.62. The density of D. mespiliformis per hectare is 46.04 in Dargol and 33.19 in Goroubi. The demographic structure of its population of all species shows a dominance of small diameter individuals evolving into sawtooth characterized by anthropogenic pressure. These results constitute a scientific basis for the sustainable management of this food and multi-use species, which is one of the species in decline in the area.
The study aims to characterize the demographic structure of the vegetation of the protected forest Baban Rafi located in the department Madarounfa 50 km south of Maradi. The data were collected based on a forest inventory in 105 plots of 1000 m² installed on 17 transects varying in length from 1 to 5 km. Data analysis has established the list of plants, species diversity, the horizontal structure, vertical structure, and regeneration of woody plants. A total of 52 woody species distributed in 40 genera and 21 families were inventoried. The best-represented families are respectively the Combretaceae and Fabaceae-Mimosoideae. The most important species are Guiera senegalensis, Combretum micranthum, and Combretum nigricans. The average density of woody species (994.86 ± 343.71 individuals / ha) and that of regeneration (17,092.95 ± 10,431.80 seedlings / ha) indicate a good regeneration capacity of the forest. The values of the index of Shannon and evenness Pielou are 3.8 bits and 0.68 bits respectively. The diameter structures of the woody stand and those of the dominant species show a concentration of young individuals of the class from 5 to 10 m. Those in height show a predominance of individuals of heights between 1 and 5 m. These results provide additional information on the current state of woody stands in the Baban Rafi forest and can be used in biodiversity conservation and the management of protected forests in Niger.