This study was conducted in Democratic Republic of Congo, in the province of Kwango, chiefdom of Pelende Nord in order to inventory the floristic diversity of forest islands. To study the vegetation, 15 transects 5 meters wide and 60 meters long were set up at random, with 5 transects per forest island. The inventoried plant species were identified using the combination of various identification keys, the botanical classification taking into account Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG IV).
The results obtained reveal 129 plant species divided into 35 families including 48 species with an average of 25.5 ± 14.4 in the first forest island, 39 species with an average of 20 ± 11.4 in the second forest island and 42 species with an average of 21.5±12.3 in the third forest island. The most represented families are those of Rubiaceae with 45.7%, Euphorbiaceae come second with 42.9% and Fabaceae in third position with 28.6%. This floristic richness shows that if these forest islands are well preserved, they can evolve into forest ecosystems by providing the same ecosystem services.
The present study was carried out in the territory of Kimvula in the south-west of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The floristic survey conducted shows that the Kimvula flora has 1,065 species distributed in 666 genera and 159 families. The best represented families are Fabaceae (12.21%), Poaceae (7.79%), Asteraceae (5.54%), Rubiaceae (5.07%), Apocynaceae (4.04%) and Malvaceae (4.04%). The analysis shows the ecological characteristics, as regards the morphological types, this flora is dominated by woody species (50%) while the dominant life forms are phanerophytes (50%). Examination of leaf dimensions indicates the abundance of mesophyll (37.4%) and sarcochores (36.9%) are the types of diaspores best represented in Kimvula. The results of phytogeography distribution reveal the abundance of wide distribution species (65.5%) and low presence of endemic species (1.6%). The disturbance index (29.30%) shows that ecosystems of the study area are less disturbed and Shannon-Weaver diversity index shows that secondary forest (4.8 bits) is the most diversified plant formation.
A study was conducted in three localities in the southwest of RD Congo to clarify the ecology of Dracaena acutissima Hua: an endemic Asparagaceae of Congo Basin. Ecosystem characteristics (vegetation types, soil types and microclimates strata), phenological, chorological and ethnobotanical were determined. The results show that D. acutissima is a semi-sun-loving species that typically grows in the sandy soil of the undergrowth Kalahari type of riparian forest or forest or sloping plateau. It was seen with flowers and fruits during the dry season between May and July. The ethnobotanical survey showed that young leaves of this plant are used to treat childhood ear infections and stems are used for making small animal traps while its fruits are eaten by warthogs. Although, the species has not yet been confronted with the IUCN criteria; its distribution and human pressure area experienced by ecosystems that are its habitat to push the authors to classify it as a vulnerable species.
Millettia laurentii De Wild. is the high value species most exploited for timber in the Democratic Republic of Congo. For this, the species suffers from natural regeneration deficit to overcome this drawback, this study aims to develop relatively simple and efficient methods of vegetative multiplication of this species: the macrocuting. Four silvicultural techniques have been tested on a plot of a quarter of hectare (n=196). Gathering respectively macrocuting up to 1.50, 1.30, 0.75 and 1 meter above ground. After 12 months of observation, the treatments 1 and 0.75 meter height showed the highest percentage by number of the granulations is 75.5% with a mean of 9.8