The Zou watershed is a significant hydrographic unit located in a region with complex interactions between agro-pedo-geological components and pastoral resources. This study aims to analyze the agro-pedo-geological characteristics and sustainable management of pastoral resources in the Zou watershed at the outlet of Domé in Benin. The data used to describe these characteristics and their spatial distribution comprise climatological, planimetric, pedological, and geological data. The results reveal that the watershed is influenced by a Sudanian climate in the north and a subequatorial climate in the south, with an average annual precipitation of 1116 mm over the period 1991-2020. The classification of vegetation cover shows dominance of savanna (66.31%), plantations (15.61%), and fields and fallows (9.61%), with implications for forage availability and biodiversity. The soils in the watershed are diverse, with a predominance of tropical ferruginous soils, influencing water retention and vegetation production. The geology of the watershed indicates the presence of ancient Precambrian rocks such as granite, gneiss, granito-gneiss, embréchites, and quartzites. These findings underscore the importance of sustainable management of natural resources to ensure long-term availability of water and forage in the region.

The objective of this study is to determine the perception of corn producers on soil quality based on sustainable land management practices in the Okpara watershed. To do this, 280 heads of maize producers were surveyed in the municipalities of Pèrèrè, N’Dali, Tchaourou and Ouessè. The Fisher test made it possible to compare the soil quality score according to the municipalities, the farming practices of the Okpara watershed; the score of soil types according to farming practices and municipalities. This test showed that the municipalities of Pèrèrè and N’Dali have better soil quality scores than the municipalities of Tchaourou and Ouessè regardless of the type of soil. Multiple linear regression has shown that factors such as: the probability of predicting improved seed practices, the probability of ridging practices, the municipality of Tchaourou, the municipality of Ouessè, and the number of years of experience in agriculture in general significantly determine the quality of the soil in the Okpara watershed. Thus, it is therefore necessary to take into account the endogenous knowledge available to producers in the study area for a better assessment of the quality of the soil in future studies.