Food tree species consumed during periods of food shortage in Burkina Faso and their threats
Abstract
Aim of study: Edible products from tree species were identified in Burkina Faso and their contribution to the diet in the lean season was assessed. The main threats affecting most consumed food tree species were also documented.
Area of study: Six villages across two phytogeographic regions of Burkina Faso
Material and methods: Focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews, including a 7-day dietary intake recall targeting women; semi-structured interviews targeting key male informants.
Main results: The number of edible tree products consumed was found to vary according to phytogeographic region and ethnic group. A few tree species played a disproportionally greater role in the diet and were characterized by very high frequency of consumption by the majority of households in both phytogeographic regions and across ethnicities: Adansonia digitata, Parkia biglobosa and Vitellaria paradoxa. These species are not critically endangered at country level but they are perceived as scarcely available at local level. Considering that the main threats on priority tree species (fires, drought, pest and diseases) vary across regions, to maintain sustainable sources of nutrients in the landscape, mitigation measures should be diversified and adapted to local pressures.
Research highlights: Priorities for conservation are emerging clearly, but research efforts should also target underutilized tree species for their potential to diversify nutrient-poor diets.
Downloads
References
Agúndez D, Douma S, Madrigal J, Gómez-Ramos A, Vinceti B, Alía R, Mahamane A, 2016. Conservation of food tree species in Niger: towards a participatory approach in rural communities. Forest Syst 25 (3): 79-87. https://doi.org/10.5424/fs/2016253-09558
Akoègninou A, van der Burg WJ, van der Maesen LJG, 2006. Flore analytique du Bénin. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, The Netherlands. 1034 pp.
Arbonnier M, 2004. Trees, shrubs and lianas of West African dry zones. CIRAD, MNHN, Paris. 573 pp.
Atato A, Wala K, Batawila K, Lamien N, Akpagana K, 2011. Edible wild fruit highly consumed during food shortage period in Togo: State of knowledge and conservation status. J Life Sci 5: 1046-1057.
Augusseau X, Nikiéma P, Torquebiau E, 2006. Tree biodiversity, land dynamics and farmers' strategies on the agricultural frontier of Southwestern Burkina Faso. Biodivers Conserv 15: 613-630. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-005-2090-8
Ballard T, Coates J, Swindale A, Deitchler M, 2011. Household hunger scale: Indicator definition and measurement guide. Washington, DC, USA: Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance II Project, FHI 360. 16 pp.
Barucha Z, Pretty J, 2010. The roles of wild foods in agricultural systems. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B 365: 2913-2926. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2010.0123
Black RE, Victora CG, Walker SP, Bhutta ZA, Christian P, de Onis M, Ezzati M, Grantham-McGregor S, Katz J, Martorell R et al., 2013. Maternal and child undernutrition and overweight in low-income and middle-income countries. Lancet 382 (9890): 427-451. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(13)60937-X
Boedecker J, Termote C, Assogbadjo AE, Van Damme P, Lachat C, 2014. Dietary contribution of wild edible plants to women's diets in the buffer zone around the Lama forest, Benin - An underutilized potential. Food Secur 6 (6): 833-849. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12571-014-0396-7
Boffa JM, 1995. Productivity and management of agroforestry and parklands in the Sudan zone of Burkina Faso. Doctoral Thesis, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA.
Boffa JM, 1999. Agroforestry parklands in Sub-Saharan Africa. FAO Conservation Guide 34. FAO, Rome. 230 pp.
Bvenura C, Sivakumar D, 2017. The role of wild fruits and vegetables in delivering a balanced and healthy diet. Food Res Int 99 (1): 15-30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2017.06.046
Coates J, Swindale A, Bilinsky P, 2007. Household food insecurity access scale (HFIAS) for measurement of food acces: Indicator guide. Version 3. FHI 360/FANTA, Washington DC, USA. 29 pp.
Faye MD, Weber JC, Abasse TA, Boureima M, Larwanou M, Bationo AB, Diallo BO, Sigué H, Dakouo JM, Samaké O et al., 2010. Farmers' preferences for tree functions and species in the West African Sahel. For Trees Livelihoods 20: 113-136.
Fontes J, Guinko S, 1995. Carte de végétation et de l'occupation d'un sol du Burkina Faso. Notice explicative. Ministère de la coopération française, Projet campus (8813101), Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France.
Gaisberger H, Kindt R, Loo J, Schmidt M, Bognounou F, Sylvestre Da S, Diallo OB, Ganaba S, Gnoumou A, Lompo D, et al., 2017. Spatially explicit multi-threat assessment of food tree species in Burkina Faso: An approach at population level. PLoS ONE 12 (9): e0184457. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0184457
Gijsbers HJM, Kessler JJ, Knevel MK, 1994. Dynamics and natural regeneration of woody species in farmed parkland in the Sahel region (Province of Passore) Burkina Faso. Forest Ecol Manag 64: 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-1127(94)90122-8
Gonzalez P, 2001. Desertification and a shift of forest species in the West African Sahel. Clim Res 17: 217-228. https://doi.org/10.3354/cr017217
Guinko S, 1984. Végétation de la Haute-Volta. Doctoral Thesis, Université de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France.
Heubes J, Schmidt M, Stuch B, García Márquez JR, Wittig R, Zizka G, Thiombiano A, Sinsin B, Schaldach R, Hahn K, 2013. The projected impact of climate and land use change on plant diversity: An example from West Africa. J Arid Environ 96: 48-54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2013.04.008
Ickowitz A, Powell B, Salim MA, Sunderland TCH, 2014. Dietary quality and tree cover in Africa. Glob Environ Chang 24: 287-294. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2013.12.001
Ickowitz A, Rowland D, Powell B, Salim MA, Sunderland T, 2016. Forests, trees, and micronutrient-rich food consumption in Indonesia. PLoS ONE 11 (5): e0154139. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0154139
INSD, 2010. Résultats préliminaires du recensement général de la population et de l'habitat de 2009. Institut National de la Statistique et de la Démographie, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
Johnson KB, Jacob A, Brown ME, 2013. Forest cover associated with improved child health and nutrition: Evidence from the Malawi demographic and health survey and satellite data. Glob Health Sci Pract 1 (2): 237-248. https://doi.org/10.9745/GHSP-D-13-00055
Jones AD, Acharya Y, Galway LP, 2017. Deforestation and child diet diversity: a geospatial analysis of 15 sub-Saharan African countries. Lancet 389: S11. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(17)31123-6
Kalame F, Nkem J, Idinoba M, Kanninen M, 2009. Matching national forest policies and management practices for climate change adaptation in Burkina Faso and Ghana. Mitig Adapt Strat Gl 14 (2): 135-151. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11027-008-9155-4
Kristensen M, Balslev H, 2003. Perceptions, use and availability of woody plants among the Gourounsi in Burkina Faso. Biodivers Conserv 12: 1715-1739. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023614816878
Kristensen M, Lykke AM, 2003. Informant-based valuation of use and conservation preferences of savanna trees in Burkina Faso. Econ Bot 57 (2): 203-217. https://doi.org/10.1663/0013-0001(2003)057[0203:IVOUAC]2.0.CO;2
Lachat C, Raneri JE, Smith KW, Kolsteren P, Van Damme P, Verzelen K, Penafiel D, Vanhove W, Kennedy G, Hunter D, et al., 2017. Dietary species richness as a measure of food biodiversity and nutritional quality of diets. PNAS 115 (1): 127-132. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1709194115
Lebrun JP, Toutain B, Gaston A, Boudet G, 1991. Catalogue des plantes vasculaires du Burkina Faso. Ed. I.E.M.V.T, Maisons-Alfort, France. 341 pp.
Lovett PN, Haq N, 2000. Evidence for anthropic selection of the sheanut tree (Vitellaria paradoxa). Agroforest Syst 48: 273-288. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006379217851
Lykke AM, 1998. Assessment of species composition change in savanna vegetation by means of woody plants' size class distributions and local information. Biodivers Conserv 7: 1261-1275. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008877819286
Lykke AM, Mertz O, Ganaba S, 2002. Food consumption in rural Burkina Faso. Ecol Food Nutr 4: 119-153. https://doi.org/10.1080/03670240214492
Lykke AM, Kristensen MK, Ganaba S, 2004. Valuation of local use and dynamics of 56 woody species in the Sahel. Biodivers Conserv 13: 1961-1990. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:BIOC.0000035876.39587.1a
Maranz S, 2009. Tree mortality in the African Sahel indicates an anthropogenic ecosystem displaced by climate change. J Biogeogr 36(6): 1181-1193. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2699.2008.02081.x
Maranz S, Wiesman Z, 2003. Evidence for indigenous selection and distribution of the shea tree, Vitellaria paradoxa, and its potential significance to prevailing parkland savanna tree patterns in sub-Saharan Africa north of the equator. J Biogeogr 30: 1505-1516. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2699.2003.00892.x
Martin-Prével Y, Becquey E, Tapsoba S, Castan F, Coulibaly E, Fortin S, Zoungrana M, Lange M, Delpeuch F, Savy M, 2012. The 2008 food price crisis negatively affected household food security and dietary diversity in urban Burkina Faso. J Nutr 142: 1748-1755. https://doi.org/10.3945/jn.112.159996
Miles L, Newton AC, DeFries RS, Ravilious C, May I, Blyth S, Kapos V, Gordon JE, 2006. A global overview of the conservation status of tropical dry forests. J Biogeogr 33 (3): 491-505. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2699.2005.01424.x
NASA, 2012. Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS). Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS). http://earthdata.nasa.gov/data/near-real-time-data/firms. [10 March 2013].
Nikiema A, 2005. Agroforestry parkland species diversity: Uses and management in semi-arid West Africa (Burkina Faso). Doctoral Thesis. Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Orwa C, Mutua A, Kindt R, Jamnadass R, Simons A, 2009. Agroforestree database: A tree reference and selection guide version 4.0. World Agroforestry Centre, Kenya; http://www.worldagroforestry.org/treedb/. [27 March 2017].
Ouédraogo I, Savadogo P, Tigabu M, Cole R, Odén PC, Ouadba JM, 2009. Is rural migration a threat to environmental sustainability in Southern Burkina Faso? Land Degrad Dev 20 (2): 217-230. https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.910
Ouédraogo I, Tigabu M, Savadogo P, Compaoré H, Odén PC, Ouadba JM, 2010. Land cover change and its relation with population dynamics in Burkina Faso, West Africa. Land Degrad Dev 21 (5): 453-462. https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.981
Ouédraogo O, Bondé L, Boussim JI, Linstädter A, 2015. Caught in a human disturbance trap: Responses of tropical savanna trees to increasing land-use pressure. Forest Ecol Manag 354: 68-76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2015.06.036
Paré S, Söderberg U, Sandewall M, Ouadba JM, 2008. Land use analysis from spatial and field data capture in Southern Burkina Faso, West Africa. Agric Ecosyst Environ 127: 277-285. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2008.04.009
Paré S, Savadogo P, Tigabu M, Ouadba JM, Odén PC, 2010. Consumptive values and local perception of dry forest decline in Burkina Faso, West Africa. Environ Dev Sustain 12: 277-295. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-009-9194-3
Powell B, Maundu P, Kuhnlein HV, Johns T, 2013. Wild foods from farm and forest in the East Usambara Mountains, Tanzania. Ecol Food Nutr 52 (6): 451-478. https://doi.org/10.1080/03670244.2013.768122
Powell B, Thilsted SH, Ickowitz A, Termote C, Sunderland T, Herforth A, 2015. Improving diets with wild and cultivated biodiversity from across the landscape. Food Secur 7 (3): 535-554. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12571-015-0466-5
Ræbild A, Hansen UB, Kambou S, 2011. Regeneration of Vitellaria paradoxa and Parkia biglobosa in a parkland in Southern Burkina Faso. Agroforest Syst 85 (3): 443-453. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-011-9397-0
Rowland D, Blackie RR, Powell B, Djoudi H, Vergles E, Vinceti B, Ickowitz A, 2015. Direct contributions of dry forests to nutrition: A review. Int Forest Rev 17 (2): 45-53. https://doi.org/10.1505/146554815815834804
Rowland D, Ickowitz A, Powell B, Nasi R, Sunderland T, 2016. Forest foods and healthy diets: quantifying the contributions. Environ Conserv 44 (2): 102-114. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0376892916000151
Sacande M, Sanou L, Beentje H, 2012. Guide d'identification des arbres du Burkina Faso. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK. 288 pp.
Savy M, Martin-Prével Y, Sawadogo P, Kameli Y, Delpeuch F, 2005. Use of variety/diversity scores for diet quality measurement: relation with nutritional status of women in a rural area in Burkina Faso. Eur J Clin Nutr 59: 703-716. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602135
Schmidt M, Zizka A, Traoré S, Ataholo M, Chatelain C, Daget P, Dressler S, Hahn K, Kirchmair I, Krohmer J et al., 2017. Diversity, distribution and preliminary conservation status of the flora of Burkina Faso. Phytotaxa 304 (1): 1-215. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.304.1.1
Sop TK, Oldeland J, 2011. Local perception of woody vegetation dynamics in the context of a "Greening Sahel": A case study from Burkina Faso. Land Degrad Dev 24 (6): 511-527. https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.1144
Sop TK, Oldeland J, Bognounou F, Schmiedel U, Thiombiano A, 2012. Ethnobotanical knowledge and valuation of woody plants species: A comparative analysis of three ethnic groups from the sub-Sahel of Burkina Faso. Environ Dev Sustain 14 (5): 627-649. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-012-9345-9
Termote C, Meyi MB, Djailo BD, Huybregts L, Lachat C, Kolsteren P, Van Damme P, 2012. A biodiverse rich environment does not contribute to a better diet: A case study from DR Congo. PLoS ONE 7 (1): e30533. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0030533
Thiombiano DNE, Lamien N, Dibong DS, Boussim IJ, Belem B, 2012. Le rôle des espèces ligneuses dans la gestion de la soudure alimentaire au Burkina Faso. Secheresse 23: 86-93.
Thiombiano DNE, Lamien N, Castro-Euler AM, Vinceti B, Agundez D, Boussim IJ, 2013. Local communities demand for food tree species and the potentialities of their landscapes in two ecological zones of Burkina Faso. Open J For 3 (3): 79-87. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojf.2013.33014
Thiombiano N, Parkouda C, Lamien N, Séré A, Castro-Euler AM, Boussim IJ, 2014. Nutritional composition of five food trees species products used in human diet during food shortage period in Burkina Faso. Afr J Biotechnol 13 (17): 1807-1812. https://doi.org/10.5897/AJB2013.13462
Thomas E, Vandebroek I, Van Damme P, Goetghebeur P, Douterlungne D, Sanca S, Arrazola S, 2009. The relation between accessibility, diversity and indigenous valuation of vegetation in the Bolivian Andes. J Arid Environ 73 (9): 854-861. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2009.03.010
Waswa LM, Jordan I, Herrmann J, Krawinkel MB, Keding GB, 2015. Community-based educational intervention improved the diversity of complementary diets in western Kenya: results from a randomized controlled trial. Public Health Nutr 18 (18): 3406-3419. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980015000920
West CT, Roncoli C, Ouattara F, 2008. Local perceptions and regional climate trends on the Central Plateau of Burkina Faso. Land Degrad Dev 19 (3): 289-304. https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.842
Wezel A, Lykke AM, 2006. Woody vegetation change in Sahelian West Africa: evidence from local knowledge. Environ Dev Sustain 8 (4): 553-567. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-006-9055-2
White F, 1983. Vegetation of Africa - A descriptive memoir to accompany the Unesco/AETFAT/UNSO vegetation map of Africa; Natural Resources Research Report XX; UNESCO, Paris. 356 pp.
Wunder S, 2001. Poverty alleviation and tropical forests: what scope for synergies? World Dev 29 (11): 1817-1833. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0305-750X(01)00070-5
Zizka A, Thiombiano A, Dressler S, Nacoulma B, Ouedraogo I, Ouédraogo O, Zizka G, Hahn K, Schmidt M, 2015. Traditional plant use in Burkina Faso (West Africa): A national-scale analysis with focus on traditional medicine. J Ethnobiol Ethnomed 11 (9): 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1186/1746-4269-11-9
© CSIC. Manuscripts published in both the printed and online versions of this Journal are the property of Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, and quoting this source is a requirement for any partial or full reproduction.
All contents of this electronic edition, except where otherwise noted, are distributed under a “Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International” (CC BY 4.0) License. You may read here the basic information and the legal text of the license. The indication of the CC BY 4.0 License must be expressly stated in this way when necessary.
Self-archiving in repositories, personal webpages or similar, of any version other than the published by the Editor, is not allowed.
