The Demographic Response of Grass Species to Fire Treatments in a Guinean Savanna
Kouamé Fulgence Koffi,
Aya Brigitte N’Dri,
Tharaniya Srikanthasamy,
Jean-Christophe Lata,
Souleymane Konaté,
Marcel Konan,
Sébastien Barot
Affiliations
Kouamé Fulgence Koffi
Research Training Unit in Natural Sciences, Environment and Sustainable Development Research Pole, Laboratory of Ecology and Sustainable Development, Ecology Station of Lamto/CRE, Nangui Abrogoua University, 02 BP 801 Abidjan 02, Côte d’Ivoire
Aya Brigitte N’Dri
Research Training Unit in Natural Sciences, Environment and Sustainable Development Research Pole, Laboratory of Ecology and Sustainable Development, Ecology Station of Lamto/CRE, Nangui Abrogoua University, 02 BP 801 Abidjan 02, Côte d’Ivoire
Tharaniya Srikanthasamy
Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences-Paris, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, IRD, INRAE, Université de Paris, UPEC, 4 place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France
Jean-Christophe Lata
Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences-Paris, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, IRD, INRAE, Université de Paris, UPEC, 4 place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France
Souleymane Konaté
Research Training Unit in Natural Sciences, Environment and Sustainable Development Research Pole, Laboratory of Ecology and Sustainable Development, Ecology Station of Lamto/CRE, Nangui Abrogoua University, 02 BP 801 Abidjan 02, Côte d’Ivoire
Marcel Konan
Research Training Unit in Natural Sciences, Environment and Sustainable Development Research Pole, Laboratory of Ecology and Sustainable Development, Ecology Station of Lamto/CRE, Nangui Abrogoua University, 02 BP 801 Abidjan 02, Côte d’Ivoire
Sébastien Barot
Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences-Paris, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, IRD, INRAE, Université de Paris, UPEC, 4 place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France
Fighting tree encroachment using fire promotes C4 perennial grasses but likely affects their demography according to the fire date during the dry season. We analyzed the impact of four fire treatments (early, middle, late and no fire) on the demography of the four dominant perennial grasses (Andropogon canaliculatus, Andropogon schirensis, Hyparrhenia diplandra and Loudetia simplex) in a Guinean savanna of West Africa (Lamto, Côte d’Ivoire). We carried out a yearly demographic monitoring of each grass individual during five years (2015–2019) on three plots by treatment and parametrized a size-classified matrix model with five circumference classes. The results showed that A. schirensis, H. diplandra and L. simplex declined (λ L. simplex under the middle fire. Stasis influenced the most λ values and stable class distribution was nearly achieved in all species under all treatments. The size of L. simplex should increase under early and late fires. Our results suggest that late fire is the most detrimental fire regime for grasses in this Guinean area, contrary to early and middle fires, which could be recommended to savanna managers.
