STRUCTURE ET DISTRIBUTION DE LA POPULATION DE BALANITES AEGYPTIACA (L.) DEL. DANS LA COMMUNE RURALE DE SIMIRI (NIGER)

In the context of the rampant destruction of natural resources, a study on the populations of Balanites aegyptiaca was carried out in Simiri. The objective of the study is to improve the understanding of the natural and anthropogenic ecological processes which are determining the distribution and structure of these populations. The survey device used is systematic with 4 transects of 2 km each arranged radially around the villages. Analysis of vegetation data shows that the floristic diversity of the area is declining. A total of 26 species divided into 19 genera and 12 families are inventoried. The most represented families are Combretaceae and Mimosaceae with 23.08% each. The population is dominated by Combretum glutinosum (30.26%), Balanites aegyptiaca (16.59%), Acacia albida (10.85%), Ziziphus mauritiana (9.35%), Guiera senegalensis (8.29%) and Piliostigma reticulatum (5.84%). The spatial distribution of Balanites aegyptiaca is under the influence of natural dynamic processes and anthropogenic actions with great variability in its density both at the village scale and at the scale of geomorphological and land use units. Furthermore, their specific structure is recurrently approved, which gives them great ecological importance in the municipality. The demographic structure of Balanites aegyptiaca, for its part, showed the population, an appreciable proportion of young individuals, and aging populations and thus confirms the importance of this woody resource. However, renewal (92%) constitutes, at the current state, the structural problem because of the strong competition for the seed.