Settlement surrounded by forests and agricultural lands on Mount Agou (Togo)

The variety in tree species and composition can inform about the functioning of the forest and the related regulating services associated

Terrestrial Laser Scanning for studying forest structure and biomass

Agriculture encroaches and replaces the forests more and more…

The Marantahceae leaves are used to wrap traditional foods before cooking and constitute a cultural feature in Cameroon

Zanthoxylum gilletii

Forest remnant in Cameroon

A section of a community forest was burned and cleared for agriculture, a major driver of deforestation

Coffea plantation mixed with exotic shadow-tree replace the natural vegetation in community forests in Togo

Gambeya albida

UAV (drone) image showing a mosaic of forest-agriculture in a community forest in Benin

Settlement in a community forest in Benin

Tree measurement in a degraded stand in a community forest in Benin
.

The fertile soil and the humid micro-climate on Mount Agou allow a particularly high yield of cocoa, banana, and avocado. The vegetation is therefore
a mosaic of agroforestry and natural forest patches.

Agroforestry, including cocoa production, is a common practice in community forests in Togo

Plantain crops grow where the forest was recently burned, with charred
remnant trees standing. Slash-and-burn agriculture provides livelihoods
but degrades the ecosystem

Cocoa seedlings sprout in a community-run nursery in Nigeria, where agroforestry
practices produce cocoa sustainably amidst efforts to balance conservation
and livelihoods.

Felled Bloodwood tree (Pterocarpus osun Craib) waiting to be transported
from a community forest. Its occurrence is declining due to its value in timber
trade and use for wood products

A canoe floats on the river dividing palm-dominated forest on one bank
from a degraded landscape on the other, exemplifying the threats of exploitation
to community forests in Nigeria

A research assistant measures the diameter at breast height of a tree, its
buttressed roots rising from the waterlogged soil, to study the
biodiversity and ecology of the fragile forests in Nigeria

Semi deciduous dense vegetation dominated by Alstonia congensis (devil tree) in a swamp forest in Benin

Focus group discussion with women in a village surrounded by a community swamp forests in Benin

Forests that are hard to access and to exploit present intact forest structure and biomass

Large trees are the perfect support for lianas

The secondary forest in Cameroon hosts remnant trees and a vivid regeneration after previous disturbances

In Cameroon, larger trees are protected against logging using sacral objects. In this particular case, a snail shell, a cocoa fruit and some alcohol were used

Logging is one of the activities which accelerates forest degradation

Shaded cocoa agroforestry plantations are mostly practised in tropical rainforests

Fruits of Detarium senegalense are Non-Timber Forest products collected from
the forest for sale. The oil of these fruits can be used for cooking

Forest edge in Togo dominated by Cashew trees

Agroforestry, that is agriculture with trees between and inside the fields, can
promote biodiversity and microclimate regulation compared with agriculture
without trees

Farm activities especially cocoa plantations are set up at the edge of the forest which is a typical practice for cocoa production in Cameroon

The forest is home to a diverse range of trees with different survival and reproduction strategies. This fruit of a Ceiba pentandra contains seeds embedded in a wool, which the wind transports, enabling seed dispersal