Local Perception of Vegetation Dynamics and Its Drivers in Community-Managed Forest: A Case Study from Senegal

Knowledge on deforestation and forest degradation (DFD) in managed forest is widely available. However, the way local people perceive DFD and its drivers are not well understood. This study aimed at assessing local perception of vegetation dynamics and factors driving DFD in a community-managed forest. Data were collected by means of interviews conducted with 136 respondents from 5 communities. Non-parametric tests were used to analyze the data. The results show that 67% of respondents perceived DFD to be occurring in the forest. The perception of the level of forest degradation among the age groups in the communities was significantly related. The tree species cited as declining were those used for fuelwood and food as well as (Sterculia setigera Delile and Parkia biglobosa Jacq. R. Br. ex G. Don) and species of high timber value (Pterocarpus erinaceus Poir and Cordyla pinnata Lepr. ex A. Rich). An overlapping was found between local estimate of species decline and those found to be decreasing with vegetation inventory confirming the reliability of local knowledge. Charcoal production, bush fire, seasonal migration of cattle, and illegal logging, were identified as the main drivers of vegetation dynamics by more than 50% of the respondents. Main economic activities and community location significantly affected the ranking of the perceived drivers of vegetation dynamics, while age group did not.