Floristic Diversity and Use of Woody Plants in the Magayel and Barkaya Forests (Far North, Cameroon)

The Magayel and Barkaya forest massifs located in the Far North Region of Cameroon are rich in biodiversity. In this study, we sought to document the floristic diversity and the use of plant resources by the local populations surrounding the Magayel and Barkaya forest massifs. A total of 12 transects (30 × 1000 m) were established in each forest massif to inventory the woody plants from May to July 2022. Data on plant uses were obtained through a survey conducted in eight villages near the forest massifs and in the nearest markets, involving 436 key informants and six focus group discussions. In total, 69 species distributed across 41 genera and 23 families were recorded in the two massifs. The Shannon diversity index varied from 3.35 to 3.43 bits and Pielou evenness index varied from 0.45 to 0.49, respectively, in Magayel and Barkaya forest massifs. The species with high value importance indices in the Magayel forest massif were Balanites aegyptiaca (12.74) and Terminalia macroptera (9.83), whereas in the Barkaya forest massif, they were Balanites aegyptiaca (10.80) and Sclerocarya birrea (10.62). Leaves, flowers, seeds, fruits, and wood are the main products exploited. The species with high uses citation frequency were Balanites aegyptiaca (7.74%), Combretum fragrans (6.45%), Terminalia macroptera (5.81%) in the Magayel forest massif and Sclerocarya birrea (4.43%), Balanites aegyptiaca (3.94%), Sterculia setigera (3.94%) in the Barkaya massif. Habitat destruction, overexploitation of natural resources, fires, and urbanization constitute the main threats to the Magayel and Barkaya forest massifs. Ensuring the sustainability of harvested products, high‐demand species should be domesticated for effective long‐term management.