COMPARISON OF THE FLORISTIC COMPOSITION OF THE BIOTOPES OF BANCO NATIONAL PARK, SOUTHERN COTE DIVOIRE

This study was conducted in the Banco National Park (Abidjan, Cote dIvoire), one of the last remnants of dense humid forest in an urban environment in the sub-region. It is part of an effort to ecologically characterize the parks wetlands, with a view to guiding conservation and sustainable management strategies. The adopted methodology combines linear and surface floristic surveys distributed across four types of forest formations the are upland forest, swamp forest, riparian forest, and periodically flooded forest. The floristic analysis identified 161 plant species across 50 families, with a predominance of Fabaceae and Apocynaceae throughout the forest. Comparison of the habitats showed that riparian forest is the richest in species, while swamp forest and periodically flooded forest exhibit lower diversity. the endemic species in Cote dIvoire (GCi) and the Guineo-Congolian region (GC) within the different study areas highlights a significant difference for the GCi group. Overall, in the surveys conducted, trees are the most represented morphological types, both on dry land and in wetland areas. Regarding megaphanerophytes, the highest rate is observed in the riparian forest In this forest. the presence of species with conservation status can be observed. The significant presence of these species highlights the ecological value of these wetland environments and their crucial role in biodiversity conservation in an urban context. Key-Words : Forest, Comparison, Habitats, Species, Morphological