Influence of Temperature and Rainfall on the Phenology of Sclerocarya birrea (A. Rich) Hoscht in the Ferlo Zone (Senegal)

Abstract

The objective of this study was to characterize the phenology of the species Sclerocarya birrea (A. Rich) Hochst and to monitor the influence of climatic factors (rainfall and temperature) on its phenological behaviour. The study was carried out in three sites of Ferlo Nord (Senegal) (Amaly, Widou Thingoly and Tessekere) between December 2015 and December 2016. Climatic data were collected throughout the year and the phenological characterization of the species (leafing, flowering and fruiting) was carried out according to the method described by Grouzis & Sicot in 1980. The results showed that for the majority of individuals, leaf fall was between August and March, the budding phase between January and July and full leafing between May and February. The flowering and fruiting phases took place during the dry period. There was also another flowering phase in the cold dry season, which was unusual for the species S. birrea. According to these observations the species behaved like a savannah species that flowers more than once a year. Marked differences were observed between and within sites for the leafing and flowering phases and a significant difference within and between species. Furthermore, the results confirmed the importance of inter-site variations and climatic variations in particular the temperature on S. birrea phenophases. The results of this study were of capital interest in the management and silviculture of this species whose potential was little exploited and less valued.