Viability of Pentadesma in reduced habitat ecosystems within two climatic regions with fruit harvesting

Abstract

Habitat loss and harvesting of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) significantly affect the population dynamics. In this paper, we propose a general mathematical modelling approach incorporating the impact of habitat size reduction and non-lethal harvesting of NTFP on population dynamics. The model framework integrates experimental data of Pentadesma butyracea in Benin. This framework allows us to determine the rational non-lethal harvesting level and habitat size to ensure the stability of the plant ecosystem, and to study the impacts of distinct levels of humidity. We suggest non-lethal harvesting policies that maximize the economic benefit for local populations.

Keywords:

• Habitat reduction
• NTFP harvesting
• Viability of trees
• Optimization
• Economical benefit
• Pentadesma butyracea

Acknowledgments

Leite acknowledges support from USFSP 2019-20 Internal Research Grant, Instituto de Matemática Multidisciplinar and Basque Center for Applied Mathematics Research Visit Fellowships. The authors are thankful for support from NIMBioS sponsored by NSF Award # DBI - 1300426 and, partially by University of Tennessee, Knoxville and from AIM's SQuaREs research program on ‘Sustainable plant harvest in fragmented landscapes’. FBA was partially supported by the University of Kansas General Research Fund allocation #2301-2105090 and Kansas National Science Foundation grant # EPSCoR OIA-1656006. The authors acknowledge the reviewers for their useful suggestions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

M.C.A.L. acknowledges support from USFSP 2019-20 Internal Research Grant, Instituto de Matemática Multidisciplinar (IMM), Spain and Basque Center for Applied Mathematics (BCAM), Spain Research Visit Fellowships. The authors are thankful for support from National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS) sponsored by National Science Foundation (NSF) Award Number DBI - 1300426 and, partially by University of Tennessee, Knoxville and from AIM's SQuaREs research program on ‘Sustainable plant harvest in fragmented landscapes’. F.B.A. was partially supported by the University of Kansas General Research Fund allocation #2301-2105090 and Kansas National Science Foundation Grant Number EPSCoR OIA-1656006.