| Resume |
Bamboo is a multi-purpose woody grass with
international and national interests accentuated by the
promotion of green energy. In Asia, bamboo plantations
are being successfully promoted and constitute important
carbon sinks, while in Africa, they remain unimproved
despite their potential service supply. In this study, we
assessed ecosystem services (ESs) and biomass stock from
bamboo stands in central and southern Benin. First, we
interviewed 264 informants across seven sociolinguistic
groups from 10 municipalities to analyse ESs importance
across gender and multi-linguistic group spaces and
determine trade-offs and synergies between services. Sec-
ond, we used field plots to quantify biomass stocks in
selected bamboo stands. Seven ESs (building material,
handicraft material, medicine, firewood, support for agri-
culture, biological control and cultural dance) were men-
tioned, with provisioning ESs being the most important.
ESs were equally mentioned by women and men, except
for firewood and medicine which showed slightly different
patterns. Handicraft material, firewood and cultural dance
were mostly mentioned by Nago and Fon, whereas bio-
logical control and support for agriculture were cited by
Toffin and Weme. Handicraft material, firewood and cul-
tural dance were synergistically mentioned, but negatively
associated with citations of biological control and support
for agriculture, suggesting trade-offs. The estimated bio-
mass density was remarkably low, ranging from 0.54 to
29.7 t/ha, with an average value of 11.1 t/ha. These results
show a need for participative management integrating
sociolinguistic groups into decision-making processes
while promoting extensive bamboo plantations and bam-
boo carbon farming. |