Multiplication of a woody forest gallery species: Pterocarpus santalinoides LHr. ex DC.

With climatic change, and despite their protection by the Malian forest code, species characterizing the natural forest galleries of rivers in southern Mali are threatened with extinction because of the development of agricultural parcels. A study of seeds germination and the growth of branch cuttings of Pterocarpus santalinoides L’Her. ex DC. were carried out for multiplication of this typical gallery species. Seeds and branch cuttings were collected from the banks of the river Bagoe. The study revealed that scarification of seeds increases the germination rate (up to 5 times) for P. santalinoides L’Her. ex DC. The branch budding rate and the total number of buds varied with cutting diameter size. The larger the diameter, the better were the results. Studies such as this one might be carried out on other typical forest gallery species for a better understanding of the functioning of these particular ecosystems with a view to identify how best they might be protected and conserved. Key words: Southern Mali, woody vegetation, forest gallery, diversity, plant multiplication.