Tree species diversity of three Ghanaian reserves

Among tropical areas, Africa is considered to be poor in terms of biodiversity as compared with Amazon or South-East Asia, especially with respect to forest diversity. Despite this lower diversity, some African tropical zones, such as Ghana, harbour a plethora of species, particularly of trees. Unfortunately, as a result of anthropogenic impacts, biological diversity in West Africa dramatically decreased in the last decades, with very limited reference to evaluate the amount of the loss. Due to these growing pressure, a collection of relevant biodiversity information in this region seems to be urgent. We surveyed 127 temporary plots randomly distributed within 3 protected areas in Ghana and we collected data on tree (dbh>10 cm) species richness and their abundances. We also performed α, and β diversity analyses, and estimated the effective number of species, adopting various indices and approaches to provide further information on each assemblage. The main goals of this research were: (i) to provide a wide tree species database (abundance-based data), together with some biodiversity analyses; (ii) to estimate the sampling effort needed for next biodiversity surveys in the same and similar regions; and (iii) to calculate some indices useful to monitor the future of these protected areas both in terms of conservation and biodiversity research.