Arid and semiarid West African regions are characterized by heavy environmental constraints that have shaped natural ecosystems and human activities:
- low, infrequent, irregular, unpredictable rainfall concentrated
within a period of a few months
- soils mainly with low organic matter and nutrient content.
Fauna, flora and natural ecosystems—savannas and dry forests—are thus adapted to these more or less prolonged arid conditions. Crop and livestock farming activities, which are highly prevalent in these regions, have also adapted to these constraints over time, primarily to ensure food self-sufficiency, especially through tree-crop-livestock integration. This combination may be noted in farms and villages inhabited by livestock and crop farmers and where both trees and crops grow side-by-side, but also on larger (...)
