Flora and Typology of Wetlands of Haho River Watershed, Togo

Abstract

Wetlands are recognized as hotspots of biodiversity and providers of several ecosystem services, including water purification, sediment stabilization, and flood, erosion, and climate regulation. This article aims to investigate the floristic diversity of the wetlands the Haho River watershed in southern Togo. Spatial data from Astrium service and Google Earth were collected, and phytosociological data were classified following the Braun–Blanquet approach. The findings indicate that 72 families in total have evolved in this environment, with Poaceae (14.95%) and Fabaceae (11.98%) dominating. The number of species was estimated to be 323; the three species that were most prevalent in the wetland’s habitats were Elaeis guineensis Jacq (2.44%), Panicum maximum Jacq (2.29%), and Lonchocarpus sericeus (Poir) H. B. K. (1.71%). The most prevalent and abundant life forms in these moist habitats were micro-phanerophytes (34.70%) and therophytes (23.50%). However, the most common and abundant chorological categories included pantropical (31.05%) and Guinean-Congolese species (21.46%). Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to examine how abiotic parameters, including depth/degree of immersion, influence the distribution of plant species in a wetland landscape. This research has the potential to be developed into a more robust action study for wetland classification and recognition.