Ulrich Gael Bouka Dipelet

• Researcher at Marien Ngouabi University

Past climatic oscillations have influenced the genetic diversity and distribution patterns of tropical African tree species, and possibly their mating system. To explore these effects, we investigated the phylogeography of Pericopsis elata (Fabaceae), an endangered timber species with a high selfing rate and a fragmented Guineo-Congolian distributi...

Independent verification of timber origin is needed to enforce legislation aimed at combatting illegal tropical timber trade. A potential technique is tracing back the stable isotope signal preserved in wood samples, but the scarcity of reference data currently hampers its operationalization. This can be overcome by creating isoscapes. Here we deve...

Background The illegal trade of tropical timber constitutes a major and persistent environmental problem. Since the detection of fraud in trade documents remains challenging, forensic tools that can independently trace timber origin are needed. In this study, we evaluated the potential of the chloroplast genome (plastome) as a genetic tool to verif...

Phylogeographic studies on widespread rainforest species from West and Central Africa often reveal genetic discontinuities. These discontinuities can originate from past barriers to gene flow resulting from long-lasting population fragmentation during glacial periods, according to the forest refuge hypothesis. This study 69 nuclear SNPs, 13 plastid...

Plusieurs assaisonnements naturels consommés par les congolais sont emportés d’autres pays et leurs apports alicamentaires ne sont pas en général connus par ladite population. Dans le but de valoriser les plantes alicamentaires utilisées comme assaisonnements en République du Congo, des enquêtes ethnobotaniques ont été menées dans quatre départemen...

Origin verification of timber is essential to expose origin fraud and reduce illegal timber trade. A promising forensic method for origin verification is based on stable isotope ratios in wood, but large-scale studies that test local and regional variation to apply the method at a sub-country scale are lacking. We investigated the isotopic variati...

Documenting species and population diversity is becoming increasingly important as the destruction and degradation of natural ecosystems are leading to a worldwide biodiversity loss. Despite the rapid development of genetic tools, many species remain undocumented and little is known about the diversity of individuals and populations, especially for...

To effectively reduce illegal timber trade, law enforcers need forensic methods to independently verify claims of wood origin. Multi-element analysis of traded plant material has the potential to be used to trace the origin of commodities, but for timber it has not been tested at relevant large scales. Here we put this method to the test, by evalua...

In this data paper, we present a specimen-based occurrence dataset compiled in the framework of the Conservation of Endemic Central African Trees (ECAT) project with the aim of producing global conservation assessments for the IUCN Red List. The project targets all tree species endemic or sub-endemic to the Central African region comprising the Dem...

Khaya (Meliaceae) is a widespread genus of trees distributed from the tropical forests of Africa to Madagascar and the Comoros. Khaya species are very close morphologically and some contain considerable phenotypic and ecological diversity, raising the question of their delimitation: this is the case of Khaya anthotheca s.l. (sensu lato, including K...

Background and objectives—Podocarpus latifolius (synonym of P. milanjianus) is a key tree representative of Afromontane forests where it is highly threatened by climate and land-use changes. While large populations occur in East Africa, only a few isolated and usually small populations remain in western Central Africa (Cameroon to Angola). Studying...

Abstract African mahogany is the common name of species from the Khaya genus and yields high value timber. It is planted in monocultures and agrosilvipastoral systems in Brazil since the 90’s. Here we relate the taxonomic identification of the most planted African mahogany species in Brazil, changing from Khaya ivorensis A. Chev. to K. grandifoliol...

Microsatellites were designed and characterized in the African fruit tree species Dacryodes edulis (Burseraceae). The fruits are commercialized throughout Central Africa and the species is present in forested environments as well as cultivated systems. The high variability of these markers makes them suitable to investigate the structure of genetic...

The genus Khaya includes some of the highest-value timber species in natural forests in Africa, which are under heavy exploitation pressure. Genetic identification of Khaya species is important to confirm the taxonomic classification for biodiversity conservation purposes and as a forensic tool aiding law enforcement in the fight against illegal lo...

Des études paléoécologiques suggèrent que la composition floristique, la structure et la répar-tition actuelle des forêts denses africaines ont été fortement influencées par la mise en place de gradients écologiques, favorisant la spécia-tion parapatrique. De plus, lors des change-ments climatiques passés, certains « refuges forestiers » auraient é...

Les espèces du genre Khaya procurent l'un des bois les plus prisés du continent africain. Elles sont commercialisées sous l'appellation « acajou d'Afrique » depuis environ deux siècles. En Afrique continentale, on reconnaît actuellement quatre espèces morphologiquement proches : Khaya anthotheca, K. grandifoliola, K. ivorensis et K. senegalensis. L...

Des études paléoécologiques suggèrent que la composition floristique, la structure et la répartition actuelle des forêts denses africaines ont été fortement influencées par la mise en place de gradients écologiques, favorisant la spéciation parapatrique. De plus, lors des changements climatiques passés, certains « refuges forestiers » auraient été...

This article presents an update of the nomenclature of the genus Khaya A. Juss. This genus, limited to continental Africa, Madagascar and the Comores, contains a small number of taxa, from four to six species depending on authors. Names published in the past are not always attached to an appropriate type or require a selection from the syntypes. Ta...

The sustainable management and conservation of biodiversity require reliable species delimitation. However, in tropical forests, species delimitation is a recurrent problem. This is the case in the African trees of the genus Khaya (African mahogany, Meliaceae), whose delimitation varied widely since the publication of the first species. Currently,...

100 SNP and one Indel markers were developed for Khaya using a combination of restriction associated DNA sequencing and low coverage MiSeq genome sequencing. The marker set was successfully used to genotype a set of 1919 individuals, representing 5 Khaya species from 18 African countries, using MassARRAY®iPLEX™ genotyping.

Book Abstract 40.ISBN 978-92-3-100120-8

La gestion durable et la conservation de la biodiversité des forêts du bassin du Congo nécessitent une délimitation fiable et une connaissance biologique, écologique et biogéographique précise des espèces. Plusieurs espèces végétales africaines faisant l'objet d'un important commerce national ou international sont inscrites sur la liste rouge des e...