The Variety of Forest Vegetations in Southeastern Cameroon,with Special Reference to the Av ailability of Wild Yams for the Forest Hunter-Gatherers

Abstract

Annually reproducing wild yam species (Dioscorea praehensilis and D. semperflorens) are considered to be the most important food for hunter-gatherer subsistence in terms of energy sources in the central African rainforests. Despite their importance in the rainforest hunter-gatherer's diet, annual yams are not widely distributed over the forest but locally concentrated in particular areas. In this study, I carried out vegetation censuses in two areas, one with abundant annual yam patches and one with few in southeastern Cameroon. The results indicate that the area with abundant annual yam patches is closely associated with the semi-deciduous forest, while the area with few patches was associated with the evergreen forest. Thus the difference in vegetation seems to affect the distribution and the availability of annual yam patches. However, recent studies have found evidence of historical human interventions that may have influenced the formation of semi-deciduous forest over the Congo Basin. Therefore, the degree of human influence on the distribution of the semi-deciduous forest itself, as well as that of annual yam patches, should be carefully examined to explain the abundance of annual yams.