The continued growth of the world's population in the South makes food security one of the major challenges of the coming decades. Increasing pressure on ecosystems, climate change and the limited availability of farmland are several factors that place this challenge in a difficult context. Scientific advances are therefore needed, especially to better manage biodiversity in agro-ecosystems. Our team is involved in three main projects focused on tropical biodiversity and its evolution under environmental and human pressures. Other smaller projects on similar topics are also underway. 

 Our main objectives are: 

• describe and analyze models of tropical plant diversity

• analyze how ecological, human and historical factors shape plant diversity

• understand what services biodiversity provides to humans

 Main projects in progress: 

• ARBOPOLIS: Strengthening African livelihoods, food and nutrition security using indigenous fruit tree species (2017-2019) - Financing Agropolis Fondation (France)

• Conservation, sustainable management and use of Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFP) in Central Africa: case of Garcinia kola (2017-2019) - Funding University Agency of La Francophonie (France)

• COSUkola - Conservation and Sustainable Management of Garcinia kola genetic resources (2017-2018) - Financing Agropolis Foundation (France)

• AFRODYN (2015-2019) - Central AFrican Rain fOrests: past DYNamics and future resilience - ANR financing (France)

• AMMA 2050 (2015-2019) - African Monsoon Multi-disciplinary Analysis-2050 - NERC (UK) and UKaid (UK) funding

• CERAO (2014-2018) - Self-adaptation of tropical agro-socio-ecosystems to global changes? A long term study for ecological intensification of cereal production in West African savannas - Financing ANR (France)

• AfriCrop (2013-2018) - Documenting African Crop Domestication - ANR Financing (France)

• GenPhyB (2018-2020): Genetics and Phytogeography of Borassus aethopium (Arecaeae) in the Sahel, SEP2D

• CAPTURE (2017-2018): Agropolis Fondation, France: Long sequence DNA capture, plastomes and crops: mastering third generation sequencing for agrobiodiversity studies

• NUTMEG: Genetic diversity of the emblematic tree species Myristica fragrans, M. fatua and M. argentea (Indonesian Nutmegs): applications to genetic resources conservation and sustainable management (2018-2019) - Financing Agropolis Foundation (France)