Page 97 - AJWEP-22-4

Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution. Vol. 22, No. 4 (2025), pp. 89-110.
doi: 10.36922/AJWEP025210160

ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE

Modeling and mapping the distribution and priority
seed zone for the conservation of the vulnerable

Vitellaria Paradoxa (Shea nut tree) in the Guinea

savanna ecosystem

Gabriel Salako 1,2† * , Oluwasogo Olalubi 3† , Abdulrasheed Adio ,
4
Henry Sawyerr , Moses Adetumbi , Abel Adebayo , and Andrey Zaitsev 2
6
4
5
1 Department of Environmental Management and Toxicology, Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences,
Kwara State University, Malete, Kwara, Nigeria
2 Department of Soil Zoology, Senckenberg Museum of Natural History Görlitz, Senckenberg Society for
Nature Research, Görlitz, Saxony, Germany
3 Department of Public Health, Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences, Kwara State University, Malete, Kwara, Nigeria
4 Department of Plant and Environmental Biology, Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences,
Kwara State University, Malete, Kwara, Nigeria
5 Department of Environmental Health Science, Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences,
Kwara State University, Malete, Kwara, Nigeria
6 Department of Geography, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Modibbo Adama University, Yola, Adamawa, Nigeria
*Corresponding author: Gabriel Salako (gabriel.salako@senckenberg.de)
† These authors contributed equally to this work.

Received: May 19, 2025; Revised: June 15, 2025; Accepted: June 19, 2025; Published online: July 10, 2025

Abstract: Vitellaria paradoxa C.F. Gaertn is a native and valuable economic tree species found in the Guinea
savanna ecosystem of West Africa. The majority of rural populations, especially women, depend on it for food,
domestic energy (fuelwood), and as a source of employment and income. Unfortunately, the extensive felling
of this tree species for charcoal production over the past decades poses a grave threat to both the environment
and the livelihoods of people; therefore, efforts to restore and conserve the tree species are urgently required.
The salient question here is where to obtain viable seeds for its propagation and restoration. This study applied
remote sensing technology to extract vegetation-related phenotypic data from satellite images (Landsat 8 – 9),
combined with climate data, using a machine learning-based species distribution model. This approach aimed to
identify environmentally suitable habitats for V. paradoxa and locate areas likely to contain healthy and viable
seed sources. These areas were identified through the spatial combination of thresholded habitat suitability maps
and vegetation indices – an approach herein referred to as the seed zone priority location index (SZPI). The
SZPI is an area that is not only climatically suitable for V. paradoxa distribution and survival but also where
healthy and viable tree populations can be found. The SZPI is expected to provide vital information necessary
to guide the location and collection of suitable and viable seeds required for the restoration and conservation of
V. paradoxa.

Keywords: Conservation; Tree species; Seed zones; Vegetation index

Volume 22 Issue 4 (2025) 89 doi: 10.36922/AJWEP025210160