Current knowledge and future prospects on the declining Uvaria chamae P. Beauv. in sub-Saharan Africa: A global systematic review for its sustainable management

Abstract

Uvaria chamae P. Beauv is known as a key shrub species providing several goods and services for sustaining livelihoods in Sub-Saharan Africa. Despite its great medicinal importance for local communities, little is known about its conservation status and sustainable management strategies regarding the current overexploitation of the species’ fruits through traditional agroforestry systems. Here, we addressed a global systematic review of the current state of knowledge on several aspects of research of U. chamae for setting further breeding programmes and conservation initiatives. A total of 744 publications were identified based on the extensive bibliometric review of its sustainable management and conservation status over the last three decades (1991-2021) through existing online databases. Only 257 publications were finally included in the current review after deep scrutinization which were in line with several aspects of the conservation ecology and management of U. chamae in Africa. All retained papers came globally from the five sub-regions, and particularly 13 countries in Africa. Most of them were recorded in West Africa (n = 245) compared to the other sub-regions where few studies exist on this intensively harvested shrub species. Approximately 89% of the retained publications came from five of West African countries including Nigeria (n = 151), Benin (n = 30), Côte d'Ivoire (n = 18), Guinea (n = 16), and Togo (n = 14). In-depth bibliometric analysis revealed critical knowledge gaps on U. chamae in terms of its geographic distribution; conservation status; tree growth, productivity and propagation; morphological diversity; molecular genetic diversity; reproductive biology; ecophysiological performances; socio-economic importance; biochemical analysis; and structural characterization. The current review paves the way for developing further long-term management programs of U. chamae in Africa.