Wildfires remain an important ecological factor for the sustainable management of ecosystems. However, the failure in the efficient management of the latter remains a major constraint for the conservation of biodiversity and the ecological balance of tropical ecosystems. In order to provide ideas for the efficient management of forest fires in Togo, a phytosociological study and an evaluation of combustible biomass were carried out.

Phytosociological inventories in 354 10 m x 10 m plots made it possible to evaluate the pyrophytic flora e. The wet and dry combustible biomasses were quantified based on 1062 samples cut within 1 m x 1 m quadras. The pyrophytic florula identified is from 466 species dominating Poaceae (40.48%) whose proportion varies according to ecological conditions. With the exception of the forest zone (Zone IV, 16.64%), there is a clear dominance of the Paoceae in the other areas with a proportion of more than 40%. The dominant species are: Chromolaena odorata, Sporobolus pyramidalis, Hyparrhenia rufa, Panicum maximum, Andropogon gayanus and Imperata cylindrica. The similarity is higher between zones I and II and between zones III and V. The biomass of the burned areas is estimated at 5.42 t Ms/ha on average.

The highest biomasses are obtained in ecological zones V and III (7.30 t Ms/ha and 6.15 t Ms/ha), while the lowest corresponds to zone IV (3.65 t Ms/ha). Studies at the regional, prefectural and local levels would be more advisable in order to take into account microclimatic realities, determine vulnerabilities and deduce specific management measures.