Dr. Ir. Kolawolé V. SALAKO

Scientific coordinator

Research interests: Ordination methods in plant community ecology – Plant Ecology and Conservation – Agroforestry systems analysis – Forest mensurations – Animal-Plant interactions

Position

Scientific Coordinator

 

Research interests

  • Ordination methods in plant community ecology
  • Plant Ecology and Conservation
  • Agroforestry systems analysis
  • Forest mensurations
  • Animal-Plant interactions

 

Background

Born in 1986, Valère Kolawolé SALAKO is an Agronomist Engineer (2011) and has a M.Sc. degree in natural resources management and Biodiversity (2012) at the University of Abomey-Calavi (Benin). Since 2013, he was involved in PhD studies in Plant Ecology and Conservation with special focus on the Non-Timber Forest Products-provider dioecious palm Borassus aethiopum Mart. Previous researches of Valère focused on plot optimization for plant communities’ analysis and role of Home-gardening in biodiversity conservation and smallholders farmers’ livelihoods. Valère is member of multiple scholars’ societies and welcomes collaborative researches that involves multiple complementary disciplines. Valère attended several local, national and international trainings, workshops and conferences.

Research project

Currently, for my PhD research on the NTFPs-provider Borassus aethiopum Mart., I am studying the species distribution, plant-plant interactions and impact of anthropogenic pressure outside Protected Areas and elephant pressure in Protected Areas on its conservation. In parallel (Off PhD research), I am also assessing colonization of pre-forest fallows by dense forest species in the Lama Forest reserve, a mosaic of dense forest and pre-forest fallow, testing theories of facilitation, inhibition and tolerance in successional ecology. Through forest censuses, I am assessing the survival of dense forest species recruits in pre-forest fallows and how this survival is related to functional traits of both dense forest and fallow species.

Awards and distinctions

  • 2015: Society for Conservation Biology travel awards to attend for the 27th International Congress for Conservation Biology and 4th European Congress for Conservation Biology-Montpellier (France)
  • 2015: Tropical Biology Association travel awards to attend the 2nd TAAG African Students’ Conference in Conservation Science-Accra (Ghana)
  • 2015: IDEA-WILD equipment grant for assessing impact of elephant pressure on spatial pattern of Borassus aethiopum Mart in the Pendjari National Park
  • 2014: Selected to participate to the SCB mentorship program 2014-2015
  • 2013: University of Abomey-Calavi PhD research fellowship for study on Ethnobotany, Ecology and conservation of the wild palm Borassus aethiopum Mart. (Arecaceae) in Benin.
  • 2013: International Foundation for Science-IFS Research Grant for “Assessing the impacts of organs harvesting on population structure and reproductive performance of the wild palm Borassus aethiopum Mart. (Arecaceae) in Benin”. Research Grant N° D/5448-1.
  • 2013: World Bank Trust Funds for Statistical Capacity Building : Conference grant, for the 2nd Edition of the International Conference on Applied Statistics for Development in Africa (http://sada2013.sciencesconf.org/), Cotonou, Benin, March 5-8, 2013
  • 2013: International Statistical Institute (ISI) and World Bank Trust Funds for Statistical Capacity Building: Training grant, for the “Young Statisticians Day” (Cotonou, Benin, March 4, 2013) in prelude to the 2nd Edition of the International Conference on Applied Statistics for Development in Africa (http://sada2013.sciencesconf.org/), Cotonou, Benin, March 5-8, 2013
  • 2013: Conservation Science Group full bursary to attend the 14th Student Conference on Conservation Science and a short course on data mining using R-Software at the University of Cambridge, UK.
  • 2013: Institut Français du Bénin-Direction Nationale de la Recherche Scientifique et Technique (IFB-DNRST). Prize for Best scientific poster of the year 2013 in Benin on « Mise au point d’une technique d’échantillonnage pour la caractérisation floristique en forêt dense au Bénin ».
  • 2012: Coopération Universitaire pour le Déveleppement (CUD-RESBIO) Prize for the best RESBIO-Master Student.
  • 2011: Belgium-West African countries master program (RESBIO) Full scholarship for M.Sc. studies in Management of Natural Resources and Biodiversity.
  • 2011: “Africa Scientific Rebirth” Prize. Prize for the Best Engineer Dissertation of the academic year 2009-2010 of Benin universities in the field of ‘’Management of Natural Resources”. Delivered by the Beninese center of scientific and technical research (CBRST).
  • 2005-2010: Full national scholarship for agronomic studies

 

Profiles and Curriculum

 

Total number of publications

  • Articles scientifiques publiés dans les journaux: 11
  • Communications: 12
  • Documents techniques: 3

 

Key publications

  1. Salako V.K., Assogbadjo A.E., Adomou A.C., Agbangla C., Glèlè Kakaï R.L. (in press). Latitudinal distribution, co-occurring tree species and structural diversity of the threatened palm Borassus aethiopum (Arecaceae) in Benin, West-Africa. Plant Ecology and Evolution.
  2. Salako V.K., Fandohan B., Assogbadjo A.E., Idohou F.A.R., Gbedomon R.C., Abdou Ibrahima W., Chakeredza S., Dulllo M.E., Glèlè Kakaï R. 2014. Home gardens: An assessment of their biodiversity and potential contribution to conservation of threatened species and crop wild relatives in Benin. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 61: 313–330.
  3. Salako V.K., Glèlè Kakaï R., Assogbadjo A.E., Fandohan B., Houinato M., Palm R. 2013. Efficiency of inventory plots patterns in the quantitative analysis of vegetation: case study of tropical woodland and dense forest in Benin. Southern forests 75 (3): 137–143.
  4. Salako V.K., Adebanji A., Glèlè Kakaï R. 2013. On The Empirical Performance Of Non-Metric Multidimensional Scaling In Vegetation Studies. International Journal of Applied Mathematics and Statistics 36 (6): 54-67.
  5. Fandohan B., Assogbadjo A.E., Salako V.K., Van Damme P., Sinsin B. 2012. Which one comes first, the tamarind or the Macrotermes termitarium? Acta Botanica Gallica 159 (3): 345–355.