Drought resistance and gum yield performances in a Senegalia senegal (L.) Britton progeny trial in Senegal

With continued global change as a result of land use changes, invasive species and changing climatic patterns, it is becoming increasingly important to understand the adaptability of Senegalia senegal provenances to maximize resilience in managed and natural populations of this species. The objective of this study is to investigate Senegalia senegal genotypic differences in water use efficiency (WUE) measured by stable 13 C isotope composition in foliage according to their ploidy levels. Secondary objectives are to discuss inherent adaptive variation related to soil pH, survival, growth indexes, gum arabic yield and WUE within provenance in the climate change context. A S enegalia senegal progeny trial, in Dahra, Senegal was used in this study: 443 adult trees consisting of 60 families nested within 4 provenances were assessed in this study. Results showed significant differences in gum yield among provenances ( P = 0.0002) and families ( P