ABSTRACT
The typical pastoral landscape is totally unlike the dense forest: in the former there is only grass, while in the latter trees are so numerous that they prevent grass from growing in the understory. In general, forest vegetation is unsuitable for livestock raising, especially cattle rearing. Nonetheless, trees and livestock raising are intimately related in West Africa. For example, in the Sahel region, shrubs are browsed not only by small ruminants but also by cattle. When trees attain too great a height, herders turn into wood cutters by climbing trees and cutting leafy branches to give to their animals waiting below. The contribution of trees to cattle diets is especially important during the dry season when animals are momentarily deprived of herbaceous pastures.' Ancient agropastoral civilisations of West Africa depended on high quality pasture grasses that were supplemented,by tree forage. The symbol of this alliance between cattle and trees is the Acacia albida, a central feature of regional agrarian civilisations (Pellissier, 1966).
