Quantitative ethnobotany researches can contribute much to guide biodiversity
conservation, especially in developing countries. Our study presents a step-by-step
approach to identify priority species for local conservation of useful woody species. The
presented approach includes (1) an investigation of the popularity and versatility of woody
species in the local people, (2) an estimation of the ecological availability of useful tree
species in the forest and (3) identification of local priority species for conservation. We
focused the study on the Wari-Maro forest reserve in the Sudanian zone of Benin as an
example to implement such approach and identify useful priority species for sustainable
conservation and management strategies development. Ethnobotanical surveys were conducted
with people in surrounding villages of the forest composed by different sociocultural
groups. Floristic vegetation surveys were performed within the forest to assess the
local ecological availability of used woody species. A principal component analysis was
performed to analyze the versatility, the popularity and the ecological availability of
species. Spearman’s correlation test was used to assess relation between variables. In total,
79 woody species were reported for seven main types of uses: technology, construction,
medicinal, veterinary, food, forage and energy.