In developing countries many people depend on woody resources for their livelihoods. Monitoring human impact on the populations of socio‐economically important species is therefore important for the conservation of vulnerable plants. In order to assess and compare the population structure and regeneration patterns of three multipurpose species, namely Acacia seyal Del., Balanites aegyptiaca Delile and Pterocarpus lucens Lepr. in four ethnic areas of the sub‐Sahel of Burkina Faso (Samo, Gourmantché, Fulani and Mossi), we used the size‐class distribution method (SCD)(Condit et al., 1998). Diameter at breast height (Dbh) of adult individuals of each species were sampled on 1000 m2 (20 m× 50 m) plots in each ethnic domain. Recorded Dbhs were distributed among eight size‐classes of 5 cm intervals. For each species, the slope of the regression of the SCD was considered to be …