A PRELIMINARY SURVEY OF TREE SPECIES DIVERSITY: A CASE STUDY OF FEDERAL UNIVERSITY WUKARI
Abstract
The impact of anthropogenic activities on tree species diversity of a selected sub-sample of the Federal University Wukari Campus comprising of four sampling Sites (A, B, C and D) was investigated using the Shannon-Wiener, Margalefs and Menhinik diversity indices. Tree felling is the commonest human activity. The infrastructural developments and anthropogenic activities among the four sampling sites ranges from low to high. A total of 203 individual tree species of 20 species from 15 families was encountered in the study area. The dominant families were Arecaceace, Fabaceae, Anacardiaceae, Lamiaceae and Moraceae. Elaies guineensis (80) was the most dominant tree species with the highest relative density (RD) of 39.4% at Site D while the lowest RD of 0.49 were encountered at Sites A, B and C. The most abundant tree species were Elaies guineensis and Mangifera indica due to their economic importance. About 35% of the trees were exotic while 65% were native. A high Shannon-Wiener index value of 0.78 and Margalefs index value of 14.869 were observed. Analysis of the diversity indices of the 20 species reveals the sensitivity of the Shannon-Wiener index than the Margalefs index, though the two indices shows relative diversity of tree species according to their ranges. The high population size of the indigenous trees with higher economic uses is a strong indicator of loss of tree genetic resources that play critical roles in local diversification of the ecosystems to make them more resilient for what is to come with respect to climate change regulation.
References
Abdullahi, S. and Abba, H. M. (2021). Floristic composition and diversity of Tree species in Kumo town and its environs. FUDMA Journal of Sciences (FJS), 5(2): 560 – 566. DOI: https://doi.org/10.33003/fjs-2021-0502-670 DOI: https://doi.org/10.33003/fjs-2021-0502-670
Anongo, M. C. and Bako, S. P. (2012). Think Globally, Act Locally (2): Tree-planting in Nigeria, Whose responsibility? Scholars Research Library. “Archives of Applied Science Research 2012. 4(3): 1423 – 1431”.
Ahmed, S., Khatri, M. S. and Hasan, M. (2017). Plants of family Lamiaceae: A promising hand for new antiurolithiatic drug development. World Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences 6(7):90-96. DOI: 10.20959/wjpps20177-9542 DOI: https://doi.org/10.20959/wjpps20177-9542
Battipaglia, G., Zalloni, E., Castaldi, S., Marzaioli, F., Cazzolla, G. R., Lasserre, B., Tognetti, R., Marchetti, M. and Valentini, R. (2015). Long tree-ring chronologies provide evidence of recent tree growth decrease in a central African tropical forest. PloS one 10 (3): e0120962. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0120962. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0120962
Burkhill, H. M. (1985). Useful plants of West Tropical Africa, Edition 2, Volume 2, Families A - D, Royal Botanic Garden, Kew. 960p.
Burkhill, H. M. (1994). Useful plants of West Tropical Africa, Edition 2, Volume 2, Families E – I, Royal Botanic Garden, Kew. 969p
Burkhill, H. M. (2000). Useful plants of West Tropical Africa, Edition 2, Volume 5, Families S – Z, Royal Botanic Garden, Kew. 969p.
Burkhill, H. M. (1995). Useful plants of West Tropical Africa, Edition 2, Volume 3, Families J – L, Royal Botanic Garden, Kew. 857p.
Burkhill, H. M. (1997). Useful plants of West Tropical Africa, Edition 2, Volume 4, Families M – R, Royal Botanic Garden, Kew. 969p.
Cazzolla, G. R. (2016a). The fractal nature of the latitudinal biodiversity gradient. Biologia 71 (6): 669-672. - DOI: 10.1515/biolog-2016-0077. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/biolog-2016-0077
Cazzolla, G. R. (2016b). Trends in human development and environmental protection. International Journal of Environmental Studies 73 (2): 268-276. DOI: 10.1080/00207233.2016.1148447. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00207233.2016.1148447
Cazzolla, G. R. (2016c). Freshwater biodiversity: A review of local and global threats. International Journal of Environmental Studies 73 (6):887-904.
- DOI: 10.1080/00207233.2016.1204133. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00207233.2016.1204133
Garba, A., Salami, K. D., Akanbi, W. B. (2021). Assessment of Endangered Economic Tree Species and Conservation Techniques in Jigawa State, Nigeria. FUDMA Journal of Agriculture and Agricultural Technology, Vol. 7 No. 2 (2021): 116 – 123. DOI: https://doi.org/10.33003/jaat.2021.0702.056 DOI: https://doi.org/10.33003/jaat.2021.0702.056
Hutchinson, J. and Dalziel, J. M. (1958 - 1968). Flora of West Tropical Africa. Edition 2, Volume 2 (Revised by Keay, R. V. and Happer, F. N.). Crown Agent for Oversea Government and Administration, London. 424p.
https://www.bhangarmahavidyalaya.in>
https://www.ecologycenter.us>margalefs index 2008
Ijomah, J. U., Igiri, M. R. and Okey, I. B. (2022). Evaluation of Trees Species Diversity, Abundance and Soil Physicochemical Properties of Ukpon River Forest Reserves, Cross River, Nigeria. Asian Journal of Research in Agriculture and Forestry, 8(4): 109 – 122. Available from: DOI: https://doi.org/10.9734/ajraf/2022/v8i4170
Iheyen, J., Okoegwale, E. E., Mensah, J. K. (2009). Composition of tree species in Ehor Forest Reserve, Edo State, Nigeria. Nat Sci.7(8):8-18
Kankara, S. S., Ibrahim, M. H., Mustafa, M. and Go, R. (2015). Ethnobotanical Survey of Medicinal Plants used for Traditional Maternal Healthcare in Katsina State, Nigeria. South African Journal of Botany 97: 165 – 175. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2015.01.007
Keay, R. W. J. (1989). Trees of Nigeria. Oxford University press, New York. 476p. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198545606.001.0001
Margalef, R. (1958). Temporal succession and spatial heterogeneity in phytoplankton. In: Buzzati-Traverso,(ed.) Perspectives in Marine Biology. Berkeley: University of California Press. 323-347. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/9780520350281-024
Okpeke, L. K. (1987). Tropical Tree Crops. Spectrum Books Limited, Ibadan, Onitsha, Zaria, Nigeria, 327p.
Copyright (c) 2023 FUDMA JOURNAL OF SCIENCES
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
FUDMA Journal of Sciences
