Diversity and Geo-spatial Distribution of Trees and Shrubs in Gurara Forest, Kaduna State
Diversity and Geospatial Distribution of Trees and Shrubs in Gurara Forest, Kaduna State.
ABSTRACT
The study assessed the diversity of tree and shrub species and the geospatial distribution of Gurara forest in Kaduna State.
Primary data on the field was collected by employing the plot count techniques by randomly selecting five plots within the forest, measuring a 50 by 50 meters plot (0.5hectare) on the ground for each plot.
Secondary data made use of LANDSAT images of the years 1991, 2000, and 2009 which were processed using Ilwiss 3.3a processing software.
All the trees and shrubs species on the selected plots were enumerated. A total of 31 species were identified with 3502 individual trees and shrubs. Senegalia Senegal species had the highest number of stands (1066) and a percentage composition of 30.44%.
Family Fabaceae, Rubiaceae, and Moraceae had multispecies of 10, 3, and 3 respectively while some families had a single species within the family.
Species diversity, evenness, and similarities were determined between plots for the identified trees and shrubs species. Shannon -Wiener diversity values (H) for the five plots were recorded for trees and shrubs,
for the tree species, Plot 5 had the highest diversity of 5.74 and Plot 4 with the least diversity of 0.95 for shrub species, we recorded 1.56 has the highest diversity and 0.65 as the least diversity respectively.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE………………………………………………………………………………i
DECLARATION…………………………………………………………………………ii
CERTIFICATION………………………………………………………………………iii
DEDICATION……………………………………………………………………………iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS…………………………………………………………….v
ABSTRACT…………………….……………………………………………………….vi
TABLE OF CONTENT.………………………………………………………………viii
LIST OF FIGURES…………………………………………………………………….xii
LIST OF TABLES……………………………………………………………………..xiii
LIST OF PLATES……………………………………………………………………..xiv
LIST OF APPENDICES……………………………………………………………….xv
ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS………………………………………………………………xvi
CHAPTER ONE………………………………………………………………………….1
1.0INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………….1
1.1 Definition of Vegetation………………………………………………………………..1
1.2 Significance of Vegetation……………………………………………………………….1
1.3Importance of Vegetation Analysis……………………………………………………3
1.4 Vegetation Change and Spatial Distribution………………………………………….4
1.5 Statement of Research Problems………………………………………………………6
1.6 Justification of the Study………………………………………………………………..6
1.7 Aim of the Study…………………………………………………………………………….7
1.8 Objective of the Study…………………………………………………………………….7
1.9 Research Hypotheses ……………………………………………………………………..7
CHAPTER TWO…………………………………………………………………………8
2.0LITERATUREREVIEW……………………………………………………………8
2.1Naturalforest………………………………………………………………………….8
2.2 Protected forest………………………………………………………………………….9
2.2 Unprotected Forest……………………………………………………………………10
2.3 Floral Diversity in Nigeria…………………………………………………..……….12
2.4 Socioeconomic Implication of Forest Degradation ………………………………14
2.5 Effect of Deforestation on Forest…………………………………………………….15
2.5.1Global status of deforestation ………………………………………………………15
2.5.2 Deforestation: drivers and effect ………………………………………………….16
2.6 Approaches to Combating Deforestation, Forest Degradation, and Fragmentation….20
2.7Integrating GIS & RS in Forest Cover Detection …………………………………….23
2.7.1 Land use change ……………………………………………………………………25
2.7.2 Land cover change …………………………………………………………………25
CHAPTER THREE……………………………………………………………………27
3.0MATERIALS AND METHODS …………………………………………………28
3.1Study Area …………………………………………………………………………29
3.2 Floristic Survey and Measurement……………………………………………………29
3.2.1 Primary data collection …………………………………………………………….29
3.2.2 Secondary data collection…………………………………………………………………..30
3.3 Satellite Image Analysis……………………………………………………………..31
3.4 Land use classification scheme description …………………………………………31
3.5 Analysis of Data………………………………………………………………………33
3.5.1 Estimating species richness and frequency of occurrence per 0.5 hectares ….…….33
3.5.2 Determination of plant percentage composition …………………………………..33
3.5.3 Determination of plant diversity and evenness ……………………………………33
3.5.4 Determination of species similarity between plots ………………………………..34
3.5.5 Geospatial analysis ……………………………………………………………….34
CHAPTER FOUR………………………………………………………………………34
4.0RESULTS…………………………………………………………………………..34
4.1. Structure and Physiognomy of Gurara Forest ………………………………………36
4.1.2 Tree species richness and abundance ………………………………………………39
4.1.3 Shrub species richness and abundance ………………………………….………….42
4.1.4 Similarity index between tree species in the sample area ………………..………..42
4.1.4 Similarity index between shrub species in the sample area ………….……………42
4.2 Land Cover Distribution (Identifying and Mapping) ………………..………………..45
4.2.1 Static land cover distribution for year1991…………………………………………51
4.2.1 Static land cover distribution for the year 2000…………………………………………52
4.2.1 Static land cover distribution for the year 2009 ……………………………………53
4.2.3 Effect of spatial trend in land cover change ……………………………………….54
CHAPTER FIVE………………………………………………………………………..57
5.0DISCUSSION………………………………………………………………………..57
5.1 Checklist and Plant Species Composition of Gurara Forest, Kaduna State …………57
5.2 Similarities of Tree Cover of the Forest……………………………………………..57
5.3 Shrub Cover of the Forest ………………………………………………………………….60
5.4.1 The Dam Period……………………………………………………………………61
5.8.1 The pre-dam period for the year (1991-2000) …………………………………………61
5.8.2 The post-dam period (2000 – 2009) ……………………………………………….63
CHAPTER SIX………………………………………………………………………….66
6.0SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS…………………66
6.1 Summary ……………………………………………………………………………….66
6.2 Conclusions……………………………………………………………………………67
6.3 Recommendations……………………………………………………………….……68
REFERENCES………………………………………………………………………….70
APPENDICES ………………………………………………………………………….78
INTRODUCTION
Hopkins (1981) described vegetation as the sum total of plants covering an area. Vegetation is the most obvious physical representation of an ecosystem and the biodiversity of an area is intricately tied to its vegetation density (Higgins et al., 1994).
The term vegetation is used in ecology to describe the overall characteristics of plant cover in an area by referring to dominant plant growth forms or structural characteristics such as forest vegetation and grassland vegetation (CNVC, 2012).
Vegetation integrates the combined influence of a variety of environmental factors such as climate, organisms present, topography, and soil parent material (CNVC, 2012).
The Canadian National Vegetation Classification (2012) recognizes the range of vegetation from natural to cultural. Natural vegetation is that which develops naturally with little to no influence or modification by humans.
Such vegetation is characterized by native species. Semi-natural vegetation is generally included in the ‘natural’ landscape, as humans have influenced the natural vegetation in many areas while cultural vegetation is planted and or maintained by humans, often with considerable input of energy.
The species involved are often not native to the area and majorly in the category of crop plants.
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CSN Team.
