Preliminary assessment of tree species diversity in Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary, Southern Nigeria

Abstract

Appraisal of flora species which form an integral part of animal ecology, in wildlife based protected areas is necessary before any meaningful conservation work can commence. This informed the study on the preliminary assessment of tree species diversity in Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary (AMWS) and its adjoining communal forest, a biodiversity hotspot in Nigeria. The Point Centre Quarter Method (PCQM) was employed for the study while the Shannon-Weiner Diversity Index (H) and student t test were used to analyse data generated. The study revealed a total of 102 tree species in 35 families and 74 tree species in 31 families for the protected (sanctuary) and communal forests respectively. Afzelia bipidensis (RD = 5.00) and Ceiba pentandra (RD = 7.50) were the abundant species in the protected and communal forests respectively. Forty-nine (49) and twenty-seven (27) tree species were recorded as threatened in the protected and communal forests respectively. The Shannon-Weiner Diversity Indices obtained for the sanctuary (H1 = 4.3459) and communal forest (H2 = 4.0250) are not significantly different (p > 0.05). The dominance of Ceiba pentandra and presence of Harungana madagascariensis, and Musanga cecropioides in the communal forest indicated a characteristic of a secondary forest occasioned by anthropogenic impacts.