Assessment of the diversity and abundance of tree species in Afe Babalola University, Ado- Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria

In this study, an assessment of trees diversity and abundance in the Afe Babalola University Ado Ekiti, Ado Ekiti, Nigeria was carried out. Stratified sampling method was employed. The University was divided into four strata for adequate sampling (Stratum A, B, C, D). The results revealed a total of 816 individual trees of 21 tree species belonging to 16 families. The family Aracaceae has the highest number of species (3 (14%) species), The families of Caesalpiniaceae, Combretaceae, Verbenaceae had 2 species each, while other families (Anacardiaceae, Annonaceae, Apocynaceae, Araucariaceae, Caricaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Malvaceae, Meliaceae, Moraceae, Myrtaceae, Papilonaceae, Pinaceae families) had only one specie each respectively. The family Verbanaceae has the highest number of individual tree flora while Moraceae has the least with 1 tree stand in the study area. Gmelina arborea was the most frequently occurring tree species with a total of 472 (58%) individuals while Ficus benjamina was the least frequently occurring tree species with only 1 (0.12%) tree individual in the study area. This is suspected to be as a result of their poor establishment, thus special attention needs to be applied both to intensified efforts on planting as well as conserving the available species to avoid their extinction.