Classification of ecosystem services in Omo Biosphere Reserve and the provisional services

This review examined ecosystem services in Omo Biosphere Reserve, Nigeria. The review explored the identified provisional services from the forest resources in this rich ecosystem. The identified forest resources in Omo Biosphere Reserve were listed according to their provisional benefits. This includes 72 different species as sources of food; River Omo serve as the major source of freshwater and supplying other streams within the ecosystem; 8 fiber plant sources and 287 forest plants used as bio-chemicals for medicines and chemical used in soaps making and phytochemicals products. It was concluded and recommended that further studies should be carried out on how to effectively harness the indigenous knowledge behind the utilization of these resources by rural populace and look at ways of introducing some of these products into urban ecosystem and also promote the use of these organic products to help mitigate food insecurity and pollution of the environment from inorganic products. Keywords: Ecosystem Services, Provisioning Services, Omo Biosphere Reserv

Impact of Land Use Changes on Soil Quality of a Biosphere Reserve in Southwestern Nigeria

Many primary forests in the tropical regions of the world have been converted into degraded secondary or intensively used agricultural areas. Using the Spatial Analogue technique of studying ecosystem dynamics, soil impact of deforestation and conversion was evaluated by comparing soil properties under the natural forest, secondary regrowth of a logged-over forest, monoculture plantation of Cedrela odorata (Linn), and maize/cassava farm at 0 10, 10 20 and 20 30cm soil depths. % sand decreased with soil depth in all the land use types and was significantly different between the natural forest and each of the logged-over forest regrowth, monoculture plantation and farmland except at 0 10cm depth. % Clay increased with soil depth but did not vary significantly among land use types except at 20 30cm depth. Available phosphorus decreased gradually with soil depth in all land use types with the natural forest and farmland having the highest and lowest mean values respectively. Organic matter varied significantly between each of the natural forest, logged-over forest regrowth and monoculture plantation, with the farmland at the three soil depths. Total nitrogen was generally low in all land use types, though, the natural forest compared better than the others. Soil pH, calcium, magnesium, effective cation exchange capacity, and percentage base saturation decreased with soil depth in all land use types with the natural forest having higher mean values than the others. Indices of change computed for organic matter, total nitrogen, available phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, potassium, effective cation exchange capacity and percentage base saturation, showed that soil management in the introduced land use types, is tending away from sustainability. Inter-cropping with nutrient-regenerating agroforestry trees on the farmland and the use of low-impact logging techniques are suggested for soil conservation

Ground Flora Species Richness and Diversity in Traditional Forests of Southwest, Nigeria

Diversity indices of tree species in tropical rainforest have been studied, but less effort has been devoted to the ground flora studies especially in sacred groves of tropical rainforest, Nigeria, as it plays a critical role in nutrient cycling and energy flow within the forest ecosystem. This study was carried out to determine the ground flora species diversity, richness and density in five traditional forests (Igbo-Ile, Igbo-Oba, Igbo-Olua, Igbo-Olodumare Igbo-Gbopo) of southwestern Nigeria. The ground flora enumeration of 5 x 10m was laid at the centre of 50 x 50m laid in each of the sacred grove. All plants with dbh 64 10cm were identified and the frequency of occurrence recorded. In all the Sacred Groves, a total of 14064 plants/ha individual were recorded with 80 species distributed among 36 families. Igbo-Oba had highest diversity index of 3.21, followed by Igbo-Olodumare (2.80), Igbo-Ile (2.42). The least diversity index was recorded in Igbo-Gbopo (1.97). Among the 36 families, maximum species was recorded in Sterculiaceae (10), followed by Euphorbiaceae (5), Apocynaceae (4), Combretaceae (4) and Sapindaceae (4). Among the families with lowest frequencies (1) recorded are: Acanthaceae, Araceae, Rutaceae, Sapotaceae, Solanaceae. The study concludes that anthropogenic disturbances observed, e.g. farming, spiritual engagements etc. around Igbo-Olua and Igbo-Gbopo might have contributed to low diversity index compared to Igbo-Ile, Igbo-Oba and Igbo-Olodumare where high diversity index was recorded. It is recommended that to maintain high diversity index in the scared groves, buffer zones should be created around the sacred groves

Ecological and Structural Characteristics of Riparian Forest in Omo Biosphere Reserve

An investigation on the structural characteristics of the riparian forest in Omo Biosphere Reserve was carried out. The structure was analyzed through diameter class distribution, basal area and breast height. Riparian forest showed a major characteristic in the physiognomy of forests along major river, streams and Upland vegetation and the Core, Buffer and Transition zones that is highly variable in the diameter class distribution (reserve J type), Mean basal area per hectare for major river is 294,089.30/cm2/ ha, Stream 613.027/cm2/ha, and Upland 205,648 cm3/ha. Mean basal area for core is 507,399.50 cm2/ha, buffer had 340,699 cm2/ha and transition 264,656 cm2/ha. While mean volume per hectare for core is 7955.2 m3/ha, buffer 7260 m3/ha and Transition 6254.4 m3/ha. Maximum dbh of 246 cm was obtained in the core species. Many stands of riparian forests are facing various levels of structural and floristic simplification, which include fundamental transformations in vegetation physiognomy from dense stands to riparian scrub or bare land

Evaluation of the Insecticidal Potentials of Some Indigeneous Medicinal Plants on the Warehouse Moth (Ephestia cautella) (Walker)

Pulverized plant materials of Eugenia aromatica (Baill) (seeds), Aristolochia ringes (Varl) (roots), Zanthoxylum xanthoxyloides (Lam.) Waterman (roots) and Azadirachta indica A. Juss (stem bark) were evaluated for their insecticidal activities against the warehouse moth, Ephestia cautella (Walker) reared on cocoa beans. The materials were applied at dosage rate of 0.00% (control), 2.50%, 5.00%, 10.00% and 15.00% respectively at intervals of 24, 48, 72 and 96 hours of treatment in order to access their insecticidal efficacies as protectants of cocoa against the warehouse moth, Ephestia cautella infestation. The result of the experiment revealed that all the plant materials were very effective on adult mortality. Eugenia aromatica proved to be the most effective producing 70% adult mortality at a low dosage rate of 2.50% within 48 hours post-treatment and Azadirachta indica was the least of all the four plant materials used with regards to insecticidal potency, producing 50% adult mortality within 96 hours post-treatment. There was significant difference (p < 0.05) in the mortality recorded by all the plant materials especially at higher concentrations and exposure period. The results suggest the ability of using these plant materials for cocoa protection as a safe alternative to insecticides.Keywords: Cocoa, Ephestia cautella, medicinal plants, efficacy evaluation, insecticidal

An assessment of the management of Osun Osogbo world heritage site.

An assessment of Osun Osogbo World Heritage site was carried out to investigate the management effectiveness and threats facing the grove. The primary data collection tool of the Rapid Assessment and Prioritization of Protected Area Management (RAPPAM) methodology is the rapid assessment questionnaire. The questionnaire covers part of the international evolution framework developed by the World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA). The questionnaire emphasizes on legal status, monitoring, planning, and utilization of resources and implementation of critical management activities. The assessment questionnaires were distributed to the staff; National Commission for Museum and Monument, Osogbo, Osun State Tourism Board and the Ministry of Culture andTourism. In scoring the various elements of management effectiveness (e.g., biological importance, primary, inputs and processes), respondents replied to statement with a “Yes”, mostly Yes” “mostly no” or “no” responses. Strength, where 60% or more respondents answered “yes” or “mostly yes”; weakness, 60% or more respondents answered “no”or “mostly no”. The results of the study showed that three management issues emerged that influenced the grove management weaknesses: funding (94.4%), transportation (82.4%), infrastructure i.e. field equipments etc (83.3%). The threats recorded from the study include bush burning, fishing, poaching and encroachment, road constructionaround the grove. Identification of the most delicate issues in protected areas and adequate assessment of management effectiveness will improve protected areas management. Concerted policy effort to address the most pervasive and widespread threats would probably result in drastic improvements to the grove

Traditional African Knowledge In Biodiversity Conservation

The tropical forest ecosystem is one of the most important ecosystems of the world, because it contains a large proportion of the world’s biodiversity and provides many environmental functions. Local communities have successfully conserved these resources that are of interest to them through laws and taboos. These range from fetish forests, burial-site forests, mystic-club forests and so on. People experience the sacred nature of forests, rivers, streams or mountains; through the beliefs they have on them as sources of power and of blessings and as abodes of their ancestors and the dead. Traditional religion and cultural practices thus contributed greatly to restricting and controlling the utilization of the resources. These traditional practices show that there is a big storehouse of knowledge built into traditional informal education provided orally and practically by parents, family and society. The loss of certain aspects of our cultures has reduced the possibility of imaginative new approaches. To achieve the objective of applying traditional Afrrcan knowledge in biodiversity conservation the interest of local communities must be properly addressed in policy formulation

The place of environmental education and awareness in biodiversity conservation in Nigeria

This paper examines the place of environmental education and awareness in biodiversity conservation in Nigeria. Depletion of biodiversity in Nigeria is a major environmental problem and a serious threat to livelihood and the quality of life. It is very important that future development programmes aggressively develop environment and sustainable development education and training to educate current and future generations, enabling them to meet the challenges of sustainable development in coming decades. There is an urgent need to improve public awareness and understanding of environmental issues with a view to promoting the conservation and wise use of natural resources at the community level.Keywords: Environment, education, biodiversity, conservation

Impact of Urbanization on Greenhouse Gases Emission and its Estimation on Lalubosa Forest Reserve Areas

The anthropogenic factors which drive land use change are primarily population pressure on land (i.e. mean population per unit area) which has resulted in undue depletion and degradation of most forest land in Nigeria. Deforestation, reduction in biodiversity, depletion of stratospheric ozone, increases in greenhouse gases, and changes in sea level were among the effects causing climate change. The study investigated the impact of urbanization on Greenhouse gases emission and estimated greenhouse gases emitted in the last twenty years of deforestation using Alalubosa forest reserve in Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria. Greenhouse gases emission (carbon emission) for each prominent tree species at the study area were calculated using standard method to estimate carbon emission. The estimated carbon emission from the selected tree species: Tectona grandis, Cassia siamea, Pinus caribea, Gmelina arborea, Cedrela odorata, Triplochiton scleroxylon amounted to 2.09×10-4 MTCha-1 of carbon loss during this period. The emission of Greenhouse gas (GHG) like CO2 will induce climate change hence the need for the Government to enumerate carbon stock in forest trees in order to regulate Greenhouse gas (GHGs) emission and embrace reforestation programmes to restore lost economic trees.Keywords: Greenhouse gases, urbanization, prominent tree species, Alalubosa forest reserv