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Intl. J. of Mol. Ecol. and Conserv. 2012, Vol. 2, No.2 8-14
http://ijmec.sophiapublisher.com
8
A Report Open Access
Angiosperm Biodiversity of a Nascent Nature Reserve
Shotuyo, A. L. A.
1
, Ayodele I. A.
2
1. Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management, University of Agriculture, Abeeokuta, P.M.B. 2240, Abeokuta Ogun State, Nigeria
2. Department of Wildlife and Ecotourism, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria
Corresponding author email: aderemishotuyo@yahoo.com;
Authors
International Journal of Molecular Ecology and Conservation, 2012, Vol.2, No.2 doi: 10.5376/ijmec.2012.02.0002
Received: 08 May, 2012
Accepted: 25 Jun., 2012
Published: 29 Jun., 2012
This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any
medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Preferred citation for this article:
Shotuyo and Ayodele, 2012, Angiosperm Biodiversity of a Nascent Nature Reserve, International Journal of Molecular Ecology and Conservation, Vol.2, No.2
(doi: 10.5376/ijmec.2012.02.0002)
Abstract
Protecting the changes in genetic quality and quantity of native angiosperm community is very essential. An examination
of native angiosperm biodiversity of the University of Agriculture Nature Reserve was carried out. Plants obtained were dried,
poisoned and mounted on herbarium sheets; proper identification and confirmation in a recognised herbarium were carried out. A
total of one hundred and eighteen (118) plant species being members of fifty-three families were found. Of these, ninety-eight were
dicotyledons and twenty were monocotyledons. Gramineae was the largest with nineteen plants followed by Papilionaceae with nine
and Euphorbiaceae with eight plants. Shrubs were found to have significantly contributed to the ecosystem with thirty-one species,
while twenty-five trees were recorded, herbs thirty, climbers eleven, grasses twenty and sedges one. From this study it could be
ascertained that the Nature Reserve is richly endowed. It is commendable therefore, that the University has set aside the nature
reserve to protect a representative sample of the vegetation for posterity so that all the native plants may not be lost as the University
continue to expand due to development.
Keywords
Indigenous angiosperm; Genetic biodiversity; Nature reserve; Conservation
Biodiversity at all scales is intensely threatened by
human actions, making it one of the most vital aspects
of the worldwide environmental difficulty. Human
activities have already resulted in all time losses of
biodiversity through the extinction of many species
and the loss of unique, natural communities. Ecologist
forecast that unless there is significant difference in
the way human affect ecosystems, there will be
greater losses of biodiversity in the near future
(Dawson et al., 2011).
In the past one decade, the complex problems
surrounding biological diversity or biodiversity arise
when it was recognized that there were many more
species on earth that scientist had yet described, and
that the rate of extinction of species far exceeds the
rate of their preservation. The need to conserve them
as a foundation for sustainable development becomes
very important. As the global loss of biodiversity has
been increased in not too distant past, awareness has
improved of the potentially disastrous consequences
of this trend for the earth’s ecological purpose and
achievement of basic human development needs
(Pereira et al., 2010).
The University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, having
realized that, the conservation of the genetic
variability of the native angiosperm community is
very important, set aside 20 km
2
out of 97.3 km
2
land
mass as a nature reserve.
Biodiversity can be protected in strict nature reserve,
ecological reserves, etc. These are areas created for
the conservation of natural values, usually the known
habitat of endangered species, threatened ecosystem,
or representative samples of widespread communities
(Shotuyo, 2011).
The study area is contained in the 9,700 hectare land
of the University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, situated
north-eastern of Abeokuta, along Alabata road (Figure 1
and Figure 2). The site is located between latitude 7° and
7° 58′ and Longitude 3° 3′ and 3° 37′. Generally, the site
gently undulating with mild slopes but punctuated in part
by ridges, isolated residual hills, valleys and lowlands, all