International Journal of Mol. Ecol. and Conserv 2015, Vol.5, No.5, 1-6
6
study area. It was observed that both the indigenes and
non
-
indigenes of the community were allowed access
to the forest patch for the collection of bamboo for
pole and other Non Timber Forest Products (NTFPs)
on payment of a stipulated amount of money, thus
depleting the population of the plant forms in the
study area. Furthermore, the shading of the sunlight
and the allelopathic nature of some plant species, such
as
Ancistrophyllum secondiflorum
had made it
difficult for the herbs and climbers to thrive in the area.
The high presence of
Cissus quadrangularis
in the
study area could also be attributed to it being of lesser
economic value to the people than other climber
species in the study area.
Most of the plants species in the study area were
observed to be less than 10 individuals per hectare
except for
Canarium schweinfurthii, Mimusops
heckelii, Bambusia vulgaris, Costus afar, Hippocratea
africana
and
Ancistrophyllum secondiflorum
with a
population density of 12, 16, 31, 53, 11 and 23
individual per hectare respectively indicating that
these plant species are rare and endangered species
(Udo et al., 2009; Olajide et al., 2008). Furthermore,
all the plant species identified and enumerated in the
study area were observed to be of great economic
importance to the people of the community as they
produce edible fruits and seeds on which the people
depend on for food, oil, poles, leafy vegetable and
medicine. The products are usually sold in the rural
and urban areas by the people who trade in them as a
means of livelihood (Magurran, 1988; Nath et al., Udo
et al., 2009).
4 Conclusion and Recommendation
Human activities have been blamed for the extinction
of many plants and wildlife species through
unsustainable natural resources exploitation and
habitat destruction. The result obtained indicates that
tree species had the highest population density in the
study area followed by the herb species while the
climber species had the lowest population density. The
population of individual species of climbers, herbs
and shrubs in the study area were very few. It is
recommended that measures to foster partnership
between the community and other forest stakeholders
in the area be implemented to ensure sustainable forest
resources management in the area. Furthermore,
afforestation and re
-
afforestation programs should be
timely carried out in the area to restore the degraded
ecosystem.
References
Adekunle V.A.J., Olagoke A.O., and Ogundare L.F., 2010, Logging impacts
in Tropical lowland humid forest on trees species diversity and
environmental conservation, Journal of Sustainable Forestry
,
29: 517
-
538
Aremu T.O., 2010, The Diversity and distribution of mammals in Nigeria, In:
Ijeomah H.N., and Aiyeloja A.A. (eds.), Practical issues in forest and
wildlife resources management in Nigeria, Green Canopy Consultant,
Choba, Port Harcourt, Nigeria, pp.552
-
581
Jacob D.E., 2012, Population and Habitat Assessment of Sclater’s Guenon
(
Cercopithecus sclateri
, Pocock 1904), In Ikot Uso Akpan Community
Forest, Itam, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, An Unpublished M.Sc. Thesis
submitted to the University of Uyo, Uyo, pp.116
Magurran A.E., 1988, Ecological Diversity and its measurement Chapman
and Hill Publication, London, pp.384
Mongabey.org, Nigeria, Accessed 11
th
January, 2012
Nath O.C., Arunachalam A., Khan M.I., Arunachalam K., and Barhuiya
A.R., 2005, Vegetation analysis and tree population structure of
tropical wet evergreen forest in Namdapha National Park, Northeast
India, Biodiversity and Conservation, 14: 2109
-
2136
Offiong M.O., Udofia S.I., and Etuk I.M., 2011, Sustainable Management of
Edible Non
-
Timber Forest Products (NTFPs): A Panacea for Food
Production and Poverty Alleviation, In: Popoola L., Ogunsanwo K.,
and Idumah F., (eds.), Forestry in the Context of the Millennium
Development Goals,
Proceeding of the 34
th
Annual Conference of the
Forestry Association of Nigeria held in Osogbo, Osun State, Nigeria, 1:
412
-
415
Olajide O., Udo E.S., and Out D.O., 2008, Diversity and population of
timber tree species producing valuable Non
-
Timber Products in Two
Tropical Rainforests in Cross River State, Nigeria, Journal of
Agriculture and Social Science, 4(2): 65
-
68
Onyekwelu J.C., Adekunle V.A., and Adeduntan S.A., 2005, Does Tropical
Rainforest ecosystem possess the ability to recover from severe
degradation? In: Popoola L., Mfon P., and Oni P.I., (eds.), Sustainable
Forest Management in Nigeria: Lessons and Prospects,
Forestry
Association of Nigeria, pp.145
-
306
Sodhi N.S., Kohl L.P., Brook B.W., and Ng P.K.L., 2004, Southeast Asian
Biodiversity: An Impending Disaster, Trends in Ecology and
Evolution, 19(12): 654
-
660
Turner I.M., 2001, The Ecology of trees in the tropical rainforest, pp.298,
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK
Udo E.S., and Udofia S.I., 2006, Marketing of
Chrysophyllumal bidum
(Linn) fruits within the produce market in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State of
Nigeria. Global J. Pure Appl. Sci.,
12: 307
-
313
Udo E.S., Olajide O., and Udoh E.A., 2009, Life
-
form classification and
density of plants producing economically valuable non
-
timber
products in Ukpom Community Forest, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria,
Nigerian Journal of Botany,
22(1): 147
-
154
Udofia S.I., Jacob D.E., Owoh P.W., and Samuel N.S., 2011, Steming
environmental degradation: The afforestation approach, Nigerian
Journal of Agriculture, Food and Environment, 7(1): 22
-
27
