Abstract

Shortage of ecological assessment in tropical rain forest has been identified as major challenges for the forestry industries and government for sustainable forest management in terms of conservation, advocacy, carbon sequestration and policy recommendation. The study was carried out to assess tree species and vegetation dynamics of four airport surrounding forests in Nigeria. Four airports surrounding forests used for this study were: Benin, Akure, Ibadan and Lagos respectively. Alternate line transect method were used in laying and selecting 50 m X 50 m for detailed enumeration. Each transect was 1000 m in length. Sample plots were laid at every 100 m along transect. Eight (8) plots were selected per study sites while 32 sample plots in total were used for this study. In each sample plot, all living trees with Diameter at Breast Height (DBH) greater than or equal to 10 cm were measured and identified by their botanical and the family names. Data were analysed with SPSS version (13) and PAST version (30) and the results were presented using tables and figures. Results revealed that the four airports surrounding forest ecosystems contributed differently to tree species diversity. A total number of 34 families in Akure, Ibadan, Benin and Lagos were encountered. The numbers of tree species encountered were in decreasing order: Ibadan (59); Benin (51), Lagos (46) and Akure (41). The highest Simpson diversity index (0.965) was obtained in Ibadan while the lowest value (0.927) was obtained at Akure forest. Values obtained for species evenness results were 0.691 for Lagos while Akure has the least value of 0.55. Malvaceae was the dominant family in the four forest ecosystems, with Lagos and Ibadan having highest similarity index. The tree species encountered with highest IVI was Celtis zenkeri (11.98%) while the least was Bateria fistulosa (0.81%). The results of this study concluded that the four airports surrounding forest assessed were haven for biological diversity particularly Ibadan and Benin forest, therefore conservation of tree species in the surrounding forests of airports is recommended.

Keywords: Vegetation, Species, Density, Importance Value Index, Dynamics