Download RESEARCH PROPOSAL FOR Ph.D STUDY TOPIC: ECOLOGICAL

RESEARCH PROPOSAL FOR Ph.D STUDY
TOPIC: ECOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE FORESTS AND SAVANNA
VEGETATIONS OF AWGU ZONE IN ENUGU STATE.
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY:
The Vegetation of an area consists of all the plant species (the flora) of the region and
the different ways these plants are distributed (Nwadinigwe, 2013). The need for
vegetation studies cannot be overemphasized owing to the numerous benefits
vegetations offer to man.
Vegetation tempers climate by acting as a carbon sink, acts as efficient pollutanttrapping devices (Shannigrahi et al., 2004), helps to reduce noise pollution and
supplies food for man and animals. Vegetations are also rich reservoirs of plants with
active phytochemicals and as such provide medicines for treatment of many ailments.
Vegetations also affords us other benefits such as provision of fibres, dyes, timber,
biofuel, shelter, wines, aesthetic and recreational facilities, conservation of
biodiversity, wildlife, gene banks, and maintenance of ecological systems and cycles
(nitrogen, water, carbon and oxygen cycles). Above all, they release oxygen which all
living things including man must take in during respiration, in order to be alive. Thus,
plants offer solutions to most human problems.
Awgu zone is a vast area located in Enugu West geopolitical zone in Enugu State,
Southeast Nigeria. It is an ecologically important zone because it is home to the
popular Udi/Awgu hill which is a major geological landscape (feature) in Enugu State
and a major important ecological green barrier for South-eastern Nigeria. The zone
comprises two major vegetations namely the tropical rain forests and Guinea savanna.
The forests are found along the southern slopes of the Udi/Awgu hills and in areas
protected and designated as pagan shrines. The rest of the vegetation is the savanna
which stretches to the boundaries of Awgu with Nkanu, Ebonyi and Abia States
respectively.
The vegetation of the place is home to a lot of animals such as different species of
monkeys, baboons, deers, antelopes, hyenas and other members of the cat family,
grasscutters, squirrels, rabbits, different reptiles, bats, snails, guinea fowls, hawks,
falcons, ground hornbills and other species of birds, and a wide varieties of
mushrooms. It is very rich in biodiversity. The savannas offer a narrower range of
habitats than the forested areas, but nevertheless support exceedingly rich animal
populations.
But due to the recent uncontrolled human activities in the area which impacts
seriously and negatively on the vegetation of the area, the zone is now known to have
less biodiversity and wildlife. The flora and fauna of the area are facing extinction
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because of loss of habitats. Many notable animals known to have existed in the area in
the past have disappeared recently due to increased human impact on the ecosystem.
They include elephants, giraffe, gazelles, lemus, tortoise, hyenas, several species of
monkeys and birds etc. Worthy of mention here is that fact that many notable
economic native species of trees and other plants are vanishing or declining in
population due to deforestation. Trees that the seeds do not germinate easily such as
Canarium schweinfurtii (black pear), Pentaclethra macrophylla (oil bean), Garcinia
kola (bitter kola), Vitex doniana (uchakiri), Milicia excelsa (Iroko), etc are
disappearing rapidly from this once rich ecological zone. The forest areas are
shrinking so fast and are being replaced by savanna grasslands.
Having highlighted the importance of vegetation to man and the dangers facing the
flora and fauna of the area, it is then easy to understand the need for the ecological
survey of the area. Studies have suggested that forest ecosystems are extremely
sensitive to climate change and climate change impacts are very significant (Zhao et
al., 2009d). There is also need to investigate whether the forests in the study area are
being impacted by climate change.
This survey is very important due to the fact that there is no data or record of the
different plant species that make up the vegetation of the zone, except by word of
mouth of the local people who make use of the resources of the vegetation without
knowing the how to conserve them for the future. There is also no standardized data
on or record of the distribution, location and composition of the vegetation types in
the ecological zone for future referencing and monitoring. There is also no record of
all the endangered plant species in the area facing the risk of extinction. There is also
the need to provide a database that will assist in proper forest, rangeland management
and land use. There is also the need to know the time of flowering, fruiting, leaf
production and regeneration, for feeding and pollinating by the animals to correspond
with the planning and management of the savanna lands. The phenology will also
improve our understanding of the drivers of vegetation growth. There is also the need
to determine the successional status of the vegetations (Nwadinigwe, 2013).
OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH:
1. To determine the type of the plant species in the study area and generate an
inventory of them;
2. To generate an inventory of all the identified endangered plant species in the area
especially economic trees and shrubs;
3. To determine the abundance and distribution of the identified endangered native
plant species of economic value;
4. To determine the vegetation structure, composition and distribution of the zone;
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5. To assess the level of human impact on the ecology of the area;
6. To assess the potential risks for biodiversity losses due to human activities by
comparing the current composition, distribution and abundance of species, vegetation
and soil characteristics along the vertical gradients, vegetation types and communities;
7. To provide a standard and quantitative database on the differences in the species
richness, composition, cover, soil physical properties ,and soil organic matter content
as observed from the communities under the study area;
8. To provide a baseline for the long term monitoring and observation of species and
vegetation to detect human and climate-induce changes of vegetation cover, species
composition and distribution;
9. To also provide a database that will assist in proper forest conservation, rangeland
management and land use;
10. To determine the relationships and trends between species distribution and
environmental factors;
11. To make phenological observation of the area and,
12. To determine the successional status of the vegetations of the area.
METHODOLOGY:
Five communities (towns) in Awgu Local Government Area of Enugu State will be
selected for these ecological investigations. The towns are those where the Udi/hills
cut across. The forest, savanna and disturbed vegetations of the towns will be studied.
1. Sampling: A site with an area of 400m2 will be measured out in the forest and
savanna and disturbed ecosystem of each community using a measuring tape and pegs
to delimit the boundaries. A line transect and 1m2 quadrat will be used in sampling the
areas for measures of abundance. Each plant species found within each randomly laid
quadrat and touching or along the line transect will be counted, collected and
identified using relevant floras such as those of Hutchinson and Dalziel (1954) and,
Akobundu and Agyakwa (1998). The measures of abundance that will be estimated
for each plant species are density, relative density, frequency, relative frequency,
dorminance, relative dorminance and the importance value index.
2. Shannon-Weiner index of diversity will be used to determine the species diversity
of each study plot and the evenness or equitability of distribution of the species in the
communities under study.
n
H = - ∑ (Pi) x (In Pi);
i-1
1
HMax = lnS ;
Equitability, E =
3
H1
HMax
where;
H1 = Shannon-Wiener’s Index of diversity;
HMax = Maximum equitability; ln = natural log; S = number of species;
Pi = Proportion of ith species in the community; i-1 = individual species to one
ln pi = natural log of the proportion of individual species.
3. Vegetation structure: The vegetation structure of all the plots in the communities
will be observed and described using the life-form classification method by
Raunkiear. The position of the perennating organs will be used in the classification of
the vegetation structure and composition of each study ecosystem.
4. Distribution of trees and shrubs: Diameter at breast height of 1.3m and girth-size of
each tree and shrubs at 1.3m found along the line transect will be measured and
recorded. A chart of girth-size and DBH classes will be generated as thus: 0-20cm, 2140cm, 41-60cm, 61-80cm, 81-100cm and >100cm. This will be used to determine the
successional status of each vegetation.
5. Soil analysis: Samples of soil from each plots of vegetation types will be collected
with soil ogar and taken to laboratory for analysis. Particulate size analysis will be
carried out using the Bouyuocos Hydrometer method, while the Walkley-Black
method will be employed in the determination of soil organic matter content.
6. Phenology: Some trees, shrubs and shrubs will be selected and labelled. Each plant
will be characterised with respect to location and size. They will be observed every
month for the appearance of flowers, fruits, yellowing and shedding of leaves,
regeneration of leaves and death.
7. Ordination of the vegetations: The Principal Component Analysis (Kershaw, 1973)
will be used to carry out the ordination of the vegetations of the study area.
All data obtained will be subjected to correlation, regression, ANOVA and other
relevant statistical analysis.
EXPECTED OUTCOMES:
1. Vegetation characterization in terms of plant species, composition, abundance,
distribution
and diversity of the study area;
2. Life-form spectrum of the study plots;
3. Phenological results, charts and graphs of the study area;
4. Relationships between species distribution, composition and environmental
factors of the study area;
5. An inventory of the plant species of the study area;
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6. A database of all the threatened or endangered plant species in the area;
7. A database of the soil physical properties and organic matter content of the area;
8. The successional status each vegetation of the area that will reveal the constancy in
its productivity, structure and species composition;
9. Ordination graphs of the vegetations of the area and,
10. The level of human disturbances on the vegetations of the area.
REFERENCES:
Akobundu, I.O. and Agyakwa, C.W. (1998). A Handbook of West African
Weeds, 2nd Edition. International Institute of Tropical Agriculture,
Ibadan, 564pp.
Hutchinson, J. and Dalziel, M.D. (1954). Flora of West Tropical Africa, 2nd
Edition. Crown Agents, London, 661pp.
Kershaw, K.A. (1973). Quantitative and Dynamic Plant Ecology, 2nd Edition.
Elsevier, New York, 308pp.
Nwadinigwe, A.O. (2002). Ecological Studies of Obollo-Afor Savanna
Woodland. Unpublished Ph.D Thesis. University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
Nwadinigwe, A.O. (2013). Studies on Methods and Analysis of Vegetation.
Welfare and Industries Promotions (WIPRO) International Publishers,
Enugu, 216pp.
Raunkiaer, C. (1934). The Life-forms of Plants and Statistical Plant Geography.
Clarendon Press, Oxford, 632pp.
Shannigrahi, A.S., Fukushima, T. and Sharma, R.C. (2004). Anticipated Air
Pollution Tolerance of some Plant Species considered for Green Belt
Development in and around an Industrial/Urban Area in India: An
Overview. International Journal of Environmental Studies, 61(2):125-137.
Zhao, J.F., Yan, X.D. and Jira, G.S. (2009d). Changes in the Carbon Budget of
Northeast China Forest Ecosystems under Future Climatic Scenario.
Chinese Journal of Ecology, 28(5):781-787.
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