| Abstract Detail
Floristics & Taxonomy Onuminya, Temitope [1], Ogundipe, Oluwatoyin [1], Nodza, George [2], Igbari, Dolapo [1], Kadiri, Akeem [1]. Botanical exploration and Conservation assessments of Nigeria flora towards deducing effective conservation management plan. Nigeria, located in West Africa, is the most populous country in Africa and equally one of the most endowed in terms of flora diversity. However, conservation of biodiversity in Nigeria is besetted by unsustainable humans’ activities such as technological developments, increasing pressure for agricultural land, combined with the exploitation of timber, minerals, and other natural resources. These are causing rapid environmental changes exacerbated recently by climate change. Even the protected areas are not spared from illegal activities, as they are accessible for the harvest of natural resources. Regrettably, most of the plant species loss are either undocumented or the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) conservation status not assessed. In order to document the species for posterity and identify the causes of the local extinction of the species, we explored the Nigerian environ, community forests, protected areas, National Parks and game reserves. Samples of the plants were collected using random sampling methods and voucher specimens were prepared and deposited in the Lagos University Herbarium. Furthermore, non-formal periodic interviews and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) were conducted on the inhabitants and the Park rangers for information about the plant uses and the problems of conservation that are prevalent in the areas. A total of 178 species belonging to 54 families collected across Nigeria were identified and their IUCN status was determined. Out of these, 103 species are in the Least Concern (LC) category, followed by 44 species which are Not Evaluated (NE) while six species are categorized into Conservation Dependent (CD)- 2, Critically Endangered (CE)- 2 and Near Threatened (NT)- 2. Twenty of the species are Vulnerable (V) while only 5 species are endangered (E). The species have a wide range of uses upon which the life of man is closely dependent. These are closely related to their current IUCN categorization, we therefore recommend a comprehensive regional assessment of these species and their genetic conservation for posterity. It is expected that this will assist policymakers, researchers in deducing effective conservation strategy for the flora of Nigeria. The project is funded by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) Ref: TETFund/DR&D/CE/NRF/2019/STI/11/VOL 1.
1 - University of Lagos, Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Lagos, LA, 23401, Nigeria
2 - Molecular Systematic Laboratory, Botany Department, Akoka, Yaba Lagos, 2301, Nigeria
Keywords:
Nigeria
Trees
IUCN
conservation.
Presentation Type: Poster
Number: PFT003
Abstract ID:286
Candidate for Awards:None |
