Abstract
The study assessed the relative abundance and vegetation structure of African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) including plant parameters: frequency, diameter at breast height (dbh), tree height, diversity, evenness, richness, Margalef, dominance in Kainji Lake National Park. Point – Centered Quarter method was used for woody species enumeration. A total of twenty-eight (28) randomly sampled plots of 150m by 100m given 112 points per plot were established in the study area. The abundance and distribution, tree frequencies, heights, dbh and plant biodiversity indices were calculated using the Paleontological Statistics Software (PAST) for scientific data analysis. The results revealed that relative abundance of African buffalo in both morning and evening of dry and wet seasons in various habitats of the Park were 13.33 ± 4.41 and 11.33 ± 4.40 respectively. The study showed the highest mean value of 21.75 ± 6.94 representing 87 individuals in dry season compared to wet season with mean value of 15.25 ± 5.11 representing 61 individuals. A total of 91 woody plant species and 29 tree families were recorded in African buffalo habitats representing 80, 77, 68 and 59 tree species respectively. The highest average girth size of tree species was class between >10cm -50cm with 59.14 ± 4.06 and the highest mean tree height was height class of >3 - 10m with 91.43 ± 5.44. There were significant differences at (p<0.05) between the values of dbh, tree height, diversity, richness and evenness of plant species recorded in different habitats studied in the Park.
Highlights
The study assessed the relative abundance and vegetation structure of African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) including plant parameters: frequency, diameter at breast height, tree height, diversity, evenness, richness, Margalef, dominance in Kainji Lake National Park
African buffaloes dwell in broad habitat range from open savanna to rainforests, including all sub vegetation types: scrublands, grassland, woodlands and deciduous forests (Bennitt, 2012; Owen-Smith and Cain, 2007)
The findings shows that fifty (50) species were commonly distributed while fourteen (14) remained partial and twenty seven (27) were unequally spread
Summary
National Parks in Nigeria (Ezealor, 2002; Ayeni, 2007; Amusa et al, 2010). KLNP is located between latitude 9o 40’ and 10o 30’N and longitude 3o 50’ E and has a total landmass of 5,370.82km (Ezealor, 2002; Ayeni, 2007). To quantify and compare floristic composition between habitats, the species Important Value Index (IVI) was calculated as the sum of its relative density, its relative dominance and its relative frequency (Curtis and McIntosh, 1951). The diversity index was used to determine the richness of various species and to compare their occurrence in the study areas. + Relative frequency: The importance value gives equal weight to the three factors of relative density, cover, and frequency This means that trees with small basal area can be dominant only if there are enough of them widely distributed across transects.
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