Abstract
Riparian forest inventory is essential in understanding the floristic biodiversity and provides necessary information on the growth trend and status of plant diversity along forest ecosystem, especially the riparian forests. This study was undertaken to assess the species diversity, growth status, and bio-volume of Taia riparian forest for community-based conservation intervention. In this study, we enumerated 602 individual trees, which comprised 49 species that belong to 37 genera in 25 families. In total, 14 rectangular plots of dimension 20 × 50 m2 were demarcated. All trees species within the sampled plots having diameter at breast height [Dbh] ≥7 cm were identified and height measured using the Haga altimeter, girth and measuring tape to determine the growth status. The result shows that 83% of the trees enumerated have [Dbh] that range from 7 to 30 cm, whereas 17% had [Dbh] greater than 30 cm. Funtumia africana and Trichilia heudelotii were the dominant species in almost all aspects in the study area. Meliaceae, Apocynaceae, and Mimosaceae were the dominant families with the highest species. The Shannon diversity index was 3.094, whereas the Simpson and Evenness diversity was 0.9303 and 0.4502, respectively. Other diversity indices estimated were Margalef 7.544, Equitability 0.7949, and Fisher_alpha 12.77. The overall biovolume was 283.05 m,3 with a total basal cover of 12.54 m2. Height and [Dbh] were not significantly correlated with the biovolume. Biotic pressure such as fuelwood collection, unsustainable charcoal production, pole harvesting, bushfires, and other traditional and cultural functions contributes greatly to the exploitation of the riparian forest. Therefore, urgent strategic conservation and protection measures should be adopted to prevent further degradation of forest ecosystems along river banks in the district and other ecologies in Sierra Leone.
Highlights
Sierra Leone with a land area of 72,300 sq. km is situated on the West Coast of Africa along the East Atlantic Coast in Africa. e country’s geographic location is a quintessential factor that determines the diversity of its ecosystems, vegetation, and biodiversity [1, 2]
Apocynaceae, and Mimosaceae are the dominant families with the highest individuals in the studied riparian forest ecosystem (Table 3)
Decades of intense biotic activity couple with weak community forest protection by-laws has contributed to the loss of Sierra Leone forest estates, especially the riparian forests
Summary
Sierra Leone (coordinates—6°55′–10°14′N and 10°14′–13°17′W) with a land area of 72,300 sq. km is situated on the West Coast of Africa along the East Atlantic Coast in Africa. e country’s geographic location is a quintessential factor that determines the diversity of its ecosystems, vegetation, and biodiversity [1, 2]. Sierra Leone is located within the Upper Guinean biodiversity hot spot of West Africa [1, 3,4,5,6,7]. World Bank [1] report stated that the wetlands of Sierra Leone including riparian forests, mangroves, and swamps account for 4, 800 km and are host to International Journal of Forestry Research diverse biodiversity. Based on FAO [10] report, about 12.6% of the estimated 38.1% forest area of Sierra Leone was lost between 1990 and 2010. Ey argue that the classification system used by FAO and the data supplied by the country’s authorities on forest cover of Sierra Leone are most times exaggerated and ambiguous Wadsworth and Lebbie [3] cautioned the accuracy and credibility of forest area figures given by FAO every five years. ey argue that the classification system used by FAO and the data supplied by the country’s authorities on forest cover of Sierra Leone are most times exaggerated and ambiguous
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