PHYTOGEOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS ALONG CATENA SEGMENTS IN ITU LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, AKWA IBOM STATE, SOUTH-SOUTHERN NIGERIA 0 0
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.83374/jesber.vol1no2.90Keywords:
Phytogeographic characteristics, Catena segments, Species diversity, Slope position, Vegetation-soil relationship, Itu Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State (Nigeria)Abstract
Slope-induced variation in soil properties is widely recognised as a determinant of plant distribution, yet how this variation shapes woody and herbaceous species composition in the secondary forests of south-southern Nigeria remains poorly documented, leaving land managers without a local basis for conservation planning along catena landscapes. This study examined the phytogeographic characteristics of plant species along catena (slope) segments in Itu Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, with the objective of determining species composition, diversity, and whether density varies significantly across the upper, middle, and lower slope segments. An experimental design was adopted across the Ebu Afaha, Mbak, Afaha Ikot Udoe, and Oku Iboku communities: four toposequences were delineated with the aid of ArcGIS and a Geographic Positioning System, each divided into upper, middle, and lower slope segments, and a 20 m × 20 m quadrat (subdivided into 10 m × 10 m sub-plots) was established per segment, giving twelve quadrats in total; species data were analysed with descriptive statistics, the Shannon-Wiener diversity index, and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Eighty-nine species (52 tree/shrub and 37 herbaceous) belonging to 59 families were recorded, with high overall diversity (H = 3.9) but low species evenness (0.03); tree/shrub density did not differ significantly along the catena as a whole (F = 2.581, p = 0.079), although the middle slope was significantly more diverse than the upper slope (p = 0.030). These results imply that catena position exerts a measurable, if spatially uneven, influence on woody species distribution in the study area, and that anthropogenic pressure rather than topography alone now drives much of the observed vegetation pattern. The study contributes new baseline phytogeographic data for the Itu catena and recommends erosion-control measures on the upper slope and stricter control of fuel-wood harvesting and illegal logging to conserve this species-rich ecosystem.Downloads
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