Regeneration status of common woody species in the riparian forests in Southwestern Nigeria

Abstract

Sustainability of woody species in riparian forests requires information on its regeneration status, which is crucial for proper management and conservation of these species but the information is generally lacking in Nigeria. This knowledge of the regeneration status of common woody species in riparian forests guarantees their survival through proper management and conservation. Sampling was done via random method in which five (5) 10 m × 10 m plots were selected from the study sites giving a total of 45 plots. Therefore, the aim of the study was to assess the structures and status of common woody species in the regeneration layer of riparian forests. There was no significant (p > 0.05) difference in the mean seedling and sapling densities of the common woody species across the riparian forest sites. The regression slope showed on-going regeneration (mostly weak) of the common riparian woody species in all the sites. The regeneration structures indicated reverse J-shaped and have been greatly modified by prevalent anthropogenic activities in the study area. The pattern of regeneration status observed in the seedlings and saplings emergence in the regeneration layer was due to the similar environmental factors that occurred from one site to the other. The intermediate values of tree/shrub ratio shown by the common woody species encountered in the regeneration layer indicated more individuals of shrub size than tree and emphasized the fact that the level of disturbance on-going was moderate across study and possibly that the sites were recovering from disturbances.