Assessing the impacts of land use on riparian vegetation dynamics in Osun State, Nigeria

Floristic composition, structure and diversity of riparian forests in southwestern Nigeria: conservation is inevitable

“…Higher richness of Rubiaceae and Fabaceae have been reported to be related to high flooding frequency and symbiotic dinitrogen fixation respectively which have significantly improved their adaptation to the wetland ecosystems (Koponen et al 2004, Sambare et al 2011, Tsheboeng 2016). The dominance of Apocyanceae by lianas in this study may be related to various anthropogenic activities taking place at the various study sites as reflected in the land use change (Borisade et al 2021). The low number of species per family such as Polygalaceae, Pandaceae, Aristolochiaceae, Piperaceae and Zingiberaceae in this study may be connected to the ethno‐botanical and socio‐economical values of some species within these families warranting incessant harvesting.…”

“…They contain exclusive accumulation of species, including a number of endemics plants and a few endemic birds and mammals. Riparian forests, like any other forest, are sullied by human activities, although they may be more resilient compared to other wetland ecosystems due to their productivity, diversity and connectivity, despite their size in patches (Borisade et al 2021). The plant community of these ecosystem serves important ecosystem functions (e.g.…”

“…Momodu et al (2011) has reported that the area covered by riparian forests has further decrease by approximately 50% between the year 1978 and 2000. The riparian forest ecosystems in Osun State, southwestern Nigeria had declined in extent and distribution by 69% between 1986 and 2016 (Borisade et al 2021). This obvious decline in riparian vegetation among tropical forest ecosystems in Nigeria have been attributed mainly to high rate of deforestation and degradation.…”

“…Varying disturbances notably anthropogenic activities such as logging, livestock grazing, conversion of forest to agricultural lands, mining and exploration, construction of dams and houses have affected the structure, composition and diversity of plant communities. Resulting in diminishing extent, distribution, quality of goods and services offered by the African riparian (gallery) forests (Natta et al 2002, Sambare et al 2011, Schmitt et al 2019, Borisade et al 2021). Though some studies have addressed some of these problems associated with riparian forests such as impact of anthropogenic disturbances, underlying environmental conditions and the level of biodiversity loss for proper management and conservation of the riparian forest ecosystems (Sunil et al 2017, Meragiaw et al 2018).…”

“…Few studies exist on riparian forest ecosystems in Nigeria, most of which are poorly documented and the few studies focused on area restricted to narrow study areas with emphases on tree species composition, neglecting other growth forms (shrubs, climbers, forbs, grasses and ferns). This study is a follow up to the distribution pattern and regeneration status of riparian forests in southwestern Nigeria been studied (Borisade and Odiwe 2021, Borisade et al 2021), and also to provide the link between floristic diversity, structures and factors affecting the vegetation. The following questions were addressed in this study:1) Which of the ranked anthropogenic disturbances exerted the most influence on the vegetation dynamics of the riparian forests?2) What are the patterns of floristic composition, diversity and structures in the riparian forests?3) Which plants species should be given conservation priority based on the important value index (IVI) across study sites? …”