International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) |Volume VI, Issue X, October 2022|ISSN 2454-6186
M. G. Saka1*, I. D. Ikima2, D. I. Adekanmbi3, and B. B. Meer4
1Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management, Modibbo Adama University, Yola, Nigeria.
2Department of Forest Production and Products, Joseph Saawuan Tarka University, Makurdi, Nigeria.
3Ecole de Foresterie Tropicale (EForT), Université Nationale d’ Agriculture (UNA), Porto-Novo, Republique of Benin.
4Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management, Taraba State University, Jalingo, Nigeria.
*Corresponding Author
Abstract: Tree species diversity and Air Pollution Tolerance Index (APTI) in Makurdi Metropolis, Nigeria was evaluated. The study site was stratified into two areas, highly populated area (HPA) and less populated areas (LPA). In each of the area, five (5) major streets of 400 x 15 m were randomly selected for the study and all the tree species in the selected areas were enumerated and computed for diversity index estimation, using Shannon Wiener’s index. Matured fresh leaves of the highest ranked tree species was used for the biochemical analysis. The result on the species diversity revealed that Mangifera indica and Anacardium occidentale had the highest frequency of 46 and 95 trees among the enumerated tree species in the HPA and LPA respectively. The estimated diversity indices for the LPA and HPA was 3.037and 2.870 respectively This indicates that the LPA is highly populated in term of plant species. The result on the biochemical analysis shows that Delonix regia and Anacardium occidentale had the highest ascorbic acid values of 1.51 and 3.36 mg/g in HPA and LPA respectively, while the chlorophyll contents values ranges between 8.27 and 5.14 mg/g for Mangifera indica and Elias guinensis. The acidic APTI values ranges from 5.0 to 6.0 and 6.89 to 10.77 among the selected tree species. Conclusively, due to the highly diverse and ability of the tree species sensitivity to air pollutants in Makurdi Metropolis, these species should be given adequate protection in order to minimize environmental pollution.
Keywords: Stratified, Sensitivity, Populated, Environmental, Bio-chemical analysis,
I INTRODUCTION
Forests are the richest biological communities on earth and have been recognized to harbour a significant proportion of global biodiversity (Myers et. al., 2000; Baraloto et. al., 2013). The forests provide many ecosystem services such as species conservation, prevention of soil erosion, and preservation of habitat for plants and animals (Armenteras et. al., 2009). The world tropical forests are interestingly diverse; they contain the vast majority of plants and animals and have high genetic resources because of variation in elevation, climate and soil ranging from the steamy jungles of the rain forests to the dry forests and savannas. More than 2.5 million people live in areas adjacent to forests. They rely on forest for their water, fuel wood and other Gebrehiwot (2003). Biotic