Scholarly works in Social and Environmental Forestry

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://repository.ui.edu.ng/handle/123456789/13518

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"Development of digital elevation model for Okomu National Park, Nigeria"
(TMKarpiński Publisher, 2018) Chukwu, O.; Alo, A. A.; Ezenwenyi, J. U.
The type of soil, fauna and flora species that are found in an environment is affected by the elevation characteristics of the land. However, the ability to provide techniques and model that will effectively explain the elevation patterns of protected areas will aid sustainable management of the forest and its resources. This study developed Digital Elevation Model (DEM) for Okomu National Park, Nigeria. Point coordinates (2,272) with their respective elevations were randomly obtained covering the entire study area. Interpolated natural neighbor algorithm of the Quantum Geographic Information System was used to generate Digital Elevation Model for the National Park from the elevation data. Topographic map was extracted from the DEM at an interval of 10 m from one another. It was observed that the elevation in the study area ranged from 19 m to 105 m with an average of 56.32 m above sea level. Hence, the parkland is regarded as a gentle slope. This study revealed that the study area is not prone to flood or runoff due to its gentle slope nature. Therefore, this study is recommended as baseline information for ecological management as well as guide in the development of conservation strategies for flora and fauna species in the study area.
Development of Information System for Wood-Based Industries in Ekiti State, Nigeria.
(Integrated Publishing Association and Academic Science Publications and Distributions, 2017) Alo, A. A.
Development of information system in forestry sector is crucial in order to manage resources in a sustainable manner. Spatial distribution of forest and wood-based industries is important for sustainability. However, geographic location and other information about the wood-based industries in Ekiti state, which can provide baseline information for investors in wood industry, are dearth. To proffer solution to this, information system was developed for wood-based industries in the State using geographic information system. This was done by taking the coordinates and photographs of all wood-based industries in the State. Types of equipment used for different wood conversion were assessed with the aim of determining their strength and capacity. The photographs and coordinates were loaded into ArcView GIS for analysis. The wood-based industries were represented on the State map using their coordinates while respective pictures were hotlinked appropriately. Various local governments in the State were represented with polygons of different sizes and wood industries were represented with points. The results obtained from the analysis were used to produce database in MS SQL server. The database created by Microsoft SQL server formed the data access (back end) of the software developed using C# Programming Language. Appropriate codes were written at the business logic layer for both the back and the front ends. The software was developed in an Interactive Development Environment (IDE) using visual studio. It was observed that most of the wood-based industries were concentrated at the southern part of the State where there were more forest reserves. Gbonyin Local Government has the highest number of wood industry (46) while Efon Local Government has none at all. Over 95% of the existing wood industry was functioning with 91% of them using CD6 machine. The software developed is user-friendly, facilitates efficient data storage and prompt information retrieval, adequate and has provision for regular updates.
Human Settlements Interactions and Deforestation in Gambari Forest Reserve located in Oluyole Local Government Area (LGA) of Oyo State, Nigeria
(The University of Port Harcourt, 2021) Agbor, C. F.; Alo, A. A.; Aigbokhan, O.J .
This study was designed to examine changes in land cover types and the interaction of human settlements with the forest and impact of such interaction on the reserve. Community leaders and randomly selected community dwellers in each of the selected settlements were sampled for group discussion to obtain information on population and services of the forest that attract them to the reserve. Landsat images of 1984 and 2019 were used to extract land cover types using maximum likelihood classifier in Idrisi environment. The level of attractiveness and Interactions of the communities with the reserve were determined employing gravitational model. Results show that there was an increase in the size and number of settlements within the study area and decrease in in forest cover by 34% and 6.02% respectively. It was also revealed from the study that about 39% of the total area was taken over by development (building, roads and other classes) within the forest reserve, while 3% of the developed area gave way to forest cover. The degraded parts of the reserve in recent time was about 16% of the total reserve area and about 78% remained forest cover. From the results it is obvious that the level of interaction and imparts of such interaction depends on the community’s population size rather than distance. It is therefore imperative to regulate the activities of adjoining communities and those within the Gambari forest reserve by appropriate authorities.
Mapping the trends of forest cover change and associated drivers in Mau Forest, Kenya
(Elsevier, 2021) Jebiwott, A.; Ogendi, G. M.; Agbeja, B. O.; Alo, A. A.; Kibet, R
"Mau Forest in the Rift Valley in Kenya is the largest of the five major water towers in the country and also the largest indigenous montane forest in Eastern Africa. As such, the forest is an important natural resource base not only to the local economy but to the East African region at large. In spite of this, the forest has been highly degraded owing to immense anthropogenic pressure from the forest surrounding communities. The aim of this study was to assess the trends in forest cover and the driving forces leading to its change. Landsat TM images of 1984 and 1995, ETM+of 2008, and OLI/TIRS of 2020 were used to depict the trend in forest cover for the period between 1984 and 2020. Focus Group Discussions (FGD) and in-depth interviews were also used to get the perceptions and experiences of the local people regarding the trend in forest cover and the associated driving forces. The results from the qualitative data were integrated with those of remote sensing for assessment of trend in forest cover. The study findings indicate a decline of 25.2% of forest cover within the Mau Forest complex in a period four years shy of four decades, amounting to approximately 699 km2 of tree cover. This trend was fueled by an increasing demand for agricultural land where farmlands increased by 69.9%, as well as logging-legal or illegal-where grassland area increased by 37.2%. Three major drivers of forest cover change identified by the participants include human settlements, logging and expansion of farmlands. We recommend that forest policymakers and managers involve the local community, as the main stakeholders, in all levels of decision making and management so as to promote sustainable use of forest resources and improved management of the forest."
"Spatial Distribution of Forest Reserves and Sawmills in Oyo State, Nigeria"
(Forest and Forest Products Society, 2017) Alo, A. A.
Geographic Information System (GIS) is a veritable tool for spatial analysis in forestry. The proximity to forest reserves has been considered one of the major factors affecting the spatial distribution of wood-based industries. However, information on number of sawmills and spatial distribution of both the forest reserves and sawmill in Oyo Sate is lacking. Hence, this study employed GIS to develop spatial distribution map of forest reserves and sawmills in Oyo State, Nigeria. The secondary data used in this study included sketch maps and high-resolution satellite imagery of all the forest reserves in Oyo State as well as the shapefile of the State. The primary data included the coordinates of locations of all the sawmills’ location in all the four forestry zones (Ibadan, Oyo, Shaki and Ogbomosho) in the state and coordinates of some bench-mark places within each forest reserve that could easily be identified on ground. Interview guide was used to obtain information on factors responsible for the location of each sawmill. The sketch maps were georeferenced using the coordinates of the bench-mark places and the area covered by forest reserves were digitized. This was superimposed on the satellite imageries and also vectorized. The coordinates of sawmill locations were used to develop spatial distribution map for the sawmills. The shapefile of forest reserves and the point coordinates of the sawmills were superimposed on the shapefile of Oyo State in layers to produce a spatial distribution prediction surface for both the forest reserves and the sawmills in the study area. The mean distance from each sawmill to the forest was determined. This procedure was used to obtain Average Transport Distance (ATD) for local government and finally for forestry zones. It was observed that forest reserves in Oyo State covered a total of 342,461 ha of land which accounted for 12.92% of the total land area of the state. Opara forest reserve recorded the highest area of land (248,640 ha), accounting for about 72.60% of the total land area of forest reserves in the state while the least was Olokemeji forest reserve (75.11 ha), accounting for about 0.02%. About 135 sawmills were recorded in all the forestry zones in Oyo State. Sawmills in Oyo forestry zone is significantly higher than Ibadan zone. ATD was highest in Ibadan forestry zones (12.55 km) with corresponding lowest percentage (3.70 %) of sawmills. Oyo Forestry Zone accounted for about 56.30 % of the total number of sawmills in the state with the least ATD of 4.02 km. Availability of electricity and nearness to source of raw material favoured sawmills location in Oyo and Shaki forestry zones. Spatial distribution of sawmills was more influenced by constant supply of electricity and nearness to free forest areas than the presence of forest reserves.
The Use of Forest Inventory in Estimating Illegally Felled Trees of Tectonagrandis Plantation in Agudu Forest Reserve,Lafia, Nasarawa State, Nigeria
(Redshine Publication, 2019) Egbewole Z. T.; Rotowa O. J.; Alo, A. A.; Ojo A. S.; Oluwasanmi T. D.; Enenche J. A.; Oluwaseesin, M. B
The aim of this study is to evaluate the Use of Forest Inventory in Estimating Illegally Felled Trees of Tectonagrandis Plantation in Agudu Forest Reserve. Seven (7)plots were randomly selected from different area of the whole plantation. Perimeter measurement for each plot were; Permanent Sample Plot 1 (PSP1) to (PSP3) and Temporary Sample Plot 4 (TSP4) to Temporary Sample Plot 7(TSP7) with size 30m by 30m each totaling 0.63ha. Six (6) mean trees in respect of girth class and height class and 1 plus tree were identified and the stumps of felled trees were measured in each of the 7plots. The study was laid out in a 7 x 6 x 6 factorial experiment in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with a total of 252 treatment combinations in order to facilitate the interpretation of the main and the evolving interaction effect. Treatments were analyzed with respect to 7 Sample plots, 6 girth classes and 6 height classes. It was observed that a total of 640 Teak stand and 250 stumps of felled trees on 7plots of size 30m by 30m each totaling 0.63ha.The average tree height was 14.56m, average merchantable height was 11.56m, total basal area (BA) for the 7plots was 48.15m2 and the mean BA was 0.08m2. Total tree Volume (using Newton’s fomular) was 147.69m3 and the mean volume/tree was 0.23m3. The average stump girth (SG) was 30.54cm, 0.09m2 Stump Basal area, the estimated mean tree height was 14.34m while the average Estimated Stump Volume (ESvol) was 0.62m3. The Total Stump Basal area for the whole 250 felled tree stumps was 21.44m2 on the 0.63ha sampled plots, this will amount to 34.03m2/ha while the Total Estimated Stump Volume (ESvol) was 154.18m3 on 0.63ha sampled plots, this will amount to 244.73m3/ha. Based on ‘International prices for teak: Historical and current, and price forecasts’ the World Market Price of Teak as at 2018 is put at 1221.31USD/m3at N355/USD, this will amount to (N433565.1/m3x 244.73m3/ha x 161.28ha) the sum of N17,112,838,083.00 equivalent to a total loss of about (48,205,177.70USD)of felled Teakat 2018 year ending.Comparing all the models tried in this study using the fit statistics, model2: ESV = -0.26 – 1.71BD + 11.38BAs + 0.03MeanTHp ……………….Eq23.With basal diameter (BD), Basal area and mean Tree Height as the independent variables which had (R2 = 99.80, SEE = 0.02, with a negative intercept of -0.26) is the most appropriate prediction model. For predicting tree stump volume of Teak in Agudu Forest Reserve, the 5 ranked models are considered fit because they meet the basic requirement of a good fit model having negative intercept whereas the rest model with positive intercept may be discarded. The stand volume equations, which incorporated various tree growth variables, will enhance future yield prediction of the trees in the study areas since they provide quantitative basis for estimating stand growth parameters. It is believed that these models and volume prediction equations will enhance sound and informed management decisions and conservation measures for the remaining Tectonagr and is stands.