FACULTY OF AGRICULTURE
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Item Occupational safety and health in logging operations at Ondo State afforestation project(Forestry Association of Nigeria, 2011) Omole, A. O.; Aruagbon, E.Assessment of the various types of hazard exposed to by logging crews in a Nigerian Forest Reserve was carried in this stud y . The study site was the Ondo State Afforestation Project (OGAP) South West Nigeria. Data collection involved the use of ergonomic checklist, participatory approach, on-the-spot assessment and oral interviews. Data collected were subjected to statistical analysis. The results showed that the commonest hazards exposed to by log felling crews were vibrations, noise, stress and mental workload. Accident rate during felling was very low as 10% of the workers claimed to have being involved in logging accidents during log loading recorded the highest frequency. All the crew members were exposed to a long duration (about 6hrs) of intense noise daily but only 30% could note the effect of noise on their health while 20% reported the effect of noise on their efficiency. None of the crew members has ever gone for audiometry test in the last five years. Fifty five percent of the worker were exposed to vibrations, of these, 30% are exposed to whole body vibration, 10% to hand-arm vibration while 15% were exposed to both hand-arm and whole body vibration. The affected workers reported on the negative effect of vibration on their health. A standard working time was observed, but slight variation still exist as break time were not being observed in the study area. Although there is provision of safety rule and protective gadgets, the workers were not using them as they claimed that it could affect their safety and efficiency. Workers carelessness, ignorance and lack of proper training and not adhering to the instruction manuals were some of the factors responsible for the high rate of hazard on the job.Item Damages induced in the woods of some tropical trees during felling(2010-09) Omole, A. O.Merchantable trees in tropical forests are usually widely scattered and the cost of road construction and logging operations are expensive. This calls for finding ways of minimizing felling-induced mechanical damages on wood. This study was carried out to assess and document the magnitude of the incidental damages during the felling of some Nigerian hardwood species in Shasha Forest Reserve in Osun State Nigeria. With utilization potentials and rate of cropping a criteria data were collected with the aid of a checklist on mine species in five different forest stands within the reserve. These include height, diameter, green moisture contents, and estimate of exploitable logs as well as some wood properties. The volume of each tree was computed and the damaged volumes were estimated after felling. Analyses of data were carried out using simple percentages and regression models. Results showed that there are wide variations between and within the studied species with respect of both the tree and wood characteristics. The least average tree height of 40.39m was recorded for Mansonia altissima while the highest average tree height of 56.61m was recorded for Khaya Ivorensis. Merchantable tree volume ranged from 13.68m3 for Mansonia to 46.25m3 for Entandrophragma angolensis while green density ranged from 936.91kg/m3 tp 1845.95kg/m3 and moisture content ranged and 108.09% and 147.05% respectively. Visual assessment of damage volume shows that the degree of damage expressed as a percentage in the studied species ranged between 6.25% and 13.15%. The average damage volume per species is between 7.39% and 12.66% for the selected species. The regression models revealed that the magnitude of the damage portion has significant relationship with tree height, volume and weight.