This study was conducted to investigate the tree species richness and diversity of urban and periurban areas of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, Nigeria, and produce Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) for the territory. Data were collected from urban (Abuja city) and periurban (Lugbe) areas of the FCT using both semistructured questionnaire and inventory of tree species within green areas. In the study location, all trees with diameter at breast height (dbh) ≥ 10 cm were identified; their dbh was measured and frequency was taken. The NDVI was calculated in ArcGIS 10.3 environment using standard formula. A cumulative total of twenty-nine (29) families were encountered within the FCT, with 27 occurring in Abuja city (urban centre) and 12 in Lugbe (periurban centre) of the FCT. The results of Shannon-Wiener diversity index ( ) for the two centres are 3.56 and 2.24 while Shannon's maximum diversity index ( max ) is 6.54 (Abuja city) and 5.36 (Lugbe) for the urban (Abuja city) and periurban (Lugbe) areas of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The result of tree species evenness (Shannon's equitability ( ) index) in urban and periurban centres was 0.54 and 0.42, respectively. The study provided baseline information on urban and periurban forests in the FCT of Nigeria, which can be used for the development of tree species database of the territory.

(2015) Farm-level tree growth characteristics, fruit phenotypic variation and market potential assessment of three socioeconomically important forest fruit tree species,

No abstract

This research focuses on the urban tree species population and diversity within Ibadan metropolis as a means of creating biodiversity database for the urban centre in South west, Nigeria. This was determined by assessing urban forest tree abundance, species diversity and growth yield. All trees with diameter at breast height (dbh) ≥ 10 cm were identified, dbh measured and their frequencies taken in all the area enumerated within Ibadan. There are 155 tree stems belonging to 26 families and 54 tree species within Ibadan built-up areas and 101 tree stems belonging to 16 families and 19 tree species in peri-urban centre of Ibadan. The two most abundant species and families were Delonix regia of Fabaceae family and Terminalia ivorensis of Combretaceae family (18 and 17 stems) respectively while Fabaceae family has (7 species). The value of the Shannon's max diversity index (H max ) of (3.99 and 2.94), Shannon-Wiener diversity index (3.35 and 2.48) and species evenness 0.84 were the same for peri-urban centre, while the growth variable were basal area and volume of (22.8m 2 and 18.5m2 ) and (284.8m 3 and 275.3m 3 ) respectively. This study provide information on the level of tree species biodiversity due to infrastructure development that has reduced forest cover within the built-up areas of Ibadan which can expose the city to lot of environmental hazard.

The paper examines poverty alleviation through optimizing the marketing of Garcinia kola and Irvingia gabonensis in Ondo State, Nigeria. Data for this study were collected using structured questionnaire. Two categories of pretested structured questionnaires were used to obtain information from the respondents (farmers and the marketers of the species). Data analysis was done using descriptive analysis, and Student t-test was used to compare the income generated by the producers and the marketers of the fruits of the tree species. In addition, analysis of variance (ANOVA), arranged in randomized complete block design, was employed to test the significance of price variable across the three market structures (i.e., farm gate price, rural market price, and urban market price). Marketing of forest fruits species is a profitable enterprise with an average profit of 119,123.37 per marketer per month. The analysis of variance for the two forest fruit species indicated that Irvingia gabonensis generated the highest annual income in rainforest ecosystem while Garcinia kola generated the highest annual income in derived savanna ecosystem. Major constraints militating against these forest fruit species are poor market access and infrastructure development. The paper recommended among other things that domestication and interventions of these forest fruit species should be encouraged for proper management and sustainability.