RECRUITMENT OF WOODY PLANT SPECIES JUVENILE IN NGEL NYAKI FOREST RESERVE AND ITS POTENTIAL FOR FOREST REGENERATION

Abstract

The study examined the recruitment of woody plant species juveniles in both the protected portion and unprotected forest fragments of Ngel Nyaki Forest Reserve in Taraba State, Nigeria. A 1m x 1 m(1m2 ) wooden quadrat was thrown randomly for thirty times in each of the four study sites – the protected Main Forest (MF) and unprotected adjacent forest fragments A, B and C. This was done far away from parent species in order to avoid counting juveniles that regenerated under the parent plants. Woody plants at three different stages of growth (seedlings, saplings and poles) were identified to species level for each site, and the number of individuals in each juvenile class encountered for each species recorded. The abundance of juveniles in the four sites followed the order: MF < A < B < C; a trend similar to the degree of disturbance in the sites. Although the least number of juveniles was found in MF, it was fairly distributed among the three juvenile classes examined. Juveniles in the fragments were dominated by seedlings of pioneer plant species with the saplings and poles being either scarce or missing completely. There appears to be high mortality in the fragments as juveniles progress from the seedling stage to the pole stage. A very high degree of species compositional variation was observed among juveniles found in the MF on one hand, and the fragments on the other hand; with the highest dissimilarity seen at the pole stage. Clausena anisata was the only plant species with its juveniles found in all the sites. The proportions of seedlings, saplings and poles found among juveniles in the fragments are not likely to sustain effective regeneration of the plant communities. Protection and control of unsustainable practices in the fragments were suggested as a corrective measure