Floristic Composition, Vegetation Structures and Physiognomy of a Typical Guinea Savannah: A Case Study of Minna-Bida Road, Niger State

Abstract

Vegetation studies was undertaken to assess the floristic composition of Minna-Bida road of Niger State. The project area, i.e. Minna-Bida Vegetation, is a vegetation study cutting across five local government areas, Bosso, Chanchaga, Minna, Katcha and Bida local government areas of Niger State; this region lies in the Guinea Savannah. Transect and quadrat sampling methods were used to determine the vegetation cover of the study areas; in addition, GPS was used to take the coordinates of each of the sampling sites. The result showed that a total of 38 plant species belonging to 21 families were recorded in transects surveyed and comprising of both woody and herbaceous plant species. The species floristic indices of these communities is hereby presented in Table 4. Sixteen (16) species representing about 42% of the censored species were trees, ten (10) species representing about 26% are shrubs, whereas, twelve (12) species representing about 32% were herbs. The five most abundant species across the proposed project areas at the Minna-Bida community include: Hyptis suaveolens (739 individuals), Daniella oliveri (58 individuals), Vitellaria paradoxa (35 individuals), Mangifera indica (14 individuals), and Ageratum conyzoides (160 individuals). However, five of the species that had the least abundance are: Vitex doniana (1 individual), Prosopis africana (3), Senna sp (7 individuals), Nymphaea lotus (5 individuals), Khaya senegalensis (2 individuals). The IUCN status of most of the plant species encountered during the study showed that they can be broadly classified into two conservation status; most of the plants encountered are Data Deficient (DD), were as few of them are Vulnerable (V). Sheanut tree, Utricularia, Afzelia africana, and Mahogany are vulnerable, whereas, most of the other plants are either data deficient or least concerned. It is therefore concluded that Minna-Bida road represents a typical guinea savannah due to the composition of plants encountered. The floristic composition of the project area is highly diverse in species even over a seemingly homogenous area.