A Survey of the Mangrove Vegetation in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria

Abstract

A survey of the mangrove vegetation in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria was carried out. The study was carried out in Rivers State of Nigeria and covered two Local Government Areas namely, Khana and Akuku Toru Local Government Areas. Field trips were embarked upon to Asarama Kingdom in Khana LGA and Abonnema in Akuku Toru LGA, all in Rivers State. The true mangrove is made up of trees belonging to three genera Rhizophora, Avicennia and Laguncularia. Two species of Rhizophora (R. mangle and R. racemosa) were seen in this study. There are two types of mangrove, the red and the white mangroves and both of them were seen in the areas surveyed. All the three different mangrove species were identified in this study. In all the locations, it was observed that there is a silent but serious competition between Nypa palms (Nypa fruticans) and the mangrove species. The mangrove ecosystem is essentially a swamp vegetation having a number of characteristics some of which include the presence of mudskippers (Periophthalmus modestus), crabs (Uca pugilator) and crab holes and a salty soil outlook. All these characteristics were observed in the mangrove sites covered in this study.