4. Status of vegetation and forests in Nigeria.
4.1. Status of Vegetation in Nigeria
The most current status of vegetation in Nigeria can be inferred from Table 2 below.
Table 2 Vegetation and Land use Classes for 1976/78 and 1993/95, Nigeria
|
1976/78 |
1993/95 |
Changes (km2) |
|||
|
Area (Km2) |
% of country |
Area (km2) |
% of country |
||
|
Intensive (crop) Agriculture |
322794 |
35.5 |
365491 |
40.2 |
42697 |
|
Extensive (grazing) Agriculture |
166326 |
18.3 |
187236 |
20.6 |
20910 |
|
Dominantly Shrub/Grasses |
113880 |
12.5 |
81694 |
9.0 |
-32186 |
|
Dominantly Trees/Woodlands/Shrubs |
151293 |
16.6 |
81386 |
9.0 |
-69907 |
|
Floodplain Agriculture |
9451 |
1.0 |
20918 |
2.3 |
11467 |
|
Disturbed Forest |
14573 |
1.6 |
18990 |
2.1 |
4417 |
|
Gullies |
122 |
<0.1 |
18517 |
2.0 |
18395 |
|
Forested Freshwater Swamp |
18316 |
2.0 |
16499 |
1.8 |
-1817 |
|
Undisturbed Forest |
25951 |
2.9 |
12114 |
1.3 |
-13837 |
|
Dominantly Grasses |
12549 |
1.4 |
11983 |
1.3 |
-566 |
|
Discontinuous Grassland |
6137 |
0.7 |
11248 |
1.2 |
5111 |
|
Mangrove Forest |
9994 |
1.1 |
9977 |
1.1 |
-17 |
|
Shrub/Sedge/Graminoid Freshwater Marsh/Swamp |
16899 |
1.9 |
9248 |
1.0 |
-7651 |
|
Extensive Agriculture with Denuded Areas |
3518 |
0.4 |
9206 |
1.0 |
5688 |
|
Grassland |
1034 |
0.1 |
7989 |
0.9 |
6955 |
|
Natural Waterbodies |
6591 |
0.7 |
7851 |
0.9 |
1260 |
|
Montane Forest |
6762 |
0.7 |
6759 |
0.7 |
-3 |
|
Urban (major+minor) |
2083 |
0.2 |
5444 |
0.6 |
3361 |
|
Riparian Forest |
7402 |
0.8 |
5254 |
0.6 |
-2148 |
|
Sand Dunes |
812 |
0.1 |
4829 |
0.5 |
4017 |
|
Montane Grassland |
1739 |
0.2 |
3112 |
0.3 |
1373 |
|
Reservoir |
1327 |
0.2 |
2888 |
0.3 |
1561 |
|
Rock Outcrop |
1424 |
0.2 |
2632 |
0.3 |
1208 |
|
Agricultural Tree Crop Plantation |
830 |
0.1 |
1641 |
0.2 |
811 |
|
Forest Plantation |
997 |
0.1 |
1573 |
0.2 |
576 |
|
Teak/Gmelina Plantation |
628 |
0.1 |
1156 |
0.1 |
528 |
|
Irrigation Project |
147 |
0.1 |
988 |
0.1 |
841 |
|
Graminoid/Sedge Freshwater Marsh |
4882 |
0.5 |
871 |
0.1 |
-4011 |
|
Saltmarsh.Tidal Flat |
4 |
<0.1 |
545 |
0.1 |
541 |
|
Rainfed Arable Crops |
16 |
<0.1 |
485 |
0.1 |
469 |
|
Alluvial |
487 |
0.1 |
269 |
<0.1 |
-218 |
|
Livestock Project |
52 |
<0.1 |
139 |
<0.1 |
87 |
|
Mining Areas |
0 |
0.0 |
62 |
<0.1 |
62 |
|
Canal |
2 |
<0.1 |
29 |
<0.1 |
27 |
Source: FORMECU 1998. The assessment of vegetation and land use changes in Nigeria between 1976/78 and 1993/9
4.2. Status of forests in Nigeria.
The current status of forests in Nigeria is based on the work of Beak Consultants for FORMECU titled "The Forest Resources Study (FRS) of Nigeria". Table 3 below shows the area of various forest types in the forest reserves and free areas. The total areas of these forest categories are also provided.
Table 3: Forest types and their distribution within the FRS Study Area, Nigeria.
|
S/N |
Forest Type |
Area in Forest Reserves (ha) |
Portion of Total Forested Area in Reserves (%) |
Area in Free Forest Areas (ha) |
Total Areas of Forest Types in FRS Study Area (ha) |
Portion of Total Forested Area in FRS Study Area (%) |
Portion of Total Forested Area in FRS Study Area (%) |
|
1 |
Savanna woodland |
1,424,029 |
52.0 |
6,922,663 |
58.8 |
9,736,158 |
58.0 |
|
2 |
Lowland rain forest |
832,237 |
30.4 |
1,580,928 |
13.4 |
2,881,755 |
17.2 |
|
3 |
Freshwater swamp forest |
226,242 |
8.3 |
1,430,436 |
12.1 |
1,656,499 |
9.9 |
|
4 |
Mangrove forest |
48,859 |
1.8 |
945,592 |
8.1 |
997,451 |
5.9 |
|
5 |
Montane forest |
18,271 |
0.7 |
466,036 |
4.0 |
685,150 |
4.1 |
|
6 |
Riparian forest |
46,583 |
1.7 |
431,537 |
3.7 |
509,415 |
3.0 |
|
7 |
Plantations (agriculture) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
164,100 |
1.0 |
|
8 |
Plantation (forest) |
144,666 |
5.3 |
704 |
0.0 |
145,379 |
0.9 |
|
TOTAL |
Source: Beak Consultants 1998. Forest Resources Study, National Report (draft), Vol. 1
