Species Composition of a Degraded Watershed in Amawbia, Anambra State, Nigeria

Ukpaka Chukwujekwu Gratius; Nnabude Peter Chinedu

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ajpb.20180301.11

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Species Composition of a Degraded Watershed in Amawbia, Anambra State, Nigeria

Ukpaka Chukwujekwu Gratius, Nnabude Peter Chinedu

Published in American Journal of Plant Biology (Volume 3, Issue 1)

Received: 20 September 2017 Accepted: 11 October 2017 Published: 30 January 2018

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Abstract

This work was carried out in a period that spans the rainy and dry seasons of 2010 – 2011. In times past, Anambra State was rich in chains of productive watershed, saturated with luxuriant plant species. This however is now history owing to steadily increasing, degradatory anthropogenic influences. Ignorance and crass indifference on the indispensability of plant resources to man’s survival in tropical Africa has also resulted in very poor biodiversity of our watersheds. Amawbia watershed is not an exception. With the assistance of a field taxonomist and relevant texts, tree, climber, shrub, grass and forb species were firstly identified and recorded for sampled sites (sites A – E). Unlike productive watersheds, the dominant species encountered in this watershed were grasses and forbs. Dominant individual plants include: Heivea brasiliensis, Senna siamea, Napoleana imperialis, Dactyledenia barteri, Pentaclethra macrophyla, (Trees); Gongronema latifolium, Dioscorea dumentorum, Telfeiria occidentalis, Smilax anceps, Cissus aralioides (Climbers); Olax viridis, Mimosa invisa, Bambusa vulgaris, Vernonia amygdalina, Sarcocephalum laxiflora (Shrubs); Zea mays, Panicum maxima, Imperata cylindrica, Sporobolus pyramidalis, Andropogon tectorum (Grass); Amaranthus viridis, Ageratum conyzoides, Sida acuta, Gomphrena celosoides, Ocimum basilicum (Forbs). Most of these species are not very important in terms of economic relevance.

Published in	American Journal of Plant Biology (Volume 3, Issue 1)
DOI	10.11648/j.ajpb.20180301.11
Page(s)	1-7
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2018. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Specie Composition, Degraded, Watershed, Biodiversity, Anthropogenic Influences

References

[1]	Akobundu, I. O. and Agyakwa, C. W. (1998). A handbook of West African Weeds (2nd ed). Nigeria: International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, 564pp.
[2]	Conservation Technology Information Center (2009). What is a watershed? West Lafayette, Indiana, USA. 1p.
[3]	Gill, L. S. (1988). Taxonomy of flowering plants. Nigeria: Africana-Fep publishers, pp. 123-288.
[4]	Idodo-Umeh (2011). College Biology. Idodo Umeh publishers limited. Nigeria. 657pp.
[5]	Ingwu, A. (2006). Development in Nigeria. Who should govern our watershed: A case study from northern Cross River State, Nigeria. Retrieved February 4^th, 2006. http://www.cenrce.org/eng/projects/ace/agnes/presentation.pdf
[6]	Ministry of Agriculture, Awka (2009). Mean Monthly climatological data (handbill). Anambra State. Nigeria. 2pp.
[7]	Mywatershedwatch.org (2016). Why are watersheds Important. USA. 866pp.
[8]	New World Encyclopedia (2009). Watershed/Drainage basins. http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/watershed. U.S.A. Accessed, March 2011. 2pp.
[9]	Nyananyo, B. L. (2006) Plants from the Niger Delta. Nigeria: Onyoma Research Publications, 403pp.
[10]	The Nature Conservancy (2016). Watersheds USA. 101pp.
[11]	United States Geological Survey (2000). Important Watershed Characteristics. http://www.egr.msu.edu/-northco2/BE481/Wshed char.htm.

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APA Style

Ukpaka Chukwujekwu Gratius, Nnabude Peter Chinedu. (2018). Species Composition of a Degraded Watershed in Amawbia, Anambra State, Nigeria. American Journal of Plant Biology, 3(1), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpb.20180301.11

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ACS Style

Ukpaka Chukwujekwu Gratius; Nnabude Peter Chinedu. Species Composition of a Degraded Watershed in Amawbia, Anambra State, Nigeria. Am. J. Plant Biol. 2018, 3(1), 1-7. doi: 10.11648/j.ajpb.20180301.11

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AMA Style

Ukpaka Chukwujekwu Gratius, Nnabude Peter Chinedu. Species Composition of a Degraded Watershed in Amawbia, Anambra State, Nigeria. Am J Plant Biol. 2018;3(1):1-7. doi: 10.11648/j.ajpb.20180301.11

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@article{10.11648/j.ajpb.20180301.11,
  author = {Ukpaka Chukwujekwu Gratius and Nnabude Peter Chinedu},
  title = {Species Composition of a Degraded Watershed in Amawbia, Anambra State, Nigeria},
  journal = {American Journal of Plant Biology},
  volume = {3},
  number = {1},
  pages = {1-7},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajpb.20180301.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpb.20180301.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajpb.20180301.11},
  abstract = {This work was carried out in a period that spans the rainy and dry seasons of 2010 – 2011. In times past, Anambra State was rich in chains of productive watershed, saturated with luxuriant plant species. This however is now history owing to steadily increasing, degradatory anthropogenic influences. Ignorance and crass indifference on the indispensability of plant resources to man’s survival in tropical Africa has also resulted in very poor biodiversity of our watersheds. Amawbia watershed is not an exception. With the assistance of a field taxonomist and relevant texts, tree, climber, shrub, grass and forb species were firstly identified and recorded for sampled sites (sites A – E). Unlike productive watersheds, the dominant species encountered in this watershed were grasses and forbs. Dominant individual plants include: Heivea brasiliensis, Senna siamea, Napoleana imperialis, Dactyledenia barteri, Pentaclethra macrophyla, (Trees); Gongronema latifolium, Dioscorea dumentorum, Telfeiria occidentalis, Smilax anceps, Cissus aralioides (Climbers); Olax viridis, Mimosa invisa, Bambusa vulgaris, Vernonia amygdalina, Sarcocephalum laxiflora (Shrubs); Zea mays, Panicum maxima, Imperata cylindrica, Sporobolus pyramidalis, Andropogon tectorum (Grass); Amaranthus viridis, Ageratum conyzoides, Sida acuta, Gomphrena celosoides, Ocimum basilicum (Forbs). Most of these species are not very important in terms of economic relevance.},
 year = {2018}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Species Composition of a Degraded Watershed in Amawbia, Anambra State, Nigeria
AU  - Ukpaka Chukwujekwu Gratius
AU  - Nnabude Peter Chinedu
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JO  - American Journal of Plant Biology
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AB  - This work was carried out in a period that spans the rainy and dry seasons of 2010 – 2011. In times past, Anambra State was rich in chains of productive watershed, saturated with luxuriant plant species. This however is now history owing to steadily increasing, degradatory anthropogenic influences. Ignorance and crass indifference on the indispensability of plant resources to man’s survival in tropical Africa has also resulted in very poor biodiversity of our watersheds. Amawbia watershed is not an exception. With the assistance of a field taxonomist and relevant texts, tree, climber, shrub, grass and forb species were firstly identified and recorded for sampled sites (sites A – E). Unlike productive watersheds, the dominant species encountered in this watershed were grasses and forbs. Dominant individual plants include: Heivea brasiliensis, Senna siamea, Napoleana imperialis, Dactyledenia barteri, Pentaclethra macrophyla, (Trees); Gongronema latifolium, Dioscorea dumentorum, Telfeiria occidentalis, Smilax anceps, Cissus aralioides (Climbers); Olax viridis, Mimosa invisa, Bambusa vulgaris, Vernonia amygdalina, Sarcocephalum laxiflora (Shrubs); Zea mays, Panicum maxima, Imperata cylindrica, Sporobolus pyramidalis, Andropogon tectorum (Grass); Amaranthus viridis, Ageratum conyzoides, Sida acuta, Gomphrena celosoides, Ocimum basilicum (Forbs). Most of these species are not very important in terms of economic relevance.
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Author Information

Ukpaka Chukwujekwu Gratius

Biological Science Department, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Uli, Nigeria
Nnabude Peter Chinedu

Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria

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APA Style

Ukpaka Chukwujekwu Gratius, Nnabude Peter Chinedu. (2018). Species Composition of a Degraded Watershed in Amawbia, Anambra State, Nigeria. American Journal of Plant Biology, 3(1), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpb.20180301.11

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ACS Style

Ukpaka Chukwujekwu Gratius; Nnabude Peter Chinedu. Species Composition of a Degraded Watershed in Amawbia, Anambra State, Nigeria. Am. J. Plant Biol. 2018, 3(1), 1-7. doi: 10.11648/j.ajpb.20180301.11

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AMA Style

Ukpaka Chukwujekwu Gratius, Nnabude Peter Chinedu. Species Composition of a Degraded Watershed in Amawbia, Anambra State, Nigeria. Am J Plant Biol. 2018;3(1):1-7. doi: 10.11648/j.ajpb.20180301.11

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@article{10.11648/j.ajpb.20180301.11,
  author = {Ukpaka Chukwujekwu Gratius and Nnabude Peter Chinedu},
  title = {Species Composition of a Degraded Watershed in Amawbia, Anambra State, Nigeria},
  journal = {American Journal of Plant Biology},
  volume = {3},
  number = {1},
  pages = {1-7},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajpb.20180301.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpb.20180301.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajpb.20180301.11},
  abstract = {This work was carried out in a period that spans the rainy and dry seasons of 2010 – 2011. In times past, Anambra State was rich in chains of productive watershed, saturated with luxuriant plant species. This however is now history owing to steadily increasing, degradatory anthropogenic influences. Ignorance and crass indifference on the indispensability of plant resources to man’s survival in tropical Africa has also resulted in very poor biodiversity of our watersheds. Amawbia watershed is not an exception. With the assistance of a field taxonomist and relevant texts, tree, climber, shrub, grass and forb species were firstly identified and recorded for sampled sites (sites A – E). Unlike productive watersheds, the dominant species encountered in this watershed were grasses and forbs. Dominant individual plants include: Heivea brasiliensis, Senna siamea, Napoleana imperialis, Dactyledenia barteri, Pentaclethra macrophyla, (Trees); Gongronema latifolium, Dioscorea dumentorum, Telfeiria occidentalis, Smilax anceps, Cissus aralioides (Climbers); Olax viridis, Mimosa invisa, Bambusa vulgaris, Vernonia amygdalina, Sarcocephalum laxiflora (Shrubs); Zea mays, Panicum maxima, Imperata cylindrica, Sporobolus pyramidalis, Andropogon tectorum (Grass); Amaranthus viridis, Ageratum conyzoides, Sida acuta, Gomphrena celosoides, Ocimum basilicum (Forbs). Most of these species are not very important in terms of economic relevance.},
 year = {2018}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Species Composition of a Degraded Watershed in Amawbia, Anambra State, Nigeria
AU  - Ukpaka Chukwujekwu Gratius
AU  - Nnabude Peter Chinedu
Y1  - 2018/01/30
PY  - 2018
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpb.20180301.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ajpb.20180301.11
T2  - American Journal of Plant Biology
JF  - American Journal of Plant Biology
JO  - American Journal of Plant Biology
SP  - 1
EP  - 7
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2578-8337
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpb.20180301.11
AB  - This work was carried out in a period that spans the rainy and dry seasons of 2010 – 2011. In times past, Anambra State was rich in chains of productive watershed, saturated with luxuriant plant species. This however is now history owing to steadily increasing, degradatory anthropogenic influences. Ignorance and crass indifference on the indispensability of plant resources to man’s survival in tropical Africa has also resulted in very poor biodiversity of our watersheds. Amawbia watershed is not an exception. With the assistance of a field taxonomist and relevant texts, tree, climber, shrub, grass and forb species were firstly identified and recorded for sampled sites (sites A – E). Unlike productive watersheds, the dominant species encountered in this watershed were grasses and forbs. Dominant individual plants include: Heivea brasiliensis, Senna siamea, Napoleana imperialis, Dactyledenia barteri, Pentaclethra macrophyla, (Trees); Gongronema latifolium, Dioscorea dumentorum, Telfeiria occidentalis, Smilax anceps, Cissus aralioides (Climbers); Olax viridis, Mimosa invisa, Bambusa vulgaris, Vernonia amygdalina, Sarcocephalum laxiflora (Shrubs); Zea mays, Panicum maxima, Imperata cylindrica, Sporobolus pyramidalis, Andropogon tectorum (Grass); Amaranthus viridis, Ageratum conyzoides, Sida acuta, Gomphrena celosoides, Ocimum basilicum (Forbs). Most of these species are not very important in terms of economic relevance.
VL  - 3
IS  - 1
ER  -

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