An Assessment of the Dynamics of Flora within Borgu Sector of Kainji Lake National Park (KLNP), Nigeria'

Abstract

Increase in human population has brought about high demands for natural resources for human sustainability which constitute a growing threat to the physical integrity, richness, biodiversity productivity of woodland in Borgu sector of the park. In assessing the dynamics of flora within the park, Landsat imagery of the study area was acquired, using bands 4, 3, and 2, a false colour composite for 1994, 2004 and 2014 was produced. Land use Land Cover classification of the multispectral imagery was done using the supervised classification. Five (5) main classes namely; Forestland, Grassland, Wetland, Water body and Built up were identified using the Idrisi software. The Normalized Difference Vegetation ndex (NDVI) was performed to assess the greenness and this was generated using the near infrared and red bands formulae for NDVI. The result showed difference in the spectral response of various land cover types existing in and around the park with high human activities encroaching the park premises. The analysis also showed a linear relationship between the vegetation of woodland and grassland. That is, as the woodland is declining, the grassland is increasing in area due to human activities. The bird eye view of the study area by remote sensing has proved very useful during this research and calls for the attention of the management, and the need to sensitize the villagers around the park to avoid and mitigate continuity of human activity at the fringe of the park reserve to save the ecosystem from destruction and interference.