1.1 Introduction
Botanical gardens are uniquely positioned to help address the issues relevant to restoring ecosystems. They provide knowledge and expertise in plant taxonomy, horticulture, biodiversity inventory, conservation biology, restoration ecology and ethno-botany which are key elements for achieving successful restoration. Botanical gardens also collectively serve as a global repository for documented plant materials, with few genetic individuals of plants maintained in living collections or seed banks (Corlett, 2016).
As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.
1.2 Background of Study
Globally, the removal or destruction of significant areas of forest cover is moving apace, where every year an integral part of the nation's forest is destroyed through industrialization, indiscriminate logging, urbanization, commercial agriculture amongst others (Okafor et al., 2013). These cumulative anthropogenic activities have resulted in a degraded environment with reduced biodiversity. The effects of these impacts are mostly evident in the developing countries, with highest rate of notoriety in Nigeria, where almost all the ancestral forests are lost in an alarming rate of disappearance (Batta et al., 2013).
Ihenyen, et al. (2009) lamented that out of about 565 species of trees existing in Nigeria; over 60 species are faced with extinction and various forms of risk. However, as a result of massive loss of valuable plant species and adverse impact on environmental and socio-economic values, policies have been formulated for proper conservation and management of these tree species through establishment of several nature reserves and botanical gardens.
BGCI (2017) opined that Botanical gardens bring the understanding necessary to ensure that restoration leads to adequate taxonomic diversity and incorporates appropriate genetic provenance by utilizing knowledge gained from these collections and combined with landscape knowledge from field surveys and ecological research.
Botanical gardens can therefore restore diverse and ecologically resilient places, avoiding the dangers and pitfalls associated with growing inappropriate plants in the wrong environment. Botanical gardens are also well-placed to raise awareness amongst the general public of the need for, and benefits that can be derived from successful ecological restoration projects. They contribute to the conservation of living resources, maintaining ecological processes and vital systems, preserving genetic diversity and ensuring sustainable use of species and ecosystems (Molinaro et al., 2001).
Several botanical gardens are located within university premises in Nigeria for teaching, research and recreation. University of Ibadan botanical gardens play an essential role in the study and preservation of flora, through research and environmental education. Sustainable management of tree species in botanical gardens can only be ensured if reliable information on diversity and growth conditions of the trees are available which can be used in managing the garden to provide accurate and timely information on current growing stock. Therefore, there is need to understand species diversity, growth and ecology of trees in such gardens. This paper focused on tree species composition, their growth parameters and implications for management in the University of Ibadan botanical gardens.
Therefore, in Niger State Polytechnic Zungeru where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the Diversity of Plants (Shrubs, Trees and Herbs).
1.3 Statement of Problems
Many latest and significant developments in community ecology have been derived from experiments conducted in microcosms. Studies with microcosms have addressed a broad variety of phenomena, including climate change, ecological diversity, assembly rules, habitat restoration, trophic dynamics and mycorrhizal associations (Scialert, 2021).
The common factor linking these studies are that they manipulate an individual environmental axis and explore the role that axis plays in structuring communities. It has also been suggested that microcosms and mesocosms can be a useful approach for apparently intractable global problems, such as ecosystem responses to climate change or managing ecological diversity through the design of nature reserve (Scialert, 2021).
1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study
The aim of the study is to investigate the Diversity of Plants (Shrubs, Trees and Herbs) in Niger State Polytechnic Zungeru. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:
- To observe the effect of species diversity and richness on the functioning of experimental plant (Shrubs, Trees and Herbs) communities in microcosms.
- To assess the trees species composition in botanical garden
- To examine the growth variables of tree species in Botanical gardens
1.5 Significance of Study
This study will be of immense benefit to microbiologist and other researchers who intend to know more on this study and can also be used by non-researchers to build more on their research work. This study contributes to knowledge and could serve as a guide for other study.
1.6 Scope of Study
The study focuses on the Diversity of Plants (Shrubs, Trees and Herbs) in Niger State Polytechnic Zungeru.
1.7 Limitations of the Study
During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:
- Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
- Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
- Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
- Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet).
