PLACE BIODIVERSITY IN ECOSYSTEMS’ EFFICIENCY IN NIGERIA (Published)
Nigeria is highly endowed with a lot of biological resources of both plants and animal species. There have been many studies to document these biological resources in terms of quantity and location across the country. There had also been several efforts by the Nigerian government towards the conservation of these resources. However, this effort is not gaining the desired outcome, as the biological resources are constantly at the risk of depletion or even threatened with extinction. It was identified that lack of clear understanding of the ecological utility of these natural resources is the main reason for their abuse. This work is therefore an attempt to bring out the numerous uses and importance of biodiversity to the Nigerian ecosystem. It started with an overview of the biodiversity, then went ahead to review the causes of its depletion, before dwelling on the various utilities of the biodiversity in sustaining the ecosystem integrity of the Nigerian fragile environment. The impact of biodiversity in reversing the process of desertification was explained. Similarly, the role of biodiversity in water conservation, erosion management, soil fertility, food security and domestic energy were explained. The paper is hoped to serve as an advocacy tool for environmental conservation
Keywords: Biodiversity, Desertification, Dryland, Ecosystem, Fauna, Flora