Charcoal Production: A Major Threat to Sustenance of Woody Plant Species Biodiversity of Forest Ecosystems in Adamawa State, Nigeria (Published)
This paper identified the woody plant species used for charcoal production in Adamawa state. Assessed the quantity of charcoal production and compared the production across 3 zones and 9 major centers. Major drivers of charcoal production threatening the sustenance of woody plant species were identified. It assessed the level of use of woody plant species, examined the monitoring policies and bodies in existence. Assessed the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents. Structured and open-ended questionnaire was administered on 300 respondent drawn from Adamawa North, Central and South. 41 woody plant species belonging to 16 families identified. Data were analyzed using percentages, Duncan’s multiple range test (DMRT), barchart, Smith Saliency value and level of use model. The top 2 most preferred wood plant species for charcoal production were Anogeissus leiocarpus (60.0%) and Vitellaria paradoxa (12.0%). The highest level of use was recorded for Anogeissus leiocarpus (58.0%). Adamawa central (295,100kg) had the highest quantity of charcoal production in 6 months. Result of comparison showed no statistical difference for the 9 major charcoal producing centers (p=0.07) at 0.05 level of significance. For Socio-economic characteristics, majority of respondents were males in Adamawa North and Central (72.0% and 79.0% respectively), while Adamawa south had female as majority (69.0%). Those with annual income range of N400,000.00 – N500,000.00 were the highest across the zones. The study suggested planting of woody plant species use for charcoal production (66.0%) and enforcement of conservation through effective monitoring and patrol (42.0%) among others as adequate strategies if properly put to use.
Keywords: Charcoal production, Species, family use, forest Ecosystems, stump, woody plants