Floristic Diversity, Distribution and Analysis of Forest Cover Change in the Kedjom Keku Forest, NW Cameroon

Abstract

Conservation of tropical rainforest is an important aspect of climate change mitigation, and baseline information through inventories of forests is paramount so as to enable the putting in place of proper management strategies. This study was aimed at evaluating the plant species diversity, and distribution and to investigate the forest cover change of the Kedjom Keku forest. Five plots were located at irregular intervals (100 m × 50 m) along a line transect and spread throughout the study area using 10 m × 10 m. Land cover/Land use changes were evaluated using remote sensing and GIS, while semi structured questionnaires were used to assess the anthropogenic activities. A total of 107 species of plants including 74 trees, 28 shrubs and 5 lianas, belonging to 83 genera and 58 families were identified. Rubiaceae (10 species) and Asteraceae (5 species) were the most represented tree and shrub families respectively. Species with the highest important value index were Schefflera mannii (31.9) and Piper capense (16.9) for trees and shrubs respectively. This forest is diverse, with Shannon-Wiener diversity index values of 3.55 for trees and 3.07 for shrubs. Seven land cover classes were distinguished within the years 1986, 2003 and 2018. There was a drastic increase in built up/settlement from 0.63% in 2003, to 20.46% in 2018. Dense vegetation increased within 2003 to 2018 after a drastic drop from 151.86 ha−1 to 119.88 ha−1 between 1986 and 2003. Infrastructure, over-grazing and expansion of farmland were reported as the direct factors influencing degradation, while land right, land tenure and equitability were the most cited indirect factors. The prominent factor that encouraged degradation was the fertile nature of the soils. We propose that sensitization campaigns be carried out to educate inhabitants on the rich biodiversity of Kedjom Keku forest and explain to them the importance of sustainable management of the resources therein.