Checklist, Diversity and Abundance of the Flora in some Selected Local Government of Zamfara State, Northwestern Nigeria

Abstract

Check list of the flora in some selected Local Governments of Zamfara State, North Western Nigeria, was studied. The objective of the study was to provide a comprehensive checklist document and evaluate the diversity and abundance of floral species in the study area. A field inventory of floral species was adopted for data collection. The result showed a total of 306 species belonging to 229 genera within 58 families represented in the study area. The result showed that twenty-six families consist of only 1 species each, eight families have 2 species each and five families have 3 species each, two families have 4 species each while the other families consist of 5 species, 6 species 7 species, 9 species, 14 species 24 species and 86 species respectively. Of these, the family Fabaceae has the highest number of species, 86 occurring in all the study areas, followed by Asteraceae and Euphorbiaceae with 24 each. This result reveals a high rate of degradation of the remnant flora species as a result of human activities, habitat conversion into residential areas (urbanization), and expansion of Farmland. It's recommended that State Government management and the entire communities pay attention to conservation planning and management activities that will take ecological implications into consideration. More research should be conducted on the identified species in order to ascertain their morphological, anatomical, ethnobotanical and economic importance.