Effect of wildfire on plant species composition and some soil physico-chemical properties of Bomfobiri wildlife sanctuary, Ghana
| dc.contributor.author | Anane, Agyei Prince | |
| dc.contributor.author | ||
| dc.date.accessioned | 2021-06-25T09:54:12Z | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2023-04-19T04:00:39Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2021-06-25T09:54:12Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2023-04-19T04:00:39Z | |
| dc.date.issued | JUNE, 2019 | |
| dc.description | A thesis submitted to the Department of Theoretical and Applied Biology, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Master of Science Degree in Environmental Science. | en_US |
| dc.description.abstract | Forest all over the world is dwindling at a faster rate due to several factors including wildfires. The effects of wildfire on soil physico-chemical properties and vegetation composition were evaluated in Bomfobiri Wildlife Sanctuary in the transitional vegetation zones of Ghana. Four forest types were analyzed; dry deciduous forest fire undisturbed (DDFFU), dry deciduous forest fire disturbed (DDFFD), savannah forest fire undisturbed (SFFU) and savannah forest fire disturbed (SFFD). Dry deciduous forest fire undisturbed and savannah forest fire undisturbed were used as control. Forty (40) sample plots of size 25 m × 25 m, ten (10) from each forest category were demarcated and laid randomly for the collection of plants and soil samples. Four composite soil samples from the dry deciduous (fire undisturbed and disturbed) and savannah (fire undisturbed and disturbed) were analyzed for nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, organic matter, organic carbon, moisture content and pH. The results of soil analyses showed 0.075% nitrogen in DDFFD as compared to 0.120% in DDFFU and 0.045% in SFFD while SFFU recorded 0.065%. Phosphorus followed similar pattern with 0.017%, 0.027%, 0.013% and 0.014% in DDFFD, DDFFU, SFFD, SFFU, respectively. In terms of potassium, 0.040%, 0.107%, 0.019% and 0.067% were recorded in DDFFD, DDFFU, SFFD and SFFU, respectively. DDFFD, DDFFU, SFFD, and SFFU had moisture content of 12.58%, 21.62%, 11.87% and 10.95%, respectively. Organic matter had 3.73% in DDFFD as compared to 4.33% in DDFFU with 3.72% for SFFU and 1.50% in SFFD. The concentration of soil nutrients measured were significantly higher in the control sample plots as compared to fire disturbed sites. Generally, with plant species diversity, disturbed forest have higher as compared to undisturbed. In terms of plant species composition, trees have higher diversity followed by shrubs with herbs being the least in all the forest types. However with species distribution, trees were evenly disturbed (1.09) in deciduous undisturbed than all the other vegetation cover. It is recommended that there should be fire management plan for all protected areas in Ghana as well as educational campaign to educate the fringe communities on the need to manage the Bomfobiri wildlife sanctuary. | en_US |
| dc.description.sponsorship | KNUST | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://ir.knust.edu.gh/handle/123456789/14143 | |
| dc.language.iso | en_US | en_US |
| dc.subject | Bomfobiri wildlife sanctuary | en_US |
| dc.subject | Ghana | en_US |
| dc.subject | Wildlife | en_US |
| dc.subject | Bomfobiri | en_US |
| dc.title | Effect of wildfire on plant species composition and some soil physico-chemical properties of Bomfobiri wildlife sanctuary, Ghana | en_US |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_US |
Files
Original bundle
1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
- Name:
- Anane Agyei Prince_ Msc.pdf
- Size:
- 2.37 MB
- Format:
- Adobe Portable Document Format
- Description:
- Full Thesis