Impacts Of Anthropogenic Activities On The Ecological Integrity Of Nairobi City Park, Kenya

The effects of human disturbance on the ecosystem processes influence the management of recreational areas and the benefits that can be obtained. Public urban parks provide environmental, economic and social benefits to the urban communities. The Nairobi City Park (NCP) located on 49 ha of land divided into a conserved area of 33 ha and 16 ha recreational area. The park has a high level of biodiversity and provides recreation to the visitors. Currently many changes have occurred within the Park, which have caused a decline in the biodiversity and hence the ecosystem services derived from the resource. This study, therefore endeavored to find out the causes and impact of these change. The study was guided by the following objectives: (i) to determine species composition of herbaceous and woody plants within the NCP, (ii) to measure vegetation cover of the conserved area of NCP, (iii) to assess plant biodiversity within the NCP, (iv) to ascertain trees physical attributes (height, diameter, number of stumps, and debarking) in NCP’s conserved area, (v) determine number of humans who traverse through NCP’s conserved area (vii) to assess the influence of intensity of human activities on the ecological integrity of the park. The study area was stratified into three strata representing different degrees of anthropogenic influences (the outer, middle and the inner core areas). Data on species composition, cover, biodiversity, and physical tree attributes were collected within each strata using ecological methods. Estimate of the number of people visiting the park was averaged from tallies collected over a period of time. The collected data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics.