Influence of Seasonality Gradients on Phytodiversity Richness in Rural and Urban Wetlands

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 The composition and distribution of flora species in wetlands are dependent upon several environmental variables and one of such is seasonality regimes. Seasonal gradients exert profound influence on seedling establishment, regeneration and reproduction of plant species. To this end, rural and urban wetlands were studied to assess the influence of seasonality gradients on phytodiversity richness. A ten 5m×5m quadrat was used to sample the vegetation for density of species with spacing at regular intervals. Flora species were taxonomically identified to their families, genus and species levels. The
results revealed a total of 14 and 11 plant species in the rural and urban wetlands in the dry season. In the wet season, 19 species were found in the rural wetland while 13 plant species were found in the urban wetland. The most dominant species in both seasons were Elaeis guineensis (rural wetland) and Persicaria senegalense (urban wetland). High values for Shannon (2.76), Simpson (0.80) and evenness (0.97) were recorded in the wet season in the rural wetland while high dominance value was recorded in the dry season (0.22). In the urban wetland, high Shannon (2.19), Simpson (0.69) and evenness (0.88) values were recorded in the wet season while dominance value (0.32) was higher in the dry season. Conclusively, the results of this study is discussed with respect to ecological adaptability and stability of flora species to varying hydrological and anthropogenic regimes in wetlands and will provide a model information for effective and subsequent management and protection of this ecosystem.


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