Plant diversity and regeneration potential in forest protected areas of Sierra Leone
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Protected areas (PAs) around the globe are considered a reservoir for biodiversity conservation and an engine for ecosystem function and services. The regeneration potential of tropical forests in Protected Areas (PAs) is crucial to plant diversity and conservation, amid climate change uncertainties in the 21st century. The current status and future sustainability of PAs in Sierra Leone is uncertain and may lead to the risk of species extinction in the near future. To close this gap, we assessed the seedlings, saplings, and trees species diversity, abundance, richness and regeneration status of four PAs across Sierra Leone. We sampled 60 quadrats in total with each having a dimension of 20m × 20m. We found only a few new species with good regeneration potential in all the forest PAs we assessed, indicating that the resilience of these forests are quite low in the face of degradation. Plant diversity index and soil factors were positively correlated, indicating that a decrease or increase in soil physical and chemical properties could affect speciation. The diameter class distribution shows that the majority of plant sizes fall within the 0-30cm category. The plant species with the highest importance value index (IVI) were Uapaca guinensis (34.71), Heritiera utilis, (37.93), Guibourtia. copallifera (115.50) and Phyllocosmus africana (37.24) respectively. The results showed that the plant diversity status of forest PAs in Sierra Leone is at a crossroad. It recommended that strategic planning and forest enrichment policies be put in place to mitigate future forest exploitation.
Keywords: Protected areas, Regeneration, Sierra Leone, Flora biodiversity, Seedlings, Saplings
ID: 3471646