ASSSESSMENT OF DIVERSITY AND ABUNDANCE OF MISTLETOES IN BATURIYA WETLANDS, HADEJIA, JIGAWA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Baturiya wetland of the Hadejia-Nguru wetlands is among the most important wetlands in Nigeria that are meant for conservation and environmental protection. However, the wetland is threatened by several kinds of biotic stresses such as the attack by parasitic plants such as mistletoes. This research was conducted to assess the diversity and abundance of mistletoes and the tree species they infest the most to establish a mitigation strategy. Four plots of 100 m² each were selected at random using line transect and a botanical rumbling was carried out in each field. The result obtained revealed the presence of four (4) different species represented by a single genus: Tapinanthus bilvesis, T. dodoneifolius, T. glabra and T. globiferus with T. dodoneifolius as the most diversed and predominant (38.78%). The tree species most vulnerable to infestation by mistletoes are:, Acacia albida, Tamarindus indica, Albizia lebbeck, Azadirachta indica, Dalbergia sisso and Parkia biglobosa. The result showed that, trees in plot 3 closed to the marshy area were more vulnerable probably due to high rate of dispersal of mistletoes by different species of migratory birds. It was therefore inferred that resistant tree species need to be introduced into the area to mitigate the infestation.

Keywords: Abundance, Diversity, Mistletoes, Wetland