http://dr.lib.sjp.ac.lk/handle/123456789/10717 2026-01-07T06:17:33Z http://dr.lib.sjp.ac.lk/handle/123456789/10867 Community-based Forest Resources Management in Nigeria: Case study of Ngel Nyaki Forest Reserve, Mambilla Plateau, Taraba State, Nigeria Borokini, T.I.; Babalola, F.D.; Amusa, T.O. In Nigeria, human communities are found within or beside forest ecosystems, depending on these ecosystems for survival. Their forest exploitation is considered a threat to conservation efforts, leading to constant conflicts between Government, law enforcement agencies and the communities. The best solution is a win-win system of participatory community-based forest resources management, in which the communities are regarded as stakeholders rather than as threats. This paper explains the adoption of this approach in Ngel Nyaki Forest Reserve, Mambilla Plateau, where the communities were trained in establishment and management of forest plantations with readily available market for their timber; employment for some of the community youths as well as community development projects. This paper calls for the adoption of this system in other protected areas in Nigeria, while the Government should provide basic amenities for the communities as alternatives to those forest products. 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z http://dr.lib.sjp.ac.lk/handle/123456789/10866 Spatial Variability of Soil Characteristics along a Landscape Gradient in Bellanwila-Attidiya Area Cooray, S.; Piyadasa, R.U.K.; Wickramasinghe, D. Wetlands are comprised of unique components of soil, water and biodiversity which are interconnected. Although water and biodiversity components of wetlands have been somewhat investigated, a very few research have been carried out to investigate soil properties. This study focused on spatial variability of soil chemical and physical parameters in a land use gradient around the Bellanwila-Attidiya Sanctuary, It was carried out for a period of 3 months and several random soil samples were obtained from all land use areas. Selected physical and chemical properties of soil were analyzed according to the standard methods and the GIS maps were developed using ArcView GIS 3.2. The results indicated that selected chemical and physical parameters of soil varied across the land use gradient, except for temperature. According to the GIS maps there are apparent variations in distribution of soil properties. On the surface, the highest level of each parameter was found as follows: - NO3 - – industrial area, PO4 3- - functioning paddy fields, SO4 2- - residential area, Cl- - residential area, Fe3+ - functioning paddy fields, moisture content - wetland, pH, acidic – industrial area, salinityresidential area, electrical conductivity – residential area. At a 1 m depth, the pattern was different: NO3 - – abandoned paddy fields, PO4 3- – functioning paddy fields, SO4 2- - wetland, Cl- - wetland, Fe3+ - residential area, moisture content - wetland, pH – industrial area, salinity - wetland, electrical conductivity - wetland. The findings clearly exhibit the increases in anthropogenic pressure have resulted in wide-scale alternation of soil properties, at least in the surface soil, across a land use gradient. Managing land use in the watershed of the wetland thus needs adequate attention to conserve this natural ecosystem. 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z http://dr.lib.sjp.ac.lk/handle/123456789/10865 Assessment of Hazardous Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) in a Residential Area abutting a Large Petrochemical Complex Mohan, S.; Ethirajan, R. The results of VOC monitoring in a residential area abutting a petrochemical complex and the influence of causative parameters on the concentration is discussed in this paper. The monitored data reveals that about 21 hazardous VOC are predominantly present in the study area. Toluene is the most abundant compound of all. The mean concentration of benzene, a known carcinogen, is 38 μg/m3. The wide variation in toluene to benzene ratio (T/B) and the weak correlation between the concentration of various compounds and NOx indicate that they are contributed by multiple sources. There is no fixed pattern observed in the concentration variation between morning and evening samples. The BTEX ratio observed in this study varies from 1:2.6:0.3:0.2 to 1:9.5; 2.1:1.4. The study reveals that the hazardous VOC in the study area are contributed by multiple sources and that the concentration of some of them is very high. 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z http://dr.lib.sjp.ac.lk/handle/123456789/10864 Conservation Value of Forest Plantations: A Study of Four Timber Species in Sri Lanka Wijesinghe, M. R.; de Silva, V. R. This paper assesses the potential of forest plantations in Sri Lanka consisting of teak, mahogany and two species of eucalyptus, to facilitate the conservation of biodiversity using two taxonomic groups, the plants and birds. Their diversity in plantations at a harvestable age were compared with that of a natural forest. Enumerations of plants and dbh/height measurements were conducted in quadrates, while avifauna was recorded along transects. Results show that plantation forests supported a reasonably rich community of both plants and birds, including natives and endemics. A large proportion of species were common to both plantations and natural forests indicating that plantations hold a subset of forest species. The presence of plants of various height and girth classes together with the high diversity and evenness values indicate that, although timber plantations are initially established as mono-cultivations, they facilitate the colonization of additional species. These findings thus demonstrate that forest plantations could make a significant contribution towards biodiversity conservation. 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z