Bulus Gadiga

This book focuses on the role of shelterbelts in ecological restoration. It attempts to analyzes the influence of shelterbelts on soil and vegetation in a semi-arid environment. The research was conducted using both field study and geo-information techniques. The results showed that the area of vegetation cover had decrease by 49 % between 1972 and 2007 caused mainly by anthropogenic factors. There was no significant relationship between rainfall and the vegetation indices in both sites except NDVI in Garanda site that showed significant relationship (r = 0.92, p < 0.05). The findings also showed that poor funding, lack of irrigation facilities and uncontrolled grazing activities were the major problems militating against successful performance of shelterbelts. Furthermore, shelterbelts had significant influence on vegetation characteristics while the Simpson’s Index showed no significant influence of shelterbelts on plant species diversity.

One major phenomenon in our contemporary era is the high rate of urban growth as a result of landuse/landcover changes and which needs to be monitored for planning and development. This research analyzes landuse/landcover (LULC) dynamics of Mubi town. Landsat ETM+ (1999 and 2010) and Landsat TM (1988) were the satellite imageries used to classify the landuse/landcover changes between 1988 to 2010. Global positioning system was used for grounthruthing; IDRISI TAIGA software was used for image classification, area calculation and projecting landuse/landcover for the year 2030 while ARCGIS 9.3 was used for cartographic visualization. The study reveals that a lot of physical changes occurred in Mubi Town between 1988/ 2010 and 1999/2010. It was also observed that changes by 2030 may likely follow the same trends. It is therefore recommended that there should be a control measure on urban spreading to agricultural land be put in place to avert urban sprawl which will hitherto affect food...

Farmers all over the world are waging war against insects and weeds as they struggle to produce bountiful crops to meet increasing demand. The most effective weapon to fight this war is by the use of herbicides. In spite of the benefits of using herbicides, research has shown that their use can have negative impact on human health and the environment. A rapid appraisal via questionnaire administration and persona! contact with key stakeholders (users of herbicides and suppliers) and literature search were the main instruments employed for this work. Out of 152 questionnaires received 76 per cent affirmed that they use herbicides on their farms. None of the respondents was aware of any future consequences of herbicide exposure on health. It was gathered during the study that the main reason for using herbicides is to control weeds. Herbicides frequently used in the region are the ones that contain active chemicals such as, Paraquat dichlorin, Glyphosate and Atrazine. Poor handling of...

The Study investigates domestic energy utilization and potentials of alternative sources of energy in Mubi metropolis of Adamawa State.  To achieve the objectives of this study, data were collected using questionnaire. A total of 108 sets of questionnaire were retrieved and analyse using descriptive statistics. Some of the data collected from respondents include; types of energy used for various purposes, factors that influence such use and preferences for the different types of energy. Other information which cannot be collected using questionnaire were obtained from published and unpublished materials. The findings show that households rely more on fuel-wood. Economic factors were found to influence the choice of energy used in homes. Solar energy and wind energy have high potentials as alternative energy source that will help in mitigating climatic change. The study concludes that households in Mubi metropolis tend to climb the energy ladder from low grade energy types to modern ...

One major phenomenon in our contemporary era is the high rate of urban growth as a result of landuse/landcover changes and which needs to be monitored for planning and development. This research analyzes landuse/landcover (LULC) dynamics of Mubi town. Landsat ETM+ (1999 and 2010) and Landsat TM (1988) were the satellite imageries used to classify the landuse/landcover changes between 1988 to 2010. Global positioning system was used for grounthruthing; IDRISI TAIGA software was used for image classification, area calculation and projecting landuse/landcover for the year 2030 while ARCGIS 9.3 was used for cartographic visualization. The study reveals that a lot of physical changes occurred in Mubi Town between 1988/ 2010 and 1999/2010. It was also observed that changes by 2030 may likely follow the same trends. It is therefore recommended that there should be a control measure on urban spreading to agricultural land be put in place to avert urban sprawl which will hitherto affect food production.

Farmers all over the world are waging war against insects and weeds as they struggle to produce bountiful crops to meet increasing demand. The most effective weapon to fight this war is by the use of herbicides. In spite of the benefits of using herbicides, research has shown that their use can have negative impact on human health and the environment. A rapid appraisal via questionnaire administration and persona! contact with key stakeholders (users of herbicides and suppliers) and literature search were the main instruments employed for this work. Out of 152 questionnaires received 76 per cent affirmed that they use herbicides on their farms. None of the respondents was aware of any future consequences of herbicide exposure on health. It was gathered during the study that the main reason for using herbicides is to control weeds. Herbicides frequently used in the region are the ones that contain active chemicals such as, Paraquat dichlorin, Glyphosate and Atrazine. Poor handling of herbicides has increased the risk of contamination in the environment thereby posing serious health hazard. As a result of the increased use of herbicides in the region, more studies need to be conducted to ascertain the levels of contamination of toxic chemicals (dioxin) in water and soils of the region. Introduction Herbicides are chemicals that kill or inhibit the growth of unwanted vegetation such as weeds in crops or lawns. Herbicides can be classified into two (2) groups according to how they act and what they kill. They are selective and nonselective herbicides. Selective herbicides kill only certain types of plants, whereas nonselective herbicides kill all vegetation (Raven et al, 1998). They are mainly produced in order to check the problems of weed infestation faced by farmers as they cultivate their crops. These problems are responsible for crop losses, which affect the farmer's output. Weeds on the other hand, are pests that are undesirable competitors, parasites, or predators that affect the productivity or output expected from a harvest (Daniel and Edward, 1998). The major agricultural pests are insects, weeds, nematodes, bacterial and viral diseases, rodents and birds. Insects are not part of the major pests that attack crops; in fact, weeds are the major problem faced by farmers in terms of potential crop loss. There are about thirty thousand (30,000) species of weeds, and in a year a typical farm is infested with between ten to fifty (10-50) weed species (Daniel and Edward, 1998). Herbicides have the potential of reducing the amount of crop loss through competition with weeds. In spite of the benefits of herbicide application to farmers, its usage is not without problems. Research has shown that most herbicides contain dioxins, which have negative impact on human health and the environment. They can also affect the biodiversity of an ecosystem by killing non-target organisms. Several herbicides present clear risk to birds and are expected to be causing mortality on a frequent and routine basis (Muineau, 2002). Herbicides, do not only kill weeds but can also kill other organisms. Glyphosates which is a popular herbicide was discovered to be "extremely lethal" to amphibians (Chee, 2005). Organisms do not have to be killed to be negatively affected by herbicides. The stresses of carrying herbicides in their body make organisms more vulnerable to other diseases or stresses in their environment. (Raven et al, 1998). Some herbicides contain chemical compounds that are extremely toxic and persist in the environment. The persistent nature of some chemicals makes them to accumulate in the environment causing threat to humans and other organisms. The accumulation of these chemicals for long period makes them enter the food web and are also known to affect other organisms for which they are not intended (Charles, 2005).

Depletion of riparian vegetal cover along river Shasha in Osun State has been assessed using Remote Sensing and GIS. Changes in riparian vegetation along river Shasha have been mapped out to identify degraded areas of riparian vegetation and to determine the corresponding rates of resultant depletion in the study area. The study revealed high

The demand for portable water which meets the required environmental standard is becoming major focus for humanity. In order to achieve these standards, water must be available in the needed quantity and quality. The physio-chemical test of water sample collected from hand dug wells of Bayan Dutse Narayi were carried out to ascertain the potability based on the criterias' that make up for quality water such as Temperature, PH, Electric conductivity, Dissolved Oxygen, Dissolved Solid, Turbidity, Acidity or Alkalinity, Chloride, Calcium, Magnesium and Iron. The average results of the acquired parameters were compared with the required World Health Organization (W.H.O) and Federal Ministry of Environment standard (FMENV). It is then observed from the parameters table that six wells out of sixteen sampled meet the required standard but the average PH value for the analysis falls below the required standard. The turbidity and dissolved oxygen are the only parameters that meet the W.H.O and FEMENV standard. Thus every other parameter is below the standard measures, except for biochemical oxygen demand which was not specified but from the average result analysis tends to be 38.56. Due to locations, the wells undergo some level of pollution which contaminates the water which is mostly affected by runoff from the sewage system. It is on this note that this study recommends good sewage system; proper sanitary education and enlightenment campaign should be embarked on by the government and to monthly or quarterly monitor the area by health officers or supervisors.

Vegetation is an important component of the
ecosystem that provides habitat for wildlife and maintains the
functioning of the ecosystem. However, improper use of this
vital natural resource by humans has undermined its integrity
in meeting some of its objectives. Hence, there is the need to
monitor and manage this important component of the
ecosystem. This study therefore, assesses the application of
different vegetation indices in the study of arid land vegetation
dynamics. The results show that there is significant
relationship between rainfall and NDVI at the 95 percent
(p=0.05) level of significance while the other vegetation
indices show no significant relationships in the period
spanning 1972 and 2007. NDVI, GVI and TSAVI are the ones
with strong negative linear correlations (r = -0.92, -0.75 and -
0.77 respectively) with rainfall while PVI and WDVI have weak
linear relationship with rainfall. (r = 0.15 and 0.29). This means
that rainfall is not the major determinant of vegetation cover
dynamics in the study area in spite of increase in rainfall
between 1972 and 2007. It thus appears that other factors like
human activities might have influenced the changes in
vegetation cover of the study area