Inventory of Some Environmental Components in the Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecosystems of the Integrated Waste Treatment Facility Makurdi Benue State, Nigeria

Abstract

A survey of some environmental components in the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems in the Integrated Waste Treatment Facility in Makurdi was carried out to obtain baseline information on the area. Inventory, semi-structured interviews and field observations/walks were carried out to obtain information on useful plants, their abundance and distribution within the facility. The micro and macro flora of the facility was sampled and analyzed using the serial dilution method. 77 plant species consisting of 23 species of trees, 6 shrubs, 34 herbs, 3 woody climbers, 3 climbers, 2 woody herbs, bryophytes, mushrooms and lichens were identified and recorded. 17 animal species consisting of 9 mammals, 4 rodents and 4 fish species have being seen and caught within the facility and in Jamo stream. The microbial status of the water indicated that total coliforms ranged from 3.50 x 10⁵ to 9.00 x 10⁵ cfu/ml faecal coliforms ranged between 4.5 x 10⁴ to 2.75 x 10⁵ cfu/ml. These indicate a high level of contamination of the water from animal and organic matter and may harbour human pathogenic microorganisms. The organisms identified were Escherichia coli, Aerobacter aeroginesa, Faecal streptococcus, Bacillus aureus. Others were Escherichia ferundii, Salmonella typhosa, Pseudomonas aerogenosa, Aspergillus spp,Penicillium spp and yeasts.