Tree Slenderness Coefficient Models for Biodiversity Conservation in International Institute of Tropical Agriculture Forest Ibadan, Nigeria

Abstract

Tree Slenderness Coefficient (TSC) is the ratio of total height to diameter which is used to determine stability of trees to wind throw. There is dearth of information on suitable model for estimating TSC in enhancing species conservation. Suitability of TSC model for conservation was assessed at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) forest, Ibadan, Nigeria. Simple systematic line transect was used to demarcate 16 sample plots (50m x 50m). Tree height and Diameter at Breast Height of trees ≥ 10cm were measured on 389 trees and TSC was computed using standard method. Four TSC models were evaluated. Data were analysed using descriptive statistic and regression at 95% confidence limit. Suitable model was selected using least Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) and highest coefficient of determination (R²). It was observed that the percentage of tree susceptible to wind-throw damages in the area is 40.10% while moderate and low TSC were 30.59% and 29.31%, respectively. Both the low and moderate TSC totaled 59.9%, indicating that the forest stands have good vigour and has the ability to withstand wind throw. The selected TSC Model was T . The model is therefore recommended for tree slenderness coefficient prediction.