Abstract

Creation of protected areas is a cornerstone of nature conservation. However, with increasing population, the pressure on land for agriculture increases, especially in peri-urban areas. We investigated land-use changes in a peri-urban forest reserve subject to anthropogenic influence and assessed the extant plant community structure through various indices. The results show that there is active forest conversion into farmland, and this conversion affects surrounding waterbodies as well. A new guild of species dominates under anthropogenic activity and comprises cocoa farms and mosaic forest. Cocoa Farms were more diverse (H = 3.08) than Dense Forest (H = 2.75) yet both were strikingly dissimilar with high carbon stocks in Cocoa Farm (128 Mg/Ha) compared to Dense Forest (51.6 Mg/ha) indicating that the forest is highly degraded. Land cover change predictions indicate further increase in forest conversion to farmland and accommodation. Our results show that legislating protected areas needs to be accompanied by consistent monitoring, and poverty alleviation alternatives that relieve pressure from forests, if conservation is to be successful.

Details

Title
Patterns of land-use change and current vegetation status in peri-urban forest reserves: the case of the Barombi Mbo Forest Reserve, Cameroon
Author
Beatrice Ambo Fonge 1 ; Pascal Tabi Tabot 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Mor-Achankap Bakia 3 ; Che Clovis Awah 1 

1  Department of Botany and Plant Physiology, Faculty of Science, University of Buea, Buea, Cameroon 
2  Department of Agriculture, Higher Technical Teachers’ Training College Kumba, University of Buea, Kumba, Cameroon 
3  South West Regional Delegation of Forest and Fauna, Ministry of Forest and Fauna, Buea, Republic of Cameroon 
End page
113
Publication year
2019
Publication date
Jun 2019
Publisher
Taylor & Francis Ltd.
e-ISSN
24749508
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/24749508.2018.1508981
ProQuest document ID
2312264268
Copyright
© 2018 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group on behalf of the International Water, Air & Soil Conservation Society(INWASCON). This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.