Abstract

Demographic pressure on urban forests, especially in Nigeria has reached an alarming rate such that most of the old urban forest reserves and enclaves have suffered more undue depletion and degradation with loss of bio-diversities and renewable resources. This study was carried out in the old Alalubosa watershed/fuel wood plantation located around Jericho, Aleshinloye in Ibadan South-West Local Government Area with the objectives of examining the current status of the old reserve, evaluate the estate in terms of vegetational structure, landscapes and the level of divergence from the original use of the land. This was achieved by zoning the area into four (4) and the data obtained were subjected to descriptive statistics. The results showed that the former Alalubosa watershed/ fuelwood plantation in which Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria (FRIN) used to have experimental plots of various indigenous and exotic tree species is now a shadow of itself. Major parts of the area is now occupied by residential buildings with a big shift from the original vegetation structure of the study location as total disappearance of indigenous plant species were observed in all the zones. For instance, tree species of high economic value like Milicia excelsa and Triplochiton scleroxylon; shrubs e.g Icacina trichanta, Senna fistula, Senna podocaarpa, Allophyllus africannus and Kalotropis procea can no longer be found in the location. Instead, the environment (all the zones) is now dominated with buildings, scanty trees and noticeable proportion of ornamental plants. The current landscapes of the area are predominantly hedges and hard interlocking tiles. Therefore, it could be concluded that the old Alalubosa forest reserve has suffered total deforestation as a result of urban encroachment, commercial activities, infrastructural development and resettlement. In order to ensure better vegetation cover of the area despite the encroachment, it is recommended that there should be proper enlightenment and education of the occupants of the area on the importance of trees to their immediate environment and thereafter, encouraging the inhabitants to plant at least two trees within their compound thus ensuring environmental stability.