Abstract
Climate change-induced impacts on trees has gained
much more attention during the past years. In the tropics, more
information on trees sensitivity to climate change is still needed. This
study has assessed the vulnerability of Underutilized Agroforestry
Trees (UAT) to climate change in Niger State, Nigeria. An Integrated
Assessment Approach, encompassing exposure, sensitivity and adaptive
capacity, and relating nineteen (19) indicators, has been used as
framework for the assessment. To overcome the non-availability of
specific tree-related data, the vulnerability of Underutilized
Agroforestry Trees (UAT) has been assessed using the vulnerability of
rural communities relying on them as a proxy. Therefore individual
questionnaires have been administered to 340 farmers, heads of
households, across seven (7) Local Government Areas (LGAs), namely,
Bosso, Rafi, Lavun, Lapai, Mashegu, Kontagora and Borgu LGAs, in Niger
State. This enabled the identification of the most used species, and the
assessment of their ethno-botanic, edible cultural and economic
importance. The identified species were also ranked according to their
sensitivity level to climate change. The data analysis, performed in R
software and Microsoft Excel, revealed Adansonia digitata, Vitellaria
paradoxa, Parkia biglobosa, Vitex doniana and Tamarindus indica as the
five species mostly used by Nupe, Hausa, Gwari, Abewa, Kambari, Bussa
and Kamuku ethnic groups. All the identified species are used as food by
man. However, they are also implicated in different proportion in other
uses such as animal feeding, medicine, firewood, art and craft,
worshiping, building, cosmetics, and trade. Although the climatic
conditions pertaining to Niger State totally lie within the tolerance
range of each species, some species have been perceived to be more
sensitive than others. In this sense, rural communities pointed out V.
doniana as being highly sensitive to climate change compared to other
species. A strong association between local knowledge of the rural
communities and their perception of the vulnerability of the mentioned
species to climate change, can therefore be established. Furthermore,
the assessment of vulnerability highlights a disparity in natural and
social assets among the Local Government Areas. Farmers in Lavun and
Lapai LGAs are deemed to be more vulnerable whilst those in Mashegu LGA
are the least vulnerable to climate change. The results consequently
imply that intervention should be drawn towards rural communities in
Lavun and Lapai LGA to enhance their resilience to climate change. To be
more effective, intervention measures should take into account, among
others, the cultural importance of the species with regard to their
traditional uses.