ABSTRACT

Trees have been an important aspect of human settlements from history in the days of our forefathers and only a few of the urban dwellers have recognized the benefits gotten from these trees. Urban trees has several benefits it provides to the society, including physiological benefits, aesthetic benefits, prevention of land degradation, reduces increased noise level, social and ecological benefits, provision of fruits, nuts, leaves, fuel wood, fodder, vegetables, shade, and windbreaks, etc. This study was carried out in Akure South Local Government. The areas covered in Akure include Alagbaka area, Oyemekun area and Oda area respectively. Akure, the capital of Ondo State has a population of 360,268. About 1.7% of the respondents had no formal education, 13.3% had secondary school certificate and 85.0% are graduate of tertiary institution which means that majority of the respondents are literate. The age of respondents that have more understanding about urban trees falls between the ranges of 26-35years. 59.2% were male while 40.8% were female. Majority of the respondents were civil servants of 53.3% which implies that the highest percentage of respondent that have an excellent knowledge about urban trees worked with the government. More awareness programs should be carried out on educating urban dwellers on the benefits of trees, government should encourage tree planting in urban areas to enjoy the benefits that trees provide and proper and adequate management of urban trees should be encouraged and should be done by all the urban dwellers.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CERTIFICATION i

DEDICATION.... ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT......................... iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS.......................... iv

LIST OF TABLES.................................. vi

LIST OF FIGURES................................ vii

LIST OF PLATES................................. viii

ABSTRACT...... ix

CHAPTER ONE.. 1

1.0 INTRODUCTION........................... 1

1.1 Background Study............................ 1

1.2 Statement of problem........................2

1.3 Objectives of Research......................3

1.4 Justification 3

1.5 Scope of the study............................ 4

CHAPTER TWO. 5

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW................... 5

2.1 History and Definition of Urban Trees...5

2.2 Extent and status of global forest..........6

2.3 Roles of Urban Trees........................ 9

2.3.1 Economic Benefit of Urban Trees.10

2.3.2 Environmental Benefits of Urban Trees..............................11

2.3.3 Social Benefits of Urban Trees.....11

2.3.4 Tangible Benefits.....................12

2.4 Urban centers................................ 13

2.5 Historical development of urban........14

2.6 Challenges of urban trees................. 15

CHAPTER THREE................................ 18

3.0 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY........ 18

3.1 The Study Area............................. 18

3.2 Data Collection............................. 19

3.3 Data Analysis............................... 20

CHAPTER FOUR.................................. 21

4.0 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION.........21

4.1 Results.... 21

4.1.1 Socio-economic characteristics of respondents.....................21

4.2 Discussion................................... 42

4.2.1 Socio-economic Characteristic of Respondent......................42

4.2.2 Perception of Trees along Roadside...................................44

4.2.3 Respondents willing to contribute to tree planting.................44

4.2.4 Respondents’ dislike about trees...45

CHAPTER FIVE................................... 46

5.0 Conclusion and Recommendation.......46

5.1 Conclusion................................... 46

5.2 Recommendation........................... 46

REFERENCES. 47

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: The trend in forest area from 1990 to 2015 by sub-region (000ha) (Source: FAO, 2015cited by Onyekwelu, 2017)..........18

Table 2: Distribution of respondents’ personal details..............................33

Table 3: Distribution of respondents’ information about trees..................36

Table 4: Policy, constraints and how to overcome challenges encountered in tree planting.........39

Table 5: Distribution showing respondents’ encouragement, environmental issues and roles treeplay……………………………………………………………………………………………….42

Table 6: Distribution indicating willingness to plant trees and reasons for no interest.................46

Table 7: Distribution showing respondents’ like, dislike and awareness on trees.........................50

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: The Global Forest Context (Source: FAO, 2010, Global Forest Resources Assessment(FRA))……………………………………………………………………………………..19

Figure 2: The Tripartite contributions of urban green space. (Kimengsi., 2017)……….22 

Figure 3: context for determining management strategies for degraded forests (Source: ITTO,2003 cited in Onyekwelu, 2017)………………………………………………………….24