Abstract

Environmental degradation is a major contemporary globally issue that is bedeviling most parts of the arid environment. This is due to the several centuries of poor management of the earth’s natural resources, and the increasing pressure associated with rapid population growth. This study assesses the influence of some selected shelterbelts in arid environment of Yobe State, Nigeria on vegetation characteristics. This is with intention of identifying its significance in fighting desert encroachment. In the selected shelterbelts, sample plots (quadrats) measuring 30 m2 in dimension was systematically located at an interval of 200 meters. On the adjoining areas of the shelterbelt, control quadrats of similar size were located at the same interval and at a distance of 100 meters from the belt. The vegetation characteristics analyzed in this study include height, diameter, density, frequency and diversity. SPSS, CANOCA and PAST ecological software were used in analyzing the data collected. The result shows that there is significant difference (P<0.005) between all the vegetation characteristics in the shelterbelt sites and the control sites except species diversity. This shows that shelterbelts are necessary tool in fighting desertification in the area as they enhance the vegetation status thereby protecting the soil against wind erosion which is one of the major ecological problems of desertification.