Impact of Climate Change in Nigerian Wetland Ecosystems on Plant Genetic Resources
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47540/ijsei.v6i2.1417Keywords:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Morphological Diversity, Wetland EcosystemsAbstract
The research focused on particular character traits of some plants in the ecosystems of Nigeria's wetlands. The idea was to highlight the plants' adaptive mechanisms and conservation requirements in response to the vagaries of climate change. The field data collection covered 10 wetland sites spread across the Niger Delta, Nigeria, selected to represent a diversity of plant morphology, biological chemistry, and population structure parameters. The investigated morphological elements in leaves, flowers, and fruit showed considerable variation in their size, shape, and color among species. The biochemical data derived from isozyme profiles in turn gave rise to a higher degree of genetic variation, which was further demonstrated through population structure data that revealed selective pressures on the mating success of the population and the demography of individuals. The environmental conditions, such as pH level, temperature, oxygen, and nitrogen levels, along with others, determined the variety of habitats in the cattail marsh at every site. These data provide evidence-based insights related to wetland ecology and plant genetics as the basis for a deeper understanding and prioritizing the conservation of these very special ecosystems against the background of climate change challenges. Areas of future research that should be considered include more investigations about genetic heterogeneity, the role of ecological interactions, and the integration of management strategies for reforming wetlands conservation. This investigation comprehensively explained wetland ecosystems and emphasized the imperative for immediate conservation measures in order to guarantee ecological integrity and the diversity of life in wetland ecosystems.
Downloads
References
Aavik, T., & Helm, A. (2018). Restoration of plant species and genetic diversity depends on landscape-scale dispersal. Restoration Ecology, 26(1), 92–102.
Abdollahzadeh, B., Gharehchopogh, F., & Mirjalili, S. (2021). African vultures optimization algorithm: A new nature-inspired metaheuristic algorithm for global optimization problems. Computers and Industrial Engineering, 158, 107408.
Akpabio, E., & Umoh, G. (2021). The practical challenges of achieving sustainable wetland agriculture in Nigeria’s Cross River basin. Water International, 46(1), 83–97.
Alami, E., Karimi, M., & Chalavi, V. (2021). Investigation of compost and vermicompost of water hyacinth as growing media for lily (Longiflorum × Asiatic). Journal of Horticultural Science, 8(3), 271–280.
Anderson, J., & Song, B. (2020). Plant adaptation to climate change—Where are we? Journal of Systematics and Evolution, 58, 1–12.
Arowolo, A., Deng, X., Olatunji, O., & Obayelu, A. (2018). Assessing changes in the value of ecosystem services in response to land-use/land-cover dynamics in Nigeria. Science of the Total Environment, 636, 597–609.
Ayeni, A., Ogunsesan, A., & Adekola, O. (2019). Provisioning ecosystem services provided by the Hadejia Nguru Wetlands, Nigeria – Current status and future priorities. Scientific African, 5, e00124.
Cai, J., Sun, K., Qin, T., Bu, X., Wang, M., & Li, H. (2022). Genotypic diversity improves photosynthetic traits of Hydrocotyle vulgaris and alters soil organic matter and N2O emissions of wetland microecosystems. Water, 14(6), 872.
Chaudhry, S., & Sidhu, G. (2021). Climate change regulated abiotic stress mechanisms in plants: A comprehensive review. Plant Cell Reports, 41(1), 1–31.
Chinazor, O., Njoku, J., Uzoma, O., & Chidinma, I. (2019). Analysis of physico-chemical properties of soil in relation to arable crop production in Abia State, Nigeria. International Journal of Innovative Research and Development, 8(9), 179–193.
Christie, K., Pierson, N., Holeski, L., & Lowry, D. (2023). Resurrected seeds from herbarium specimens reveal rapid evolution of drought resistance in a selfing annual. American Journal of Botany, e16265.
Ebele, N., & Emodi, N. (2016). Climate change and its impact in Nigerian economy. Journal of Scientific Research and Reports, 10, 1–13.
Ebert, A., & Engels, J. (2020). Plant biodiversity and genetic resources matter! Plants, 9(12), 1706.
Edo, I., & Albrecht, E. (2021). Threats to Niger-Delta wetlands: A case study of Apoi Creek forest. Open Journal of Ecology, 11(2), 136–147.
Hisano, M., Searle, E., & Chen, H. (2018). Biodiversity as a solution to mitigate climate change impacts on the functioning of forest ecosystems. Biological Reviews, 93(1), 439–456.
Hong, P., Schmid, B., Laender, F., Eisenhauer, N., Zhang, X., Chen, H., Craven, D., Boeck, H., Hautier, Y., Petchey, O., Reich, P., Steudel, B., Striebel, M., Thakur, M., & Wang, S. (2021). Biodiversity promotes ecosystem functioning despite environmental change. Ecology Letters, 25, 555–569.
Huihui, Z., Wu, H., Qi, Z., Zhao, R., Sheng, Q., & Zhu, Z. (2021). Flowering characteristics and reproductive biology of Nymphaea hybrid, a precious water lily. Scientia Horticulturae, 287, 110268.
Iwegbue, C., Bebenimibo, E., Tesi, G., Egobueze, F., & Martincigh, B. (2020). Spatial characteristics and risk assessment of polychlorinated biphenyls in surficial sediments around crude oil production facilities in the Escravos River Basin, Niger Delta, Nigeria. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 159, 111462.
Kangalawe, R. (2017). Climate change impacts on water resource management and community livelihoods in the southern highlands of Tanzania. Climate and Development, 9(2), 191–201.
Li, L., Geng, Y., Lan, Z., Chen, J., & Song, Z. (2016). Phenotypic plasticity of aquatic plants in heterogeneous environments: A review. Biodiversity Science, 24(2), 216–227.
Lyam, P., Duque-Lazo, J., Durka, W., Hauenschild, F., Schnitzler, J., Michalak, I., Ogundipe, O., & Muellner-Riehl, A. (2018). Genetic diversity and distribution of Senegalia senegal (L.) Britton under climate change scenarios in West Africa. PLoS ONE, 13, e0194726.
Mafiana, C., Jayeola, O., & Iduseri, E. (2022). Impact of environmental degradation on biodiversity conservation in Nigeria. The Zoologist, 20(1), 41–50.
Mamgain, A. (2022). Altitudinal variation in flower colour and attraction pattern of Rhododendron arboreum Sm. in central Himalayan region of Uttarakhand, India. Israel Journal of Plant Sciences, 69(3–4), 224–237.
Masifwa, W., Twongo, T., & Denny, P. (2001). The impact of water hyacinth, Eichhornia crassipes (Mart) Solms on the abundance and diversity of aquatic macroinvertebrates along the shores of northern Lake Victoria, Uganda. Hydrobiologia, 452, 79–88.
Mugambiwa, S. S., & Rapholo, F. S. (2024). The Impact of Climate Change on Agricultural Productivity and Economic Stability in Rural Zimbabwe. Indonesian Journal of Social and Environmental Issues (IJSEI), 5(3), 255-264.
Muluneh, M. (2021). Impact of climate change on biodiversity and food security: A global perspective—a review article. Agriculture and Food Security, 10, 1–25.
Mousavi, S. (2023). Victoria Amazonica Optimization (VAO): An algorithm inspired by the giant water lily plant. ArXiv, abs/2303.08070.
Ni, J. (2021). Impact of land cover change on the water environment of wetland ecosystem. Arabian Journal of Geosciences, 14, 1165.
Nielsen, D., Merrin, L., Pollino, C., Karim, F., Stratford, D., & O'Sullivan, J. (2020). Climate change and dam development: Effects on wetland connectivity and ecological habitat in tropical wetlands. Ecohydrology, 13(6), e2228.
Ochar, K., & Kim, S.-H. (2023). Conservation and global distribution of onion (Allium cepa L.) germplasm for agricultural sustainability. Plants, 12, 3294.
Okon, E., Falana, B., Solaja, S., Yakubu, S., Alabi, O., Okikiola, B., Awe, T., Adesina, B., Tokula, B., Kipchumba, A., & Edeme, A. (2021). Systematic review of climate change impact research in Nigeria: Implication for sustainable development. Heliyon, 7(9), e07941.
Olaniyi, O., Olutimehin, I., & Funmilayo, O. (2019). Review of climate change and its effect on Nigeria ecosystem. International Journal of Research in Environmental Health, 3, 92–100.
Olarewaju, T., Shittu, A., Dipeolu, A., & Oduntan, O. (2021). Wetlands attributes and influences on food security of households around Ogun River of Nigeria. Bangladesh Journal of Agricultural Economics, 42, 73–91.
Oyebanji, O., Salako, G., Nneji, L., Oladipo, S., Bolarinwa, K., Chukwuma, E., Ayoola, A., Olagunju, T., Ighodalo, D., & Nneji, I. (2021). Impact of climate change on the spatial distribution of endemic legume species of the Guineo-Congolian forest, Africa. Ecological Indicators, 122, 107282.
Pan, Y., Cieraad, E., Clarkson, B., Colmer, T., Pedersen, O., Visser, E., Voesenek, L., & Bodegom, P. (2020). Drivers of plant traits that allow survival in wetlands. Functional Ecology, 34(5), 956–967.
Pierce, S., Spada, A., Caporali, E., Puglisi, F., Panzeri, A., Luzzaro, A., Cislaghi, S., Mantegazza, L., Cardarelli, E., Labra, M., Galimberti, A., & Ceriani, R. (2018). Identifying population thresholds for flowering plant reproductive success: The marsh gentian (Gentiana pneumonanthe) as a flagship species of humid meadows and heathland. Biodiversity and Conservation, 27, 891–905.
Razgour, O., Kasso, M., Santos, H., & Juste, J. (2020). Up in the air: Threats to Afromontane biodiversity from climate change and habitat loss revealed by genetic monitoring of the Ethiopian Highlands bat. Evolutionary Applications, 14, 794–806.
Salimi, S., Almuktar, S., & Scholz, M. (2021). Impact of climate change on wetland ecosystems: A critical review of experimental wetlands. Journal of Environmental Management, 286, 112160.
Sarda, R., & Pal, S. (2022). Evaluating damming effect on eco-hydrological alteration in river and wetland using indicators of hydrological alteration. Geocarto International, 37, 16132–16156.
Sintayehu, D. (2018). Impact of climate change on biodiversity and associated key ecosystem services in Africa: A systematic review. Ecosystem Health and Sustainability, 4, 225–239.
Suhesti, S., Khumaida, N., Syukur, M., Wattimena, G., Husni, A., & Hartati, R. (2020). Isozyme banding patterns of drought tolerant sugarcane putative mutants. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 418, 012064.
Uguru, H., Akpokodje, O., Agbi, G., Essaghah, A., Sami, R., Aljahani, A., Al-Meshal, A., Al-Eisa, R., Althobaiti, W., Alotaibi, A., Johari, D., & Helal, M. (2022). Evaluating the spatial distribution of some toxic substances concentration with the microbial contamination of wetland water, sediment, and fishes, and their potential health hazards. Journal of Biobased Materials and Bioenergy, 16(6), 864–882.
Vasiliev, D. (2022). The role of biodiversity in ecosystem resilience. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 1072, 012012.
Wahab, M., & Iyiola, A. (2023). Climate change, wildlife and fisheries: A review of impact on Nigeria’s food security. Proceedings of the Nigerian Academy of Science, 16(2).
Weelden, C., Towers, J., & Bosker, T. (2021). Impacts of climate change on cetacean distribution, habitat and migration. Climate Change Ecology. 1, 100009.
Weiskopf, S., Rubenstein, M., Crozier, L., Gaichas, S., Griffis, R., Halofsky, J., Hyde, K., Morelli, T., Morisette, J., & Muñoz, R., et al. (2020). Climate change effects on biodiversity, ecosystems, ecosystem services, and natural resource management in the United States. The Science of the Total Environment, 137782.
Wang, Z., Xue, J., Hu, S., Zhang, F., Yu, R., Chen, D., Peer, Y., Jiang, J., Song, A., Ni, L., Hua, J., Lu, Z., Yu, C., Yin, Y., & Gu, C. (2022). The genome of Hibiscus hamabo reveals its adaptation to saline and waterlogged habitat. Horticulture Research, 9, uhac067.
Yan, P., Fernández‐Martínez, M., Meerbeek, K., Yu, G., Migliavacca, M., & He, N. (2023). The essential role of biodiversity in the key axes of ecosystem function. Global Change Biology, 29, 4569–4585.
Zhang, S., Yu, W., Lu, Z., Xiang, P., Wang, Z., Hua, J., Gu, C., Cai, J., & Lu, Y. (2023). Hibiscus hamabo rootstock-grafting improves photosynthetic capacity of Hibiscus syriacus under salt stress. Forests, 14(6), 1226.
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Copyright (c) 2025 Anthony O. Ukpene, Collins O. Molua
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
