Ecological Services of a Peri-Urban Recreation Centre in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria


 Purpose

This study examines the consumption of renewable natural resources without market price by the people to promote conservation in the outlier of urban environment. The resources however offer ecosystem services to protect man and the environment
Methods

Socio-economic profile of respondents and natural resources data were gathered using two methods. Questionnaire as a socio-economic tool was used to gather data from respondents for socio-economic profile and natural resources data were obtained through bio-physical study of available renewable resources. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis
Results

The result shows gender sensitivity with female domination (64%) of the respondents and 36% male, age range 21-40years accounted for 43% with mean age of 41years. Further, some (44%) respondents were Christian, Tertiary education recorded the highest educational level with 53% and Ogun State had the highest State of origin distribution with 77%. A total of 30 flora species was identified and family Fabaceae with 6 species contributed more to the ecosystem services of the park than other families with 3 species. Furthermore, trees with diameter >11cm had higher carbon sequestration potential with 1009,776 kgCha−1, Above Ground Biomass of 2456.795kg and Below Ground Biomass of 272.33kg. A total of 25 fauna species was recorded as offering ecosystem services and Mammals with 31 species had the highest number of species offering ecosystem services followed by Aves with 14 species and reptiles with 13 species.
Conclusion

In conclusion, the study revealed that flora and fauna species offer a wide range of ecosystem services ranging from cultural, supporting, regulating, and provisioning services. It is suggested that recreation policy should ensure that proper and adequate sensitization through electronic media to enlighten the general public on recreation and the significance of flora and fauna in human health and the environment.


Introduction
Ecosystem services and human welfare are interconnected through the link of supply of environmental goods and services from natural areas [5; 13]. Therefore, any alteration to the supply link requires proper understanding of both tangible and intangible bene ts form the environment [8 ; 20]. The tangible bene ts are easily measured through direct market approach because they are traded in the market with prices dictated by demand and supply for example water treatment cost or market prices of food items.
However, Intangible bene ts, or non-traded products that may be referred to as cultural ecosystem services (CES), are di cult to evaluate due to absence of existing markets for the products (but not impossible) using methods that rely on human preferences to measure demand for the products. [7; 21].
Consequently, it is not an over statement that ecosystems goods and services play major role in the existence of humanity [11; 16]. Globally, communities and societies exploit nature for array of bene ts ranging from ecological, economic to aesthetic-cultural values. More than 60 percent of the global population depends on plants for their medicine. Aesthetic-cultural values like nature tourism are also provided through ecosystems [4; 13; 19]. However, over dependence on these resources by man along with other anthropological activities, altered the balance between man and the environment in the negative direction towards environment thus leading to climate change, loss of habitat and a continuous loss of the earth's biodiversity. The concept of peri-urban and peri-urbanization can be described as loose concepts. They may be used to describe newly urbanized zones at the fringes of cities mostly in developing countries, which may later be referred to as 'peri-urban interface' [3; 16]. Perhaps, emerging European perspective shows peri-urban areas to be mixed areas under an urban in uence but with a rural morphology.
According to [12; 15], reported that [17] develops one of the most acceptable classi cations in the study of ecosystem services [17]. The classi cation approach divides the services into four sections: provisioning, regulating, supporting and cultural services. Provisioning services refer to tangible goods obtained from ecosystems; Regulating services refer to bene ts obtained from the regulation of ecosystem processes; Cultural services -intangible products or non material bene ts obtained from the ecosystem and supporting services -support production of all other services. Thus, ecosystem services are mostly undervalued and therefore fail to show the signi cance of the services to humanity on a global scale [9]. This underscores the objectives of this study which are to identify zoo park ora and fauna providing ecological services for biodiversity conservation and climate protection and to describe the pro le of visitors to the zoo park.

Methodology
The Study Area Biophysical Study: Sampling procedure A systematic sampling technique was used to collect data from the study area. Four plots of 10m by 10m were laid close to the major animal sections in the park and complete enumeration was carried out within the plots to estimate carbon sequestration potential of plants and animals.

Aboveground Biomass (AGB) Estimation
The rate of carbon sequestration depends on the growth characteristics of the plant species, the conditions for growth, where the plant is located and the density for woody stems. For the purpose of this research, recourse was made to the dry weight technique for biomass estimation used by [1]. Thus, nondestructive method of estimating tree carbon weight was adopted for the purpose of this study.

Girth Measurement
The girth of individual tree species was obtained with the aid of girthing tape at 1.3m and the unit of measurement (cm) and was converted to m using 0.3m correction factor [14].

Tree Height
Tree height was measured with Haga altimeter-calibrated before use i.e. 9m for tall trees and 3m for short trees [14].
Above ground biomass of a tree was calculated as follows: For trees with diameter less than 11cm: W=0.25D2H and W=0.15D2H for dbh ≥ 11cm W=Above ground biomass (Kg) D= Dbh of the trunk (m).

H= Height (m) Below Ground Biomass (BGB) Estimation
Regression models were used to predict root biomass based on the Above Ground Biomass (ABG) [5]. Root-to-shoot (RS) ratio provide general description of the relationship between roots and shoots biomass The combination ratio derived from the atomic weights of the elements making up CO 2 molecule to that of carbon (C), i.e. 3.7 was used to estimate sequestered CO 2 . Ratio (3.7) was multiplied with (AGB) and (BGB) for different trees to estimate CO 2 sequestered Total CO 2 sequestrated = 3.7 * (AGB + BGB) ……………. ………………. (2) Data Analysis Descriptive statistics were used to summarize socio economic characteristics of respondents, perception and preferences of services generated in the study area.

Likert Scale
Likert scale with class boundaries of means were used to draw inferences [11] on perception. Statements as variables in 5 perceptional arrangements were presented to the respondents for rating ranging from strongly agreed (5) Table 1 shows that Ogun State has the highest State of origin distribution with 77%, the study is gender sensitive with majority, (64%) of the respondents were female and 36% male, household 3 -6 members recorded the highest percentage of 67% with mean household size of 6. Age distribution shows age bracket (21-40yrs) accounted for 43% with mean age of 41years. Furthermore, some respondents were Christian with 44%, Tertiary education (53%) recorded the highest level of education. Majority, (67%) came from Abeokuta the catchment location of the park. Also, majority, (68%) visit alternative recreation centres. Bio-Physical Study Table 2   Above Ground Biomass of Tree Species < 11cm DBH Table 3 shows the species with diameter less than 11cm. Tree height with diameter was used to calculate the above ground biomass using Model 1.    Malvaceae Ceiba pentandra 1 20 Source: Field Survey, 2018 Cultural Services These are non-material bene ts people obtained from ecosystems through spiritual enrichment cognitive development, re ection, recreation and aesthetic experiences. Accordingly, plants at Children play ground provides educational values and these plants are Ficus exasperata, Albizia zygia, Alstonea boonei, Antaris africana, Ceiba pentandra. Table 6 shows that Moraceae (40%) recorded the highest percentage of plants offering this service.

Regulating Services
These are services rendered by trees to address all forms of biological control. All plants encountered perform various regulating services varying from air quality regulation, water regulation and climate regulation. Table 7 shows that Fabaceae had the highest percentage (20%) of plants offering regulating services in the park.  Source: Field Survey, 2018 Table 9 shows the list of animals in the park offering the different ecosystem services. Thus, various animal groups offer ecosystem services from the avian and reptiles to mammals.

Conclusion
This study has shown that zoopark as a recreation centre offers a wide range of ecosystem services in terms of provisioning, cultural, supporting and regulating services. Supporting services, such as, microclimate regulation, soil formation, primary production, nutrient cycling or biogeochemical cycling, water cycling, photosynthesis and pollination are services that support the production of all other ecosystem services, therefore, they are non marketable within the park. The carbon sequestration evaluation in FUNAAB Zoo Park was in line with UNFCCC and Kyoto carbon credit trading while substantiating the importance of preserving our tree species. This is because recent importance has been attached to emissions reduction from tropical deforestation in future climate change policy. Thus, it will be wise to consider the possibilities of having more plant species in our recreation centres for biodiversity conservation and climate mitigation. These species of trees will not only aid in CO 2 sequestration but also provide services ranging from shade, food and other unquanti able bene ts for the populace. Suggestions include government to put in place appropriate measures to include peri-urban recreation centers with more ora and fauna as part of community development plans since zoopark is part of the environment. Thus, recreation policy should ensure proper and adequate sensitization through electronic media to enlighten the general public on the importance of ora and fauna and most especially the ora (trees) in our entire environment while ensuring sustainable development.

Declarations
Data available on request due to privacy or other restrictions: The data that support the ndings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author (J.S). The complete data are not publicly available due to state restrictions, the data contain information restricted to the institution and that could compromise research participant privacy/ consent 'Consent to participate' Verbal informed consent was obtained prior to the interview for the study