Assessment of Plant Diversity and Utilization of Wild Medicinal Species by Households Proximate to Arabuko Sokoke Forest in Kilifi County of Kenya BY Ahmed, Bakari Maunguja (B.Sc. Range Management, University of Nairobi) A thesis submitted to the Board of Postgraduate Studies in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Range Management in the Department of Land Resource Management and Agricultural Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Nairobi © August, 2016 DECLARATION THIS THESIS IS MY ORIGINAL WORK AND HAS NOT BEEN PRESENTED FOR THE AWARD OF A DEGREE IN ANY OTHER UNIVERSITY. SIGNATURE: ……………………………………DATE: ……………………………………….. MAUNGUJA BAKARI AHMED Department of Land Resource and Agricultural Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Nairobi. THIS THESIS HAS BEEN SUBMITTED FOR EXAMINATION WITH OUR APPROVAL AS THE SUPERVISORS: SIGNATURE: …………………………………... DATE: ……………………………………….. DR. OLIVER V. WASONGA Department of Land Resource and Agricultural Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Nairobi. SIGNATURE: ………………………………….. DATE: ……………………………………….. DR. OSCAR K. KOECH Department of Land Resource and Agricultural Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Nairobi. SIGNATURE: ………………………………….. DATE: ………………………………………. DR. MELCKZEDECK K. OSORE Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute, Mombasa, Kenya. i DEDICATION To my parents, Abubakar Maunguja and Rehema Wandaa; who are my source of inspiration and encouragement throughout my life, may God bestow His Mercy on you. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First and above all, I thank God for His blessings and for giving me the strength to proceed successfully with my studies. I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisors Dr. Oliver V. Wasonga, Dr. Oscar K. Koech and Dr. Melckzedeck K. Osore for their continuous guidance throughout my study. This work would not be possible without their patience, criticism and thoughtful guidance that contributed to this thesis. My gratitude also goes to Kenya Coastal Development Project (KCDP) for offering me a Master of Science scholarship and for funding this research. I also thank KCDP for offering me opportunities to participate and present my work in conferences. This provided me with opportunity to interact with scientists from various institutions who guided me in the right direction. My cordial thanks goes to my field assistants Mr. Godfrey Mashauri, Mr. Alex Mwalimu, Ms Priscilla Nassoro and Mr. Nathaniel Shida for their excellent support during my fieldwork. I greatly appreciate Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI) and the administrative officers of the different villages of Arabuko area for their assistance in identifying knowledgeable individuals and herbalists, and for the cooperation by respondents who participated in the data collection. I am also grateful to my friends Dr. Abdulghani and Mohamed Adan for making my stay in Malindi safe and enjoyable. I acknowledge my colleagues Lutta Alphayo, Klerkson Okomboli and Sakimba Kimiti for providing me with statistical advice. I extend my gratitude to my dear wife and friend Mwanahija Khamis for her motivation and editing support. Finally, to my siblings Jamila, Athman, Mishi, Ahmed, Ibrahim, Babu and friends who contributed to my study through practical and moral support. Thank you for everything and may Allah bless you in return. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION ............................................................................................................................. i DEDICATION .................................................................................................................................ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .............................................................................................................. iii LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES............................................................................................. viii ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ........................................................................................ x ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... xi CHAPTER ONE ............................................................................................................................. 1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background ........................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Problem statement ................................................................................................................. 3 1.3 Justification of the study ....................................................................................................... 4 1.4 Broad objective ..................................................................................................................... 5 1.5 Specific objectives................................................................................................................. 5 1.6 Research hypotheses ............................................................................................................. 6 1.7 Thesis organization ............................................................................................................... 6 CHAPTER TWO ............................................................................................................................ 8 LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................................... 8 2.1 Human influence on forests‘ plant diversity and structure ................................................... 8 2.2 Trends and factors affecting knowledge on medicinal plants ............................................... 9 2.3 Utilization and contribution of medicinal plants to livelihoods .......................................... 10 2.4 Threats and conservation of medicinal plants ..................................................................... 12 2.5 Measuring importance of plant species to communities ..................................................... 14 CHAPTER THREE ...................................................................................................................... 16 MATERIALS AND METHODS .................................................................................................. 16 3.1 Study area ............................................................................................................................ 16 3.1.1 Location and geo-physical characteristics .................................................................... 16 3.1.2: Vegetation and soils types of Arabuko Sokoke forest................................................. 17 3.1.3 The people and livelihoods in the study area ............................................................... 18 iv 3.2 Research design ................................................................................................................... 19 3.2.1 Ecological sampling ..................................................................................................... 19 3.2.2 Socioeconomic sampling .............................................................................................. 20 CHAPTER FOUR ......................................................................................................................... 22 PLANT SPECIES DIVERSITY AND SIZE CLASS DISTRIBUTION IN ARABUKO SOKOKE FOREST, COASTAL KENYA ................................................................................... 22 ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................. 22 4.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... 23 4.2 DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS ......................................................................... 24 4.3 RESULTS............................................................................................................................ 26 4.3.1 Plant species richness and diversity.............................................................................. 26 4.3.2 Density of plant species common in the three communities ........................................ 34 4.3.3 Size class distribution of sampled plant species ........................................................... 35 4.4 DISCUSSION ..................................................................................................................... 36 4.4.1 Species richness and diversity ...................................................................................... 36 4.4.2 Density of plant species common in the sampled communities ................................... 39 4.4.3 Size class distribution of the sampled plant species ..................................................... 40 4.5 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................... 41 NEXUS BETWEEN KNOWLEDGE, UTILIZATION, THREATS AND CONSERVATION OF WILD MEDICINAL PLANTS IN ARABUKO REGION, COASTAL KENYA ....................... 42 ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................. 42 5.1 INTRODUCTION ..............................................................................................................