Floristic Survey,Plant Diversity And Composition Of Nandi Forests,Kenya

Nandi Forests are situated on the top of Nandi escarpment in the Rift Valley Province of Kenya to the east of Kakamega Forest,and they are part of the eastern-most remnant of the Guineo-Congolian rainforest.They are rich in biodiversity.These ecosystems are important because they are considered to be part of the Afromontane biodiversity hotspot.They have immense benefits like reservoirs of biodiversity,and they are sources of timber&medicinal plants,they also act,for instance as carbon sinks and play a critical role in watershed protection.Despite this importance,they are at the forefront of species extinction crises due to widespread habitat loss,climate change,and alteration due to anthropogenic activities.A review of the past floristic studies of South and North Nandi forests indicates that few comprehensive inventories have been conducted before.This study aimed to provide the first comprehensive,detailed checklist of the flora located in this vital biodiversity area to help in conservation and management,as well as determine the number of plant species,its composition,and the structure of North and South Nandi Forests,Kenya.We also sought to check the conservation status of the threatened and vulnerable plant species under the IUCN,the rare and endemic plant species found in North Nandi,and South Nandi Forests,as well as describe new plant species that we might encounter.Floristic surveys were conducted in wet and dry seasons between 2016 and 2019.Our study covered the entire forests by sampling from 40 sites within the two forests,20 sites in both South and North Nandi Forests.A combination of general walk-over survey method and a plotless landscape defined sampling methods for plant specimen collection and sight observation were used to aid the characterization of the vegetation.All the plant specimens collected were stored at the East Africa Herbarium(EA)and Wuhan Botanical Garden(HIB).Additionally,data from herbarium specimens,published literature,and online sources were used.A total of 630 vascular plant taxa representing 118 families and 392 genera were collected from North and South Nandi Forests.Ferns and fern allies comprised of 61 species.In comparison,the seed plants included 569 species,together representing 9.03%of the 6,293 total vascular plant species in Kenya recorded by the Flora of Tropical East Africa.Angiosperms were the dominant taxa representing 90.2%of the total species collected(357 genera,568 species),followed by monilophytes which forms 9.4%of the total species collected(33 genera,59 species),lycophytes(1 genus,2 species)which represent 0.3%of the total species collected and gymnosperms which represent 0.2%of the total species collected.The majority of the plants were herbs comprising 50.2%of the total plant species,followed by shrubs(16.5%),trees(12.9%),climbers(9.4%),epiphytes(5.4%),shrubs or small trees(4.4%),lianas(0.9%),and subshrubs(0.3%).A full checklist of the vascular plants of Nandi Forests have been compiled,along,including an analysis of species composition and the latest name changes.By comparing the IUCN,4 species were found to be vulnerable;234 species were found to be least concern(LC).In comparison,392 representing(62.22%)vascular plant species recorded in Nandi Forests have not been assessed.We recorded 16 introduced or exotic plant species belonging to 13 genera and eight families.These plants represented 2.5%of the total plants collected in the Nandi Forests.19 taxa that are widespread in Africa but are restricted to the Kakamega and Nandi Forests in Kenya were collected.A new species,Zehneria longiflora and two new records Nervilia lilacea and Coccinia subsessiliflora were discovered and described.And brief notes on the most critical changes and nomenclature.The comprehensive checklist presents useful baseline data,which will be very important to the forest managers,conservationists,community forest associations,students,scientists,and researchers in managing and conserving this critical biodiversity resource.