Department of Forestry & Wildlife Management

DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY AND WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT

Philosophy

The philosophy of the programme is to equip potential graduates with a wide range of skill and the capacity to utilize scientific knowledge in developing practical solutions the problems of forestry and wildlife and to be entrepreneurs instead of Job seekers.

The main objectives of the programme are to;

1. Produce the appropriate manpower equipped with necessary skills to establish and profitably operate their own family enterprises.

j. Improve the genetic stock and encourage integrated farming systems in the Delta Creek ecosystem e.g. Agroforestry.

k. Promote forestry production and productivity, thereby providing solutions to global climatic problems – global warming, temperature increase and ozone layer depletion etc.

l. Promote wildlife conservation and domestication for the supply of protein and revenue generation.

Admission Requirements:

Candidates seeking admission into the programme must

1. Pass the UTME and subsequently the post UTME screening exercise of the University.
2. Possess five credit passes in the following subjects: English Language, Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology or Agricultural Science and any one of physics, Economics or Geography at the GCE/SSCE/NECO ‘O’ Levels, or its equivalent in not more than two sittings.

300 LEVEL (YEAR 3) COURSES

FIRST SEMESTER			SECOND SEMESTER
Course Code	Course Title	Unit	Course Code	Course Title	Unit
FWL 301.1	Forest Biometrics I	2	FWL 308.2	Forest Engineering	2
FWL 302.1	Principles of Silviculture	2	FWL 309.2	Wildlife Population Analysis	2
FWL 303.1	Forest Ecology	2	FWL 310.2	Forest Economics and Management I	2
FWL 304.	Wood Formation and Properties	2	FWL 311.2	Management of Game Birds	2
FWL 305.1	Forest Resource Inventory and Mensuration	2	FWL 312.2	Agroforestry	2
FWL 306.1	Harvesting, Processing & Utilization of Forest Plants	2	FWL 313.2	Forest Aerial and Ground Survey	2
FWL 307.1	Urban Forestry Development	2	FWL 314.2	Wildlife Ecology and Management	2
AGR 301.1	Introduction to Remote Sensing	2	FWL 315.2	Environmental Impact Assessment	1
CPP 302.1	Introduction to Entomology	2	AGR 304.2	Agricultural Biochemistry	2
AGR 302.1	Agricultural Research and report writing	2	GES 300.2	Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship	2
			AGF 301.2	Field Course	1
TOTAL		20	Total		20

Total units = 40

400 LEVEL (YEAR 4) SIWES 32 UNITS

Course codes	Course Title	Unit
GES 400	Entrepreneurship project	2
AGR 400	SIWES	30
TOTAL		32

Total units = 32

500 LEVEL (YEAR 5) COURSES

FIRST SEMESTER			SECOND SEMESTER
Course Code	Course Title	Unit	Course Code	Course Title	Unit
FWL 501.1	Multiple Land Use	2	FWL 500.2	Seminar	1
FWL 502.1	Forest Economics and Management II	2	FWL 509.2	Wood Processing and Pulping Process	2
FWL 503.1	Forest and Wildlife Policy, Law and Administration	2	FWL 510.2	Forest Mensuration	2
FWL 504.1	Advanced Silviculture	2	FWL 511.2	Forest Industries and Timber Quality Control	2
FWL 505.1	Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding	2	FWL 512.2	Wildlife Nutrition, Management and Utilization	2
FWL 506.1	Forest and Wildlife Pests, Diseases and Protection	2	FWL 513.2	Non-wood Forest Products	2
FWL 507.1	Forest Soils	2	FWL 514.2	Forest and Wildlife Extension and Education	2
FWL 508.1	Forest Biometrics	2	FWL 599.2	Research Project	6
AGR 501.1	Experimentation Techniques
AGR 502.1	Advances in Agriculture	2
TOTAL		20			19

Total units = 39

Cumulative units

Forestry and Wildlife Management      183 units

COURSE SYNOPSIS

YEAR TWO (FIRST SEMESTER)

FWL 201.1 Introduction to Forestry and Wildlife Management (2 units)

Nature and scope of forestry and forest. Structure, classification and importance of forest. Forest products; fauna and flora. Introduction to wildlife, importance of wildlife, forestry and wildlife interlinks.

YEAR THREE (FIRST SEMESTER)

Agr 302.1 Agricultural Research and Report writing (2 units)

Purpose and type of research; research proposal; problem identification and hypothesis formulation; methods of primary and secondary data collection; data organization and presentation; scientific writing; formats for project and thesis presentation. Review of basic statistics: frequency distribution, measures of location and dispersion; Principles of field experimentation.

FWL 301.1 Forest Biometrics I (2 Units)

Design and analysis of experiment on tree crops and wildlife; Basic techniques in survey sampling and design; Resource inventory and mensuration data processing

FWL 302.1 Principles of Silviculture (2 units)

Definition of silviculture, its importance in forestry operation, tree growth as determined by climatic and edaphic factors. Tropical forest regeneration methods (natural and artificial). Tungya and other silviculture practices necessary for tree development. The concept of Agroforestry, genesis, current development, prospects and problems. Interlink between crop, tree and animal husbandry. Socio-economic. Feasibilities and limitations.

FWL 303.1 Forest Ecology (2 units)

Distribution structure and Dynamics of land and freshwater ecosystem; The flow of energy and materials through natural ecosystems. The importance of conservation and conservation techniques.

FWL 304.1 Wood Anatomy, Formation and Properties (2 units)

Structure of wood and its chemical composition. Wood formation and properties. Physical and chemical properties of wood. Anatomical characteristics of wood; and its use in identification process.

FWL 305.1 Forest Resource Inventory and Mensuration (2 units)

Fundamentals of resource inventory and mensuration. Theory of tree measurements: diameter, height, back thickness, taper and form, and tree volume estimation.  Stand volume estimation and volume equations.  Tree measurement’s Instruments. Concepts of growth:  increment of trees and stands. Stand table projection; volume tables; yield tables; growth and yield; equations/modelling. Concept of stand structure: stand density and stocking. Site quality assessment and site index. Tree biomass estimation.

FWL 306.1 Harvesting, Processing and Utilization of Forest Plants (2 units)

Timber harvesting and merchandizing, safety and precautions in timber harvesting. Sustainable

harvesting, processing and utilizing of forest products. Non-timber forest product

harvesting and processing (seeds, fruits foliage, barks, fuel wood, ferns and lianas).

FWL 307.1 Urban Forestry Development (2 units)

Definition, scope and importance of urban forestry. Distribution and ownership of urban forests. Structure, conditions and management of urban forests. Nursery establishment and site selection for urban planting. Landscaping and design for urban planting. Tree care and maintenance in the urban environment.

YEAR THREE (SECOND SEMESTER)

FWL 308.2 Forest Engineering (2 units)

Design, construction, drainage and maintenance of forest roads, bridges, dams and buildings; logging and transportation. Planning, analysis and supervision of operations.

FWL 309.2 Wildlife Population Analysis (2 units)

Objectives of population assessment, methods of studying animal numbers and distribution. Attributes of population dynamics such as growth, mortality, density, age, sex ratio reproduction and survival rates. Population determination by handling and marking methods. Life table, survivorship curve and population. Implications of population dynamics to wildlife management.

FWL 310.2 Forest Economics and Management I (2 units)

Definition of forest goods and services; application of economic principles to forest resources (concept of demand and supply); Marketing of forest goods and services, price mechanism. Nature, scope and peculiarities of forest management, forest organizations and subdivisions. Sustain yield principle in forest management.

FWL 311.2 Management of Game Birds (2 units)

Classification, structure, ecology and economic importance of avifauna of Africa. Distribution, identification and management techniques of game birds.

FWL 312.2 Agroforestry (2 units)

Definition and history of agroforestry. Importance of agroforestry including sustainable production of food and fibre, environmental protection and conservation. Major agroforestry systems including taungya, alley farming, shelterbelts or windbreak, etc. Component classification of agroforestry system, e.g. (a) two-component system such as (i) trees and arable crops (agrisilviculture), (ii) trees and livestock (silvopasture), (b) three-component system such as trees, arable crops and livestock pasture (agrisilvopasture) (c) Others such as silvi-sericulture, apisilviculture, horti-apiculture, silvoaquaculture, etc.

FWL 313.2 Forest Aerial and Ground Survey (2 units)

Aerial photography. Aerial photogrametry, Photo-interpretation, Mapping from AP and planimetry. Remote sensing Applications in forestry, Application of Geographic Information System (GIS) in forestry projects. Procedures in ground survey and ground survey instruments. Chain surveying (open and close traversing) and triangulation. Obstacles in chain survey, how to overcome them and sources of errors. Compass survey: function, limitations and use during survey exercise and sources of errors.  Plotting around survey maps, plans and methods of area calculations. Lettering and conventional signs.  Levelling and contours. Plane tabling. Tacheometry and application of Theodolite Area and volume calculations.

FWL 314.2 Wildlife Ecology and Management (2 units)

Wildlife in relation to their environment. Factors affecting the distribution and abundance of wildlife. Interrelationship between climate, soil, vegetation, history and wildlife population characteristics as related to reproduction and mortality factors, movement, behaviour, lifecycles, feeding habits of wildlife. Nature and efficient usage of rangeland in West Africa. Method of range assessment and management.

FWL 315.2 Environmental Impact Assessment (1 unit)

Definition, principles and procedures. Role of forest in the formation of a stable environment. Environmental Impact of human actions. Responses of societies to environmental change. Introduction to Rapid Appraisal Techniques.

Year four

GES 400 Entrepreneurship project   (2 units)

AGR 400 (SIWES): Report writing   (30 units)

YEAR FIVE (FIRST SEMESTER)

FWL 501.1 Multiple Land Use (2 units)

Nigeria’s land resources, attitudes and conflicts; strategies for resolution of conflicts, integrated use of land for forestry purposes. Formulation of management policies for land areas. Decision making in the allocation of land for forestry, wildlife and agriculture; legislation relating to land and environmental planning.

FWL 502.1 Forest Economics and Management II (2 units)

Forest project analysis and evaluation. Application of economic principles in decision making to forestry (NPV, IRR, Cost-benefit analysis, sensitivity analysis). Forestry and economic development. Trade in forest goods. Principles and application of sustained yield; Theoretical basis for yield regulation. Basic factors affecting forest growth and increment. Concept of normal forest, structure of normal forest. Systems approach to forest management, use of analytical procedures in forest management.

FWL 503.1 Forest and Wildlife Policy, Law and Administration (2 units)

Forest, wildlife and related natural resource policies; planning effective use of natural resources; structure of wildlife administration; problems of conserving forest and endangered species. Nigerian Law in natural resources management, administration and wildlife conservation for economic and recreational uses, problems of wildlife conversation in Nigeria.

FWL 504.1 Advanced Silviculture (2 units)

Major forest types of the tropics and silvicultural systems employed in their management, plantation and nursery practices; seed technology with special reference to trees.

FWL 505.1 Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding (2 units)

Inventory, selection and conversation of basic genetic materials for mass production of improved- strains for silviculture. Theory, practices, methods and consequences of breeding tree crops; principles underlying choice of species; quantitative genetics in forest tree improvement. Economics of tree breeding programmes; principles, establishment and management of seed orchards.

FWL 506.1 Forest and Wildlife Pests, Diseases and Forest Protection (2 units)

Taxonomy and biology of major pests and diseases of forest tree. Principles underlying diseases and pest control; genetic and environmental control; meaning of forest protection, agents of forest/wildlife destruction, fire use and control; protection against fire encroachment, disease and illegal felling. Integrated forest protection guidelines. Natural pest and disease control among wild animals. Wild curative plant species.

FWL 507.1 Forest Soils (2 units)

Understanding of soil dynamics and influence upon forest composition, stand regeneration, tree vigour and tree growth rate; forest soil physics, chemistry and microbiology; soil moisture movement; forest nursery soil management; forest soil fertility determination, maintenance and improvement with special reference to tropical conditions.

FWL 508.1 Forest Biometrics (2 units)

The place of Biometrical procedures in forestry research; Application of basic biometrical techniques to problems in forestry and wildlife management.  Processing of data for management purposes.  Selected topics in applied statistics, e.g. multiple regression and frequency distribution models. Use of common statistical packages for forestry and wildlife data analysis. Presentation and interpretation of results of statistical analysis. Funding opportunity in forestry research. Application of computers to forestry projects and analysis. Open source software of use in forestry and wildlife management (e.g R-software and curve Expert)

AGR 501.1 Experimentation Techniques (2 Units)

Experimental designs and field layout (CRD, RCBD, Other factorial experiments); their sources of variation and assumptions. Sampling techniques: plot sampling techniques, sampling units and sampling size; Experimental errors; types I and II; Data analysis; cropping systems experiments: Land Equivalent ratio; Analysis of variance (ANOVA) its assumptions. Data transformation (Log, Square root transformation, Arcsine; their assumptions). Analysis of missing data. Pair wise comparison (t-test). Parametric (LSD, DMRT, Studentized test, Scheffe’s test, Turkey’s test) and Non parametric (Kruskal Wallis, Wilcoxon, Mann Whitney, Wilcoxon-Signed rank-test); Regression and Correlation Analysis; conditions for use, assumptions and properties in linear regression, sources of variation in linear regression, interpretation and prediction of linear regression, interpretation and estimation of correlation co-efficient; Data handling and presentation-graphic, tables, etc.; Quantitative assessment of pesticidal efficacy – Toxicological statistics. Experimental method; Determination of the critical toxic effects (ED₅₀, LD₅₀, LC₅₀, KD₅₀, LT₅₀).

AGR 502.1: Advances in Agriculture (2 units)

Historical background, Principles (principles of health, fairness, ecology, care) and practice of organic agriculture; Organic crop production, pest and disease management, predator control for sustainable and organic livestock production. Organic forestry, climate change and carbon sequestration, pasture management. Enterprise budgets and production costs for organic production, organic marketing resources and green markets; Hydroponic Agriculture: Preparation of nutrient solutions, media and methods (water culture, sub irrigation, slop and drip). Benefits and constraints; Tissue Culture and Cloning Technology: Introduction, laboratory requirements, effects of hormone balance on explants growth and morphogenesis, callus formation and multiplication, establishment of suspension cultures and Anther culture. Applications and relevance to Agriculture. Criticisms and laws (Bioethics and Biopiracy). Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) (Health issues, influence on biodiversity, benefits and demerits); organic farm certification and export markets.

YEAR FIVE (SECOND SEMESTER)

FWL 500.2 Seminar (1 unit)

Each final year student is expected to deliver seminar on a chosen topic.

FWL 509.2: Wood Processing and Pulping Process (2 units)

Evaluation of quality standing trees. Felling and logging techniques; wood conversion and processing; wood seasoning and preservation; machining, gluing, preservation and finishing, charcoal production. Chemical processing of pulp and paper.

FWL 510.2 Forest Mensuration (2 units)

Review of fundamentals of forest measurement procedures; planning of forest inventory-field trip to conduct forest inventory of a selected forest area; camp set up and field crew organization field data compilation; Inventory data processing & inventory reports. Stand table projection; volume tables; yield tables; growth and yield equations/modelling. Concept of stand structure: Stand density and stocking. Site quality assessment and site index. Tree biomass estimation.

FWL 511.2 Forest Industries and Timber Quality Control (2 units)

Forest- based industries, including furniture, sawmills, ply mills, fibre-board, chipboard, and particle board mills, determination of timber quality and its control, inspection, sampling and grading; wood protection, minor forest based industries e.g. Charcoal production, cellulose derivatives industry, marketing of forest resources; setting of forest industries.

FWL 512.2 Wildlife Nutrition, Management and Utilization (2 units)

Principles of nutrition of wildlife; nutrients composition of wildlife food; nutrient requirements of wildlife for various physiological processes; feed formulation, ration preparation and general methods of feeding.

FWL 513.2 Non-wood Forest Products (2 units)

Non-wood forest products used in fisheries as fish poison, for production of fishing nets and lines, etc.; Sericulture: production of silk from silkworms fed with forest tree leaves, plant dyes, gum-Arabic, cane for furniture, rubber, chemicals etc.; Other non-wood forest products used in homes and cottage industries.

FWL 514.2 Forestry and Wildlife Extension (2 units)

Management interpretation to include methods and techniques for communicating values of forestry, parks, game reserves and other wild lands. The role of the extension agent in providing organizational and administrative support in forestry. Training programmes for extension workers in forestry and wild life; Wildlife and its conservation. Wildlife ecology, principles governing wild animals’ population and programmes, game, ranching and domestication; Evaluation of wildlife resources of selected projects areas; Beekeeping/wetland; Planning and legislation.

FWL 599.2 Research Project (6 units)

Each final year student is expected to take up a project topic, propose his research and present findings of the research work. This should be under the supervision of lecturer(s) in the department. Hard copies of the project should be submitted to the department.