(a) On an outline map of Nigeria, show and name: (i) the mangrove swamp forest (ii) the Sahel savanna (iii) the Guinea savanna (iv) one major town in (a)(i)...

Answer Details

(a) Outline map of Nigeria showing vegetation belts

Show the vegetation belts as broad east-west bands, correctly ordered from south to north, and label:

• (i) Mangrove swamp forest: along the coast and the Niger Delta in the far south.
• (ii) Sahel savanna: the extreme north-east around the Chad Basin.
• (iii) Guinea savanna: the wide middle-belt band across the country.
• (iv) One major town: in the mangrove belt - Port Harcourt (or Warri); in the Guinea savanna - Ilorin (or Makurdi, Minna).

(b) Three main characteristics of the Guinea savanna vegetation

• It consists of tall grasses (often 1.5 to 3 metres high) growing in the wet season and drying up in the dry season.
• Trees are scattered and of medium height, mostly deciduous and fire-resistant (e.g. locust bean, shea, isoberlinia), with broad, gnarled trunks.
• It is a transition (mixed) zone of grass and trees, denser and more wooded than the Sudan/Sahel savanna to the north but more open than the forest to the south.
• Many trees have thick bark and deep roots as adaptations to seasonal drought and bush fires.

(c) Four ways the mangrove swamp forest is of economic importance

• Fishing grounds: the creeks and estuaries are rich breeding grounds for fish, prawns and shellfish, supporting a large fishing industry.
• Timber and wood products: mangrove wood provides fuelwood, poles for building and material for making charcoal.
• Raw materials and tannin: the bark yields tannin used in tanning leather, and raffia palms supply fibre and wine.
• Petroleum and site value: much of Nigeria's crude oil and gas is exploited in the delta mangrove belt, and the sheltered creeks provide sites for ports and harbours.
• Tourism and salt-tolerant farming: the wetlands support tourism and, where reclaimed, rice and coconut cultivation.