**3.1 The study area**

Gambari Forest Reserve (GFR) is located in Oyo State, in the south-western region of Nigeria, in the Mamu locality (Gambari Forest), Co-ordinate 3.7 and 3.9E" and latitude 7°26 1 N and longitude 3°5 1 E. i.e. 17 km South-East of Ibadan, along the Ibadan/Ijebu-Ode road. GFR falls within the low land semi- deciduous forest belt of Nigeria and covers a total land area of 17,984 hectares, between River Ona on the West and the main road from Ibadan to Ijebu-Ode on the East. The effective productive area of the plantation is therefore 306.9 acres, no allowance being made for subsidiary roads and compartment boundaries. The Forest Reserve is owned by Oyo/ Ogun State governments and forms part of what was the Mamu Government Forest Reserve. Formerly Ibadan District Council Forest Reserve, GFR is divided into five series namely Onigambari, Busogboro, Onipe, Olonde and Mamu. It was originally 12,535.6 ha of which 1036 ha was de-reserved by the Oyo State Government for the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria. Later in 1986, another 1000 hectares was given to Safa Splints Nigeria Limited for its industrial plantation. Presently, the working area in the reserve is 10,429.6 ha (**Figure 1**).
