Woody Species Diversity, Structure, and Regeneration...

Research ArticleWoody Species Diversity Structure and RegenerationStatus of Yemrehane Kirstos Church Forest of Lasta WoredaNorth Wollo Zone Amhara Region Ethiopia

Amanuel Ayanaw Abunie and Gemedo Dalle

Centre for Environmental Science Addis Ababa University PO Box 1176 Addis Ababa Ethiopia

Correspondence should be addressed to Amanuel Ayanaw Abunie amanuelayanawgmailcom

Received 4 October 2017 Revised 3 April 2018 Accepted 16 May 2018 Published 13 June 2018

Academic Editor Ignacio Garcıa-Gonzalez

Copyright copy 2018 Amanuel Ayanaw Abunie and Gemedo Dalle This is an open access article distributed under the CreativeCommons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use distribution and reproduction in any medium provided theoriginal work is properly cited

This study is aimed at generating data on woody species diversity structure and regeneration status of some species and wasconducted in Yemrehane Kirstos Church Forest of Lasta Woreda North Wollo Zone Amhara Region Ethiopia Six transect lineswere laid following altitudinal gradient Quadrats of size 20 m times 20 m (400m2) were used to collect data that were establishedsystematically at every 100 m interval along the transect lines Data on woody species was collected from a total of 34 samplingquadrats of 400m2 To collect data on seedlings and saplings five subplots of 1 m times 1m (1m2) size located at the four corners andcentre of the main plot were used Species diversity was determined using the Shannon-Wiener index (H1015840) A total of 39 woodyspecies belonging to 38 genera and 29 families were identified in Yemrehane Kirstos Church Forest The overall Shannon-Wienerdiversity index (H1015840) and evenness values for the entire forest were 288 and 079 respectivelyThe six most abundant woody speciesin their order of highest density were Juniperus proceraOlea europaea subsp cuspidataMaytenus arbutifoliaOsyris quadripartitaCalpurnia aurea and Debregeasia saeneb The densities for mature woody species saplings and seedlings were 5066 5147 and4154 individuals haminus1 respectively The basal area of the forest is 72 m2 haminus1 The population structure and regeneration status ofthe forest indicated that there have been high forest degradation and severe anthropogenic disturbances in the area and thereforeconservation of species ecosystem restoration and sustainable use of the forest genetic resources are recommended as a result ofthis study

1 Introduction

11 Background and Justification Loss of forest cover andbiodiversity due to anthropogenic activities is a growingconcern in many parts of the world [1 2] Africarsquos forestcover is estimated to be 650 million ha constituting 17percent of the worldrsquos forests including a number of globalbiodiversity hotspots [3] Ethiopia is regarded as one of themost important countries in Africa with respect to biolog-ical resources (flora and fauna) [4] The major challengefacing Ethiopia is environmental degradation manifestedin the degradation of land and water resources as well asloss of biodiversity [5] Deforestation is one of the majorfactors contributing to land degradation by exposing thesoil to various agents of erosion Rapid human population

growth poverty forest clearing overgrazing and lack ofproper policy framework are some of the major factorsthat contribute to the loss of forest resources in Ethiopia[6] In general topography soil climate and geographicallocations of a region influence the vegetation diversity of theforest ecosystem [7] Lack of integration of the local peopleliving around the conservation areas into the conservationefforts is the major constraint to the overall conservationeffort in Ethiopia [8] However the current government ofEthiopia has started to protect forests through participatoryforest management Therefore as a strategy for developmentinterventions initiation of forest management through localcommunity participation would essentially be contributingto the reduction of forest degradation in Ethiopia [9 10]However availability of accurate data on forest resources

HindawiInternational Journal of Forestry ResearchVolume 2018 Article ID 5302523 8 pageshttpsdoiorg10115520185302523

2 International Journal of Forestry Research

Figure 1 Location map of Yemrehane Kirstos Church Natural Forest

is an essential requirement for management and planningwithin the context of sustainable development [11] Likewiseas a conservation approach scientific studies on floristiccomposition vegetation structure and regeneration statusof a given forest patch are needed to determine the statusof the forest and take appropriate conservation measuresYemrehane Kirstos Church Forest one of the most importantand heritage priority areas is currently not well managedand most of the forest area is degraded and converted toagricultural and grazing land [12] The systematic investiga-tion of forest vegetation for this area is lacking Thus thecurrent work on floristic composition diversity structuralanalysis and regeneration of the vegetation in the area isbelieved to contribute a lot to the effective conservation andmanagement of this heritage forest The major objective ofthis study was to determine floristic composition of woodyspecies regeneration status and structure of woody speciesin Yemrehane Kirstos Church Forest

2 Materials and Methods

21 Location and Description of the Study Area The studywas conducted in Yemrehane Kirstos Church Forest LastaWoreda NorthWollo Zone AmharaNational Regional Statecharacterized by a rugged mountain landscape in the rivervalley of gorges and high clips of north Wollo LalibelaEthiopia It is located between 12∘ 071015840 39910158401015840ndash12∘ 081015840 36210158401015840 N

and 039∘ 04101584000810158401015840ndash039∘ 04101584024310158401015840 E (Figure 1) and extendsover an altitudinal range from 2565 to 3135 m with the totalarea of 200ha [12]Themain types of soil in the area are loamysoil

3 Sampling Design

Systematic sampling design was used to collect vegetationdata from the study site Appropriate transect lines andsampling quadrats were made based on the total area of thestudy site for vegetation data collection Six transect lineswere laid following the altitudinal gradient and quadrats ofsize 20 m times 20 m (400m2) were established systematicallyat every 100 m interval To collect data on seedlings andsaplings five subquadrats of 1 m times 1m (1m2) size located atthe four corners and centre of the main quadrats were used

31 Floristic Data Collection All the woody plant speciesencountered in each sample quadrats were recorded andcoded with vernacular and local names whenever possibleThe plant species occurring outside sample quadrats butinside the forest were recorded only as present but not usedin the subsequent vegetation data analyse These speciesand the rest plant specimens were collected pressed driedand brought to the National Herbarium of Ethiopia (ETH)Department of Plant Biology and Biodiversity Management

International Journal of Forestry Research 3

Table 1 Density and relative density (RD) of woody species

Species Name Density haminus1 Relative densityJuniperus procera 11965 3835Olea europaea 5067 1624Maytenus arbutifolia 2864 918Osyris quadripartita 1981 635Calpurnia aurea 1763 565Debregeasia saeneb 1323 424

Addis Ababa University for taxonomic identification Phys-iographic variables such as altitude latitude and longitudewere recorded for each sampling quadrat using GPS In eachquadrat trees and shrubs with DBH gt 25 cm were measuredand recorded for height and diameter at breast height (DBH)with clinometers and diameter tape respectively For treesand shrubs that are branched around the breast height thecircumference was measured separately and averaged Ineach quadrat the species list and number of seedlings andsaplings were recorded to determine the regeneration statusThe undergrowth of woody species with a height less than 1mwas considered as seedlings height of greater than 2mwasconsidered as trees and shrubs and 1-2 m was considered assapling [14]

311 Diameter at Breast Height (DBH) DBH measurementwas taken at about 13 m from the ground using a diametertape Trees and shrubswithDBHgt 25 cmweremeasured andrecorded for diameter at breast height (DBH) Treesshrubswith multiple stems or fork below 13 m height were alsotreated as a single individual (Kent and Coker 1992) Fortrees and shrubs that are branched around the breast heightthe circumference was measured separately and averagedDiameter class frequency distribution of selected tree speciesin the area was classified into ten classes (1) 25-5cm (2)51-10cm (3) 101-15cm (4) 151-20cm (5) 201-25cm (6)251-30cm (7) 301-35cm (8) 351-40cm (9) 401-45cm (10)gt45cm

312 Height Height is a straightforward parameter used fordirect measurement purposes The total tree heights (to thetop of the crown) were measured using Hypsometer Thetree heights were classified into different classes based ontheir height Height class frequency distribution of trees andshrubs in the area was classified into five height classes (1)lt5m (2) 51-10m (3) 101-15m (4) 151-20m (5)gt20m

32 Data Analysis The diameter at breast height (DBH)basal area tree density height frequency and importantvalue index were used for description of vegetation structure

That accounts both for species richness and evenness andit is not affected by sample size (Kent and Coker 1992)

Shannon diversity index [15] was calculated

H1015840 = minus119904

sum119894=1

119901119894 ln119901119894 (1)

Species richness was undertaken from all species encoun-tered in each plot

S = number of speciesplot (2)

Evenness of species was calculated by dividing H by Hmax(here Hmax = ln S)

E = H1015840

Hmax= H1015840

ln S(3)

33 Importance Value Index (IVI) Importance value indexwhich combines data from three parameters (relative fre-quency relative density and relative abundance) is used tocompare the ecological significance of species The impor-tance of value index (IVI) for each woody species wascalculated using the formula indicated below [13]

Importance Value = Relative density

+ Relative frequency

+ Relative dominance

(4)

34 Basal Area It is the cross-sectional area of all of the stemsin a stand at breast height (13 m above ground level) Thisbasal area per unit area is used to explain the crowdedness ofa stand of forests It is expressed in square meterhectare Itsarea is also used to calculate the dominance of species Basalarea = Σ (d2)2 where D is diameter at breast height

Relative Dominance = lsquoDominance of Tree speciesDominance of all species

times 100(5)

where dominance is average basal area per tree times thenumber of tree species

Woody species density is defined as the number of plantsof a certain species per unit area

Density = Total Number of all TreesSample Size in Hectare

times 100

Relative Density

= Number of Individuals of Tree speciesTotal Number of Individuals

times 100

(6)

35 Frequency Frequency is defined as the probability orchance of finding a plant species in a given sample area orquadrat It is calculated with the formula below

Frequency

= Number of Plots in which species occurTotal number of plots

times 100(7)


Table 2 Mean basal area (BA) in m2 and relative dominance of woody species

Species Name Mean basal area Density Dominance Relative dominance RankJuniperus procera 018 11985 2163 6698 1Olea europaea 008 5074 409 1266 2Clutia lanceolata 006 102 31 96 3Acacia abyssinica 011 735 078 241 4Hibiscus crassinervius 001 09 055 17 5Dombeya torrida 01 86 04 124 6

Table 3 Basal area comparison of Yemrehane Kirstos Church Forest with other forests

Forest Basal area AuthorDenkoro 4500 Abate (2003)Gelawdewos 5200 Alemayehu (2003)Debresena 4500 Alemayehu (2003)Dengolt 3500 Alemayehu (2003)Kimphe Lafa 11440 [13]Yemrehane Kirstos 7200 Present studyBibita 6990 Denu [6]Wof-Washa 6432 Fisaha et al [26]

The frequencies of the tree and shrub species in all thirty-fourquadrats were computed

Relative Frequency =Frequency of Tree species

Frequency of all Tree species

times 100(8)

4 Results and Discussion

41 Floristic Composition A total of 39 woody speciesbelonging to 38 genera and 29 families were identifiedin Yemrehane Kirstos Church Forest (Table 5) Of thesespecies 19 (50) were trees 5 (13) shrubs and 14 (368)treeshrubs Fabaceae was the most dominant family (4species) followed by Apocynaceae Clusiaceae and Cupres-saceae with 2 (526) species each represented by nineteenspecies The remaining represented eleven families (4208)and each is represented by a single species

42 Vegetation Structure

421 Density of Woody Species The six most abundantwoody species in their order of density in Yemrehane KirstosChurchNatural Forest were Juniperus procera Olea europaeaMaytenus arbutifolia Osyris quadripartite Calpurnia aureaand Debregeasia saeneb (Table 1)

422 Basal Area The total basal area of Yemrehane KirstosChurch Natural Forest was about 72 m2 haminus1 for woodyspecies that have DBH gt 25 cm Basal area provides themeasure of the relative importance of the species rather thansimple stem count [16] Species with higher basal area couldbe considered as the most important species in the studyvegetation In this study basal area analysis across individual

species revealed that there was high domination by very fewor small woody species This also indicates that species withthe highest basal area do not necessarily have the highestdensity indicating size difference between species [17] Thefollowing species made the largest contribution to the basalarea Juniperus procera Olea europaea Acacia abyssinicaAllophylus abyssinicus and Dovyalis abyssinica respectively(Table 2)

In general the basal area values for present forest werehigher than most of the other studied forests in Ethiopia[12]This suggests that the Yemrehane Kirstos Church Forestshave better growth and potential to retain higher biomass(Table 3)

43 Frequency Frequency is an indicator of homogeneityand heterogeneity of a given vegetation type [16] Thehigher number of species in higher frequency classes andlower number of species in lower frequency classes showhomogeneity in forest composition And the low number ofspecies in higher frequency classes shows heterogeneity ofspeciesThe present study revealed high percentage of speciesin lower frequency classes and relatively low percentage ofnumber of species in high frequency classes Thus the resultverifies the existence of high degree of floristic heterogeneityin Yemrehane Kirstos Church Forest [12] The relative fre-quency revealed that Juniperus procerawas the most frequentspecies with frequency of 9412 followed by Olea europaeaMaytenus arbutifoliaOsyris Quadripartite Acacia abyssinicaDodonaea viscosa Allophylus abyssinicus Calpurnia aureaRhus glutinosa and Clutia abyssinica

44 Species Diversity and Evenness Species diversity is acombination of the number of species and their relativeabundanceThe values of species diversity depend upon levels


Table 4 The list of most frequent and most IVI of ten trees species of the forest with their corresponding frequency relative frequencyrelative density and relative dominance in Yemrehane Kirstos Church Forest

Species Name Frequency () RF RD RDO IVI RankJuniperus procera 9412 2336 3835 7937 14108 1Olea europaea 7059 1752 1624 1500 4876 2Maytenus arbutifolia 4118 1022 918 029 1969 3Osyris quadripartita 2647 657 635 030 1322 4Acacia abyssinica 2353 584 235 286 1105 5Dodonaea angustifolia 2353 584 424 004 1012 6Allophylus abyssinicus 2059 511 329 070 962 7Calpurnia aurea 1471 365 565 030 910 8Rhus glutinosa 1471 365 188 001 554 9Clutia abyssinica 882 219 118 001 338 10

of species richness and evenness [18] Generally speakingonly few species were dominating the vegetation of the studyarea in their abundance while many of the species were veryrare or low in their abundance

Reports fromother studies indicated that species richnessand diversity tend to peak at an intermediate altitude anddecline at the lower andupper elevations [19]The result of thepresent study more or less agrees with this regarding speciesrichness Such a result reflects either adverse environmentalsituations or random distribution of available resource inthe study areaThe overall average Shannon-Wiener diversityindex (H1015840) and the average evenness values of YemrehaneKirstos Church Forest were 288 and 079 respectively whichis higher than Harenna Forest (260) [20] According to[16] species area curve is a cumulative curve that relatesthe occurrence of species with the area sampled curves thatgrow up and flattened at the end indicate that the numbersof plots taken are sufficient Seven sample quadrats weretaken randomly and decided the species area curves of thevegetation of Yemrehane Kirstos Church Forest The resultshowed that species richness across quadrats was good andpattern of diversity curve raised up and flatted owing to thefairly enough number of quadrats observed

45 Importance Value Index IVI indicates the structuralimportance of a species within a stand of mixed speciesAnd it is used for comparison of ecological significance ofspecies in which high IVI value indicates that the speciessociological structure in the community is high It is crucialto compare the ecological significance of species [16] Itwas also stated that species with the greatest importancevalue are the leading dominant of specified vegetation [21]The top ten leading woody species with greatest importancevalue and dominance in Yemrehane Kirstos Church Forestwere Juniperus procera Olea europaea Maytenus arbutifoliaOsyris quadripartita Acacia abyssinica Dodonaea angustifo-lia Calpurnia aurea Allophylus abyssinicus Rhus glutinosaand Clutia abyssinica compared to other species of the area(Table 4)

46 Diameter Class of Woody Species The general pattern ofDBH class distribution of Yemrehane Kirstos Church Forest

showed an inverted bell-shaped distribution This pattern ofDBH classes indicates a good potential of reproduction andrecruitment of the forest Similar results were reported by [2223] In this study cumulative diameter class distribution ofthe population structure of the study area reflected an irreg-ular shape which seemed to be a bell-shaped distributionpattern but a complete absence of individuals in some classesand a fair representation of individuals in other classes Abovesixty-five percent of the total density is restricted in themiddle and higher diameter class (5-32cm) whereas the restof density was found to be in the lower diameter classes (1-5cm) (Figure 2) This indicated that there was drawing out oftrees for various purposes by local dwellers (eg for fencingand fuel wood by livestock trampling or browsing or maybeby agricultural expansion) in the lower classes of trees in thearea

47 Height In case of population height class distributionsimilar results were reported in Chilimo and MenageshaForests of central plateau of Ethiopia [17] in Denkero Forest[22] and in Menagesha Ameba Mariam Forest [24] Thehigher number of large-sized individuals in the upper heightclass in the natural forest implies the presence of a goodnumber of adult tree species for reproduction [25]This argu-ment holds true for Yemrehane Kirstos Church Forest Thisis partly due to the absence of large scale timber exploitationTherefore the current study exhibited a condition of primaryforest development of the Yemrehane Kirstos Church ForestIt is noteworthy that woody species with the highest DBH sizewere also recorded for the highest height (Figure 3) Althoughthere is selective logging of tree species at certain heightYemrehane Kirstos Church Forest exhibited individuals of allheight classes

48 Regeneration Status of Yemrehane Kirstos Church ForestA total of 1245 individuals 696 seedlings and 549 saplingsindividuals were counted from all quadrants The followingspecies were the largest contributors to the seedling andsapling counts Becium grandiflorum Maytenus Juniperusprocera and Dodonaea angustifolia In general the distribu-tion of seedlings as a whole is greater than that of saplingsand mature trees and that of saplings is less than mature


Table 5 List of woody species collected from Yemrehane Kirstos Church Natural Forest

No Local name Scientific name Family Habitat1 Yehabesha Tid Juniperus procera L Cupressaceae Tree and Shrub2 Weyira Olea europaea Oleaceae Tree and Shrub

3 Tikurgirar Acacia Fabaceae Tree and ShrubabyssinicaHochst ex Benth

4 Emibis Allophylus abyssinicus (Hochst) Radlkofer Sapindaceae Tree and Shrub5 Digta Calpurnia aurea (Ait) Benth Fabaceae Tree and Shrub6 Atat Maytenus arbutifolia (A Rich) Wilczek Celastraceae Tree and Shrub7 Fiyelefji Clutia lanceolata Forssk Euphorbiaceae Shrub8 Kitkita Dodonaea angustifolia Lf Sapindaceae Shrub9 Wanza Cordia africana Lam Boraginaceae Tree

10 Yedegamentese Becium grandiflorum (Lam) Lamiaceae ShrubPicSerm

11 Talo Rhus glutinosa A Rich Anacardiaceae Tree and Shrub

12 Keskese Lippia adoensisHochst Verbenaceae Shrubex Walp

13 Emibacho Rumex nervosus Vahl Polygonaceae Shrub14 Yewushaawut Solanum anguivi Lam Solanaceae Shrub

15 Tikurenchet Prunus africana (Hook f) Rosaceae Shrub and TreeKalkm

16 Asikuar Nuxia congesta R Br Ex Loganiaceae TreeFresen

17 Keret Osyris quadripartita Dec Santalaceae Tree and Shrub18 Amfar Buddleja polystachya Fresen Loganiaceae19 Wulikfa Dombeya torrida (J F Gmel) P Bamps Sterculiaceae Tree and Shrub20 Beles Ficus carica L Moraceae Tree

21 Semaytero Dovyalis abyssinica (A Rich) Flacourtiaceae TreeWarb

22 Yetotakula Galinierasaxifraga (Hochst) Rubiaceae TreeBridson

23 Duaduate Clutia abyssinicaJaub and Spach Fabaceae Shrub24 Kechem myrsineafricana L Myrsinaceae Shrub25 Shinet MyricasalicifoliaARich Myricaceae Tree and Shrub26 Kega Rosa abyssinica Lindley Rosaceae Tree and Shrub

27 Weyinagift Pentasschimperiana (ARich) Rubiaceae ShrubVatke

28 Asita Erica arboreaL Ericaceae Tree and Shrub29 Kushele EchinopspappiiChiov Asteraceae Shrub30 Azamir Bersama abyssinicaFresen Melianthaceae Shrub31 Bisana Croton macrostachyusDel Euphorbiaceae Tree32 Agam Carissa spinarum L Apocynaceae Shrub33 Gesho Rhamnusprinoides LrsquoHerit Rhamnaceae Shrub34 Yeferenjitid CupressuslusitanicaMiller Cupressaceae Tree and Shrub35 Merez Acokanthera schimperi (A DC) Schweinf Apocynaceae Shrub36 Yedegaamija Hypericum revolutumVahl Guttiferae Shrub37 Tunjit Otostegiatomentosa A Rich Lamiaceae Shrub

38 Derofes Debregeasia saeneb (Forssk) Urticacea ShrubHepper and Wood

39 Ticha chengerHibiscus

Malvaceae ShrubcrassinerviusHochst ex ARich


DBH class VS Density

46324338 4191 4044

36763088

26482132 1912

1397

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10DBH class (cm)

05101520253035404550

Den

sity (

ha)

Figure 2 Cumulative diameter class frequency distribution ofselected tree species DBH class 1 = 25ndash5cm 2 = 51ndash10cm 3 =101ndash15cm 4 = 151ndash20cm 5 = 201ndash25cm 6 = 251ndash30cm 7 =301ndash35cm 8 = 351ndash40cm 9 = 401ndash45cm 10 gt 45cm

Height class VS Density

73535882

3824 3750 3162

1 2 3 4 5Height class (m)

01020304050607080

Den

sity (

ha)

Figure 3 Cumulative height class frequency distribution of woodyspecies class 1 includes lt 5 m 2 = 5ndash10 m 3 = 10ndash15 m 4 = 15ndash20 mand class 5 gt =20 m)

trees This ratio indicates that the number of seedlings andsaplings being regenerated in the forest is about more thantwo times the mature trees of the forest Analysis of seedlingsand saplings of Yemrehane Kirstos Church Natural Forestindicated that the densities of seedlings and saplings ofwoody plants species of the forest were 4154 and 5147haminus1 respectively Regeneration status of a forest is poor ifnumber of seedlings and saplings are much less than matureindividuals [13] In this seedling and sapling assessmentBecium grandiflorum Clutia lanceolataMaytenus arbutifoliaOlea europaea and Juniperus procera were found with goodrecruitment status relative to other species Generally goodregeneration wasmore observed for most bushshrub speciesthan trees

5 Conclusion and Recommendation

The study provides useful information on the present con-dition of the woody species diversity structure and regen-eration status of Yemrehane Kirstos Church Forest Theforest has a large number of woody species bound with ahigh diversity The woody species of the Yemrehane KirstosChurch Forest were dominated by Juniperus procera andthe most economical and ecologically important woodyspecies in the forest was Acokanthera schimperi Howeverthe renewal of species through the regeneration was notadequate the vulnerability of young plants to disturbance hascaused slower replacement into tree size class

6 Recommendation

The Yemrehane Kirstos Church Forest is currently beingexploited by the local peopleThis calls for the need of seriousattention for conservation and management of this forestHence the following recommendations are made to meetthese objectives

(i) Subsequent ecological studies are vital concerningspecies composition diversity and distribution ofpossible plant communities with respect to otherenvironmental factors

(ii) Raising awareness among local communities of thevalue of forest resources and ecological consequencesof deforestation

(iii) Creating mechanisms such as participatory forestmanagement by which human impacts can be min-imized through discussion and consultation with thelocal communities

(iv) Based on the finding the forest has to bemanaged forbiological diversities found in the area and for carbonsequestration

(v) The present studywas limited to diversity structure ofwoody species and regeneration status thus furtherstudies on soil seed bank seed physiology herbaceousplants and land use management system in the areaare needed

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest

References

[1] S P Singh Y S Rawat and S C Garkoti ldquoFailure of brown oak(Quercussemicarpifolia) To regenerate in theCentralHimalayaa case of environmental semi-surpriserdquo Current Science vol 73pp 371ndash374 1997

[2] R Hegde and T Enters ldquoForest products and householdeconomy A case study from Mudumalai Wildlife SanctuarySouthern Indiardquo Environmental Conservation vol 27 no 3 pp250ndash259 2000

[3] R A Mittermeier G P Robles M Hoffmann et al HotspotsRevisited Earthrsquos Biologically Richest and Most EndangeredTerrestrial Eco-Regions CEMEX Mexico City 2004

[4] EFAP Ethiopian Forestry Action program Volume IIISummaryFinal report Ethiopia Addis Ababa 1994

[5] H Mitiku K Herweg and B Stillhardt Sustainable LandManagement A New Approach to Soil and Water Conservationin Ethiopia Mekelle University Mekelle Ethiopia Univ BerneSwitzerland 2006

[6] D Dereje Floristic Composition and Ecological study of BibetaForest (GuraFerda) Southwest Ethiopia Addis Ababa AAU2006

[7] J RamA Kumar and J Bhatt ldquoPlant diversity in six forest typesof Uttaranchal Central Himalaya Indiardquo Current Science vol86 no 7 pp 975ndash978 2004

[8] F Senbeta and D Teketay ldquoDiversity Community types andpopulation Structure of Wood y plants in Kimchee Forest a


virgin Nature Resave in Southern Ethiopiardquo Ethiopian Journalof Biological Sciences vol 2 no 2 pp 169ndash187 2003

[9] T Bekele M Limenh T Tadesse and A Ameha ldquoDetermin-ingforestcarryingcapacity in PFMJFM sitesThe case of Adaba-Dodola Forestrdquo in Participatory Forest Management (PFM)Biodiversity and Livelihoods in Africa pp 202ndash213 2007

[10] G Veeraku maraan and A Negussie ldquoParticipatory ForestManagementCooperatives as an Institutional Alternativerdquo inParticipatory ForestManagement (PFM) Biodiversity and Liveli-hoods in Africa pp 240ndash247 2007

[11] FAO State of the Worldrsquos Forests FAO Forestry Department2007

[12] A Ayanaw and G DalleWoody Species Diversity Structure andRegeneration Status of Yemrehane Kirstos Church Forest of LastaWoreda North Wollo Zone Amhara region AAU Addis AbabaEthiopia 2016

[13] K Aliyi K Hundera and G Dalle ldquoFloristic CompositionVegetation Structure and Regeneration Status of KimpheLafaNatural Forest OromiaRegional State West Arsi EthiopiardquoResearch amp Reviews Journal of Life Sciences pp 19ndash32 2015

[14] R M Singhal Soil and Vegetation Studies in Forests ICFREPublications Debra Dun 1996

[15] Krebs Ecological Methodology Harper Collins Publishers Uni-versity of British Colombia Harper Collins New York NYUSA 2nd edition 1989

[16] H Lamprecht Sericulture in the tropics Tropical forest ecosys-tems and their Tree species possibilities and methods are the long-term utilization T2-verlagsgeslls chaft RoBdort 1989

[17] T Bekele ldquoPhytosociology and ecology of a humid Afromon-tane forest on the Central Plateau of Ethiopiardquo Journal ofVegetation Science vol 5 no 1 pp 87ndash98 1994

[18] MCMolles JrEcology concepts and applicationsMcGraw-HillInc New York 2007

[19] W Alemayehu Opportunities Constraints and Prospects of theEthiopian OrthodoxTewahido Churches in Conserving ForestResources The Case of Churches in South Gonder NorthernEthiopia Swedish University of Agricultural Science NorthernEthiopia 2002

[20] F Senbeta ldquoBiodiversity and Ecology of Afromontane Rain-forests with Wild Coffee Arabica L Populations in Ethiopiardquoin Ecology and Development Series No 38 p 144 Center forDevelopment Research University of Bonn 2006

[21] S Shibru and G Balcha ldquoComposition structure and regener-ation status of Woodyspecies in Dindinnatural forests conser-vationrdquo Ethiopian Journal of Biological Sciences pp 15ndash35 2004

[22] A Ayalew T Bakele and S Demissew ldquoThe undifferentiatedAfromontane Forest of Denkoro in the central highland ofEthiopia A floristic and structural analysis SINETrdquo SINETEthiopian Journal of Science vol 29 no 1 pp 45ndash56 2006

[23] F Abdena Floristic Composition and Structure of Vegetationof Chato Natural Forest in HoroGuduruWollega Zone OromiaNational Regional State West Ethiopia AAU AddisAbabaOromia 2010

[24] A Tilahun Floristic composition structure and regenerationstatus of Menagesha Amba Mariam Forest central Highland ofShewa Addis Ababa AAU 2009

[25] G Tesfaye andA Berhanu ldquoRegeneration of Indigenous woodyspecies in theunderstory of exotic Tree species plantation inwestern Ethiopiardquo Ethiopian Journal of Health Sciences vol 5no 1 pp 31ndash43 2006

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Figure 1 Location map of Yemrehane Kirstos Church Natural Forest

is an essential requirement for management and planningwithin the context of sustainable development [11] Likewiseas a conservation approach scientific studies on floristiccomposition vegetation structure and regeneration statusof a given forest patch are needed to determine the statusof the forest and take appropriate conservation measuresYemrehane Kirstos Church Forest one of the most importantand heritage priority areas is currently not well managedand most of the forest area is degraded and converted toagricultural and grazing land [12] The systematic investiga-tion of forest vegetation for this area is lacking Thus thecurrent work on floristic composition diversity structuralanalysis and regeneration of the vegetation in the area isbelieved to contribute a lot to the effective conservation andmanagement of this heritage forest The major objective ofthis study was to determine floristic composition of woodyspecies regeneration status and structure of woody speciesin Yemrehane Kirstos Church Forest

2 Materials and Methods

21 Location and Description of the Study Area The studywas conducted in Yemrehane Kirstos Church Forest LastaWoreda NorthWollo Zone AmharaNational Regional Statecharacterized by a rugged mountain landscape in the rivervalley of gorges and high clips of north Wollo LalibelaEthiopia It is located between 12∘ 071015840 39910158401015840ndash12∘ 081015840 36210158401015840 N

and 039∘ 04101584000810158401015840ndash039∘ 04101584024310158401015840 E (Figure 1) and extendsover an altitudinal range from 2565 to 3135 m with the totalarea of 200ha [12]Themain types of soil in the area are loamysoil

3 Sampling Design

Systematic sampling design was used to collect vegetationdata from the study site Appropriate transect lines andsampling quadrats were made based on the total area of thestudy site for vegetation data collection Six transect lineswere laid following the altitudinal gradient and quadrats ofsize 20 m times 20 m (400m2) were established systematicallyat every 100 m interval To collect data on seedlings andsaplings five subquadrats of 1 m times 1m (1m2) size located atthe four corners and centre of the main quadrats were used

31 Floristic Data Collection All the woody plant speciesencountered in each sample quadrats were recorded andcoded with vernacular and local names whenever possibleThe plant species occurring outside sample quadrats butinside the forest were recorded only as present but not usedin the subsequent vegetation data analyse These speciesand the rest plant specimens were collected pressed driedand brought to the National Herbarium of Ethiopia (ETH)Department of Plant Biology and Biodiversity Management










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Agronomy




Advances in

Virolog y



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H1015840 = minus119904

sum119894=1

119901119894 ln119901119894 (1)




E = H1015840

Hmax= H1015840

ln S(3)





(4)



times 100(5)




times 100

Relative Density


times 100

(6)


Frequency


times 100(7)









times 100(8)










































46324338 4191 4044

36763088

26482132 1912

1397

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10DBH class (cm)

05101520253035404550

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sity (

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73535882

3824 3750 3162


01020304050607080

Den

sity (

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6 Recommendation









References






























Volume 2018


Journal of





Journal of










Agronomy




Advances in

Virolog y



Geophysics








BotanyJournal of




Volume 2018












times 100(8)










































46324338 4191 4044

36763088

26482132 1912

1397

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10DBH class (cm)

05101520253035404550

Den

sity (

ha)



73535882

3824 3750 3162


01020304050607080

Den

sity (

ha)





6 Recommendation









References






























Volume 2018


Journal of





Journal of










Agronomy




Advances in

Virolog y



Geophysics








BotanyJournal of




Volume 2018




































46324338 4191 4044

36763088

26482132 1912

1397

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10DBH class (cm)

05101520253035404550

Den

sity (

ha)



73535882

3824 3750 3162


01020304050607080

Den

sity (

ha)





6 Recommendation









References






























Volume 2018


Journal of





Journal of










Agronomy




Advances in

Virolog y



Geophysics








BotanyJournal of




Volume 2018

























Volume 2018


Journal of





Journal of










Agronomy




Advances in

Virolog y



Geophysics








BotanyJournal of




Volume 2018




Woody Species Diversity, Structure, and Regeneration...

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