Diversity, Structure, and Regeneration of Bishan Gari Forest, West Arsi Zone, Ethiopia: Implication for Conservation of Woody Species

H. Wondu¹ , A. Seyoum² , D. Chala³ , S. Alemu⁴

Section:Research Paper, Product Type: Journal-Paper
Vol.8 , Issue.10 , pp.1-10, Oct-2022

Online published on Oct 31, 2022

Copyright © H. Wondu, A. Seyoum, D. Chala, S. Alemu . This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
 

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Abstract :
The study was conducted at Bishan Gari Forest in West Arsi Zone, Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia. The main aim was to determine florist composition, vegetation structure, and regeneration status, and identify major disturbance factors. Vegetation data were collected using systematic sampling and 40 plots of 10 × 50 m (500 m2) main quadrates for collecting tree and shrub species data, whereas 80 plots of 5 × 10 m (50 m2) were laid at every 100 m to collect seedling and sapling data. Google Earth Pro and QGIS version 2.18 were employed to define the boundary of vegetation, draw transect lines and plot sample plots along transect lines at a predetermined distance. All vegetation data analysis was carried out using the FGRCP Central Database, EXCEL, Stata version 13, and R software version 4.0.3 to determine the vegetation-environmental relationship. A total of 40 species belonging to 29 genera, 22 families, and 38 species were identified from the forest. The study vegetation comprised 62.5% trees, 27.5% shrubs, and 10% climbers/lianas. The overall diversity indices (D=0.65, H’=1.43 & J=0.7) for the entire forest portrayed lower diversity and higher evenness. Beyond to vertical structure category, Podocarpus falcatus, Ficus ovata, Ficus vasta, Celtis Africana, Mimusops Kummel, Syzygium guineense, Croton macrostachyus, and Cordia Africana were found in all vegetation strata. From the analysis of IVI 15 species required foremost priority for conservation, while aspect and slope gradient were identified, as the main determining factors of vegetation. Generally, it is mandatory to set priority for the conservation of threatened woody plant species to revive from current squashed risks and to reduce future dread of decline.

Key-Words / Index Term :
— Floristic Composition, Diversity, Forest Disturbance, Important Value Index, Species Density, Vertical structure.

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