Floristic Composition and Structure of Tara Gedam Dry Afromontane Forest, South Gondar Zone, North West Ethiopia

Abstract

The study was carried out in Tara Gedam dry afromontane forest, South Gondar Zone, North West Ethiopia with the objectives of assessing the floristic composition and vegetation structure of woody plant species. Systematically forty five quadrats (20 m x 20 m) were laid along transect lines. Data on species abundance, diameter at breast height (DBH), height and number of individuals per species were recorded from each quadrat. Shannon-Weiner diversity index and Sorensen’s similarity coefficient were used. Basal area and phyto geographical comparison was also made. The regeneration status of the forest was assessed by using the number and distribution of seedlings and saplings species. Species were prioritized for conservation using importance value index, population structure and regeneration status. In this study, 107 vascular plant species, representing 86 genera and 56 families are present in the forest. Of these 56 families, fabaceae had the highest number of species (11) followed by moraceae (6 species), euphorbiaceae (5 species) and rubiaceae(4 species). The collected woody plant species were composed of 37.5 % trees, 28.8% shrubs, 21.2% tree/shrubs, 10.6 % lianas, 0.96% grass and 0.96% epiphyte. Of these, eight species are endemic. The Shannon-Weiner diversity and evenness were 4.19 and 0.91, respectively, indicating that the diversity and evenness of woody species is relatively high. The most dominant tree species with the highest importance values were Schefflera abyssinica, Olea europea susp. cuspidata, Albizia gummifera, Carisa spinarum, Acacia abyssinica, Teclia nobilis, and ficus vasta. The density and total basal area of the forest were 2444 Stems/ ha and 93.9 m²/ ha. The phytogeographical comparison revealed that Tara Gedam forest is related to dry afromontane forest. Based on the result of the study, detailed ethanobotanical studies, further studies on all plant species diversity, environmental factors, land use management, soil seed bank and seed physiology are recommended.

Keywords: Diameter at breast height, Dry afromontane forest, Floristic composition, Woody plant species, Sustainable use

Cite this Article

Eyasu Mekonnen and Eyayu Mola. Floristic Composition and Structure of Tara Gedam Dry Afromontane Forest, South Gondar Zone, North West Ethiopia. Research & Reviews: Journal of Computational Biology. 2016; 6(3): 12–21p.