- by Admin
- 2023-07-20 06:06:15 June
Veterinary
Vegetation Structure and regeneration status of Guard Dry Afromontane Forests in North Western Ethiopia
Yitayih Dagne1*, Liyew Birhanu1
1Department of Biology, Debremarkos University, P.O. Box: 269, Debre Markos, Ethiopia.
*Corresponding Author: yitdagne@gmail.com
Abstract
The study was conducted in Guard forest in Dejen district, East Gojam zone, North West Ethiopia, to determine the vegetation structure and regeneration status of Guard Dry Afromontane forests. A systematic sampling technique was used for vegetation data collection. 58 plots each with 400 m2 (20 m X 20 m) for trees and shrubs. From each main plot, five subplots 4 m2 and 1 m2 were laid at the four corners and center of the main sample plot to count saplings and seedlings of woody plant species of the forest. The total species richness was 77 woody species belonging to 60 genera and 36 families. The total basal area of woody species is 20m2 ha-1. Tree species such as Ficus vasta had 3.5(18%), Millettia ferruginea 2.52(13%), Ficus sycomorus 1.63(8%), Stereospermum kunthianum 1.14(6%), Croton macrostachyus 0.68 (4%), Ekebergia capensis 0.25(2%) contribute the largest basal area and the remaining species contributed 49% of the total basal area. A total of 805 individuals were counted with a DBH class greater than 2.5 cm within the sampled plots, the highest DBH-class mostly recorded in DBH-Class 1(147.4 ha-1 (48%) then declined towards the end of DBH-Class-8( 5.6 ha-1 (2%).The upper story was represented by a height greater than 17m, which accounts for about 20% frequency of the woody species, whereas the middle story ranges from 7 m to 17 m (46.8%) and < 7m (32.8 %%) were constituted by the lower story. The total seedling, sapling, and mature tree densities of the 20 selected plant species were about 47.41 ha-1, 92.2 ha-1, and 279.31 individuals per hectare respectively, that shows the regeneration status of the forest is poor because the mature trees are greater than saplings and greater than seedlings.
Keywords: Seedling, Vegetation, Regeneration status, DBH.