Floristic Composition Structure And Regeneration Status Of Plant Species In Sanka Meda Forest Guna Distrct Arsi Zone Of Oromia Region Southeast Etoiopia

This study was conducted on Sanka Meda Forest in Guna district, Arsi Zone,rnOromia National Region in southeast Ethiopia, which is a dry everygreen afromontane type ofrnforest. The objective of the study was to assess floristic composition, vegetation structure,rnregeneration pattern and to make a phytogeographical comparison of the forest under study withrnsome similar forests in Ethiopia. Systematic sampling method was used to collect vegetation datarnfrom seventy 20m x 20m sapling plots for woody species and five 2m x 2m subplots with in eachrnmain plot for herbaceous plants. The sampling plots were placed at every 200 m intervals alongrnthe nine transect lines laid at 400 m a part. The floristic composition and population structurerndata for woody species, DBH > 7cm and height > 2m, sampling (DBH < 7cm and 1 – 2m height)rnand all seedlings with a hight < 1m and their regeneration status were recorded in each plot. Thernvegetation classification was performed using PC – ORD software package. The quantitativernspecies diversity, richness and evenness were computed to describe plant diversity in eachrncommunity type. Species abundance, cover, and environmental variables (altitude, aspect) werernrecorded in each sampling plot. A total of 139 vascular plants and a lichen species belonging torn118 genera 63 families were identified. The Asteraceae family had the highest number of speciesrnwith 21 species and 14 genera followed by Lamiaceae with 10 species and 8 genera. Four plantrncommunity types: Croton macrostachyus-Lepidotrichilia volkensii, Maytenus undata, Juniperusrnprocera and Osyris quadripartita-Budleja davidii were recognized. Jaccard’s similarityrncoefficients were below 0.5 for all communities, indicating the prevalance of low similaritiesrnamong the communities. Thus, all the communities identified are important interms of floristicrndiversity and sensitive from conservation point of view.Woody species densities for maturernindividuals were 1060.71 stems ha-1, 416.50 stems ha-1 for saplings and 734.64 stems ha-1 forrnseedlings. The basal area of the forest was 34.70m2 ha-1. The floristic composition species werernpriorized for conservation using population structure, important value index and rejuvenation asrncriteria. The population structure and their regeneration behavior in the forest revealed that therernis a need for conservation priority for woody plant species with poor regeneration status. Thernprevailing of strong anthropogenic disturbances in the area implies the need for its immediaternconservation action in order to ensure the sustainable utilization of the forest.rnKeywords /Phrases: Afromontane forest, floristic composition, plant community, populationrnstructure, phytogeographical comparison, regeneration

Get Full Work

Report copyright infringement or plagiarism