Vegetation Ecology And Land Use Land Cover Changes In Selected Afromontane Forests Along Gibeomo Watershed Southwest Ethiopia

This study was aimed to investigate plant diversity and community analyses of thernAfromontane forests at Tiro Boter Becho (TBB) and Chebera Churchura National Parkrn(CCNP) and analyze LU/LC changes of the two study areas. Systematic samplingrntechnique was applied to vegetation and environmental data collection. Vascular plantsrnencountered in each plot were recorded and identified. In addition, soil samples wererntaken from each plot and analyzed for pH, organic matter, cation exchange capacity,rntotal nitrogen, available phosphorus and texture. Land use land cover changes of therntwo study sites were analyzed from the period 1984–2015 using geographicrninformation system and remote sensing techniques. 204 and 144 plant species werernrecorded from TBB and CCNP respectively. Five and four plant communities werernidentified at the Afromontane forests of TBB and CCNP respectively. The density ofrnwoody species was 1902 stems.ha–1 in TBB and 1562 stems.ha–1 in CCNP. Whereas,rnthe Basal area of woody species was 72.98 m2ha–1 in TBB and 73.81 m2ha–1 in CCNP.rnFour LU/LC types were identified in TBB and five LU/LC types were identified inrnCCNP. In the period of 1984–2000, Forest and Agriculture & Settlement showedrnincreasing trends in TBB. But Woodland and Shrub/Bushland showed decreasingrntrends. In the period 2000–2015, Agriculture & Settlement and Shrub/Bushland showedrnincreasing trends. But Forest and Woodland showed a remarkable loss. In CCNP,rnForest, Grassland and Agriculture & Settlement showed increasing trends in the periodrnof 1984–2000. But Woodland and Water body showed decreasing trends. In the periodrn2000–2015, Agriculture & Settlement, Grassland and Water body showed increasingrntrends. Whereas Forest and Woodland showed decreasing trends. A decreasing trendrnin vegetation and increasing trend in Agriculture and Settlement is an indication ofrnhigh demand of land for cultivation and settlement. Integrated watershed managementrnapproach should be in place to manage the entire watershed. Furthermore, effectivernenforcement of forest laws/policies, fair involvement of local communities in forestrnmanagement, delineation of the forest buffer zone and improve the use of modernrnstoves for efficient energy consumption must be carried out at a local level to ensurernthe sustainability of natural forest.rnKey Words/phrases: Afromontane forest, Chebera Churchura National Park, Landrnuse/Land cover change, Plant Community and Diversity, and Tiro-Boter-rnBecho

Get Full Work

Report copyright infringement or plagiarism