Floristic Description And Ethno Botanical Study Of The Natural Vegetation In The Babile Elephant Sanctuary Ethiopia

A floristic description and ethnobotanical study of the < naturahvegetation . was carried out . betweenrnSeptember 5, 2005 and June, 2006 in the Babile Elephant Sanctuary ( BES), which was established inrn1970, in the semi-arid region of Ethiopia. Stratified sampling design was used and 75 quadrats each 400rnm2 were analyzed. A total of 237 plant species in 155 genera and 57 families were identified. Fabaceaernwas represented by the highest number of species (36 species = 15.1%), followed by Poaceae (19rnspecies = 8.0%) and Asteraceae (15 species = 6.3%). Using TWINSPAN program six community typesrnwere identified. These are: I. Tamarhuhts indicci II. Acacia robusta III. Acacia seyal -Balanitesrnaegyptiaca IV. Acacia senegal-Acalypha fruticosa V. Terminalia brownii-Boswellia neglecta and VI.rnAcacia bussie-Grewia tenax community types. The Biodiversity professional version 2.0 soft warernresult shows the six communities differ in species diversity where the smallest was 2.1 and the highestrnwas 3.44. The total diversity and evenness of the study area were 3.55 and 0.72 respectively. SPSSrnprogram was used to analyze the density of woody species. About 67 woody species (22 tree, 36 shrubsrn-*v and 9 climber species) were identified having a total basal area of 17.8 m /ha. The mean density ofrnthese woody species was 385 ± 114.2 (S.E.) individuals ha'1 where the mean density of trees was 32 ±rn9.96, shrubs 619 ± 203.3 and climbers 315 ± 103.4 individuals ha'1. Ethnobotanical information wasrncollected from 40 informants where 15 are key informants selected by systematic sampling method.rnSemi-structured interview was administered both in Oromoo language and Somali language and guidedrnfield walk was conducted to gather ethnobotanical information. The local community make use of 32rnspecies as food plants, 43 for human medicinal plants, 59 for forage, 20 veterinary medicine, 28 forrnconstruction and craft, 18 for fuel (firewood and charcoal), 8 for spice and condiments, 8 as cash cropsrn(where plant products have market value) and 38 species for other uses. Preference ranking result showrnOpuntia Jicus-indica, Tamarindus indica and Balanites aegyptiaca ranked 1 up to 3 as a food plants andrnthe direct matrix ranking result show Tamarindus indica, Berchemia discolor and Balanites aegyptiacarnranked 1 up to 3 as a multipurpose tree species. Anthropogenic impact was assessed and arbitraryrnnumber was assigned 1 up to 5 from the lowest to the highest threat. Then agriculture scored 5, humanrnsettlement and overgrazing 4, charcoal making and tree cutting 3, invasive species 2, and honeyrncollection 1. Invasive species like Lantana camara and Parthenium hystrophorus are the other threatrnwhere L. camara was recorded in 43 quadrats having the density 2794.6 individuals ha'1. In general , asrnpart of the country ’s remaining vegetation cover and as part of the habitat of the only livingrnrepresentative individuals of the elephant ( Loxodonta Africana Orleansi ) as well as a variety of otherrnanimals and as to the benefit of the local community, the BES should be afforded the highest protectionrnpossible as a matter of urgency before it is too late.

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