TITLE:
Regeneration Status, Population Structure and Floristic Composition of Woody Plant Species in Sheleko Medicinal Natural Forest, South Gondar Zone, North West Ethiopia
AUTHORS:
Tizazu Gebre Alemayehu, Kefie Hunie Muche, Chinthapalli Bhaskar Rao, Doraikanu Shankara Vijaya Chitra
KEYWORDS:
Population Structure, Regeneration Status, Sheleko Medhanialem Forest, Woody Plant Species
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Ecology,
Vol.14 No.10,
October
31,
2024
ABSTRACT: Ethiopia is one of the countries in the world endowed with rich biological resources. However, due to human impacts, the forest cover in Ethiopia has been decreasing rapidly. The study was carried out with the purpose of finding out the Regeneration Status, Population Structure and Floristic composition of Woody Plant Species in Sheleko Medihanialem Natural Forest in Gondar, North West Ethiopia, from October 2019 to September 2020. The systematic vegetation sampling method was used to collect data from Fifty plots of 20 m × 20 m (400 m2) along five line transects. In addition, five, 5 m × 5 m subplots were laid within the main plot to sample seedlings and saplings. The floristic composition and population structure of woody individuals of trees and shrubs with a diameter at breast height (DBH) ≥ 2.5 cm and height ≥ 2 m were measured. DBH ≤ 2.5 cm and less than 1 m height were considered as seedlings and DBH ≥ 2.5 cm and height of 1 - 2 m as saplings. Vegetation data of density, frequency, basal area, and importance value index were computed. A total of 65 woody plant species in 54 genera and 34 plant families were recorded. Fabaceae, Moraceae and Euphorbiaceae were the dominant families in terms of species richness. Woody species densities for mature individuals were 2202.5 stems∙ha−1, seedling 2419.2 stems∙ha−1 and sapling 1737.6 stems∙ha−1. The forest was dominated by small-sized/young trees and shrubs, indicating the status of secondary growth and/or regeneration.