Vegetation structural characteristics and topographic factors in the remnant moist Afromontane forest of Wondo Genet, south central Ethiopia

For forest ecosystem management to be effective, knowledge of the horizontal and vertical structural diversity of a forest is essential. The moist Afromontane highlands of Wondo Genet in south-central Ethiopia present an opportunity to restore and rehabilitate and enhance the ecosystem services to be obtained from this forest sustainably. We focused on the forest structural characteristics to better understand the current forest conditions to assist in the sustainable management of this resource. A total of 75 （20 m × 20 m） quadrats were sampled and diame- ter at breast height （DBH） 〉2 cm and stem height 〉2 m were measured. Species identity and abundance, elevation, slope, and aspect were recorded for each plot. Structural characteristics were computed for each plot. Relationship of topographic factors with vegetation characteristics was conducted using R-Software. A total of 72 woody species was re- corded. Whereas, the overall diameter distribution shows an inverted J-shaped curve, the basal area followed a bell-shaped pattern. Five types of population structures are revealed. The mean tree density and basal area was 397.3 stems.ha-1 and 31.4 m2.ha-1, respectively. Only 2.8% of the tree species have densities of 〉25 stems.ha^-1 and the percentage dis- tribution of trees show 56.2% in the DBH class 2-10 cm, indicating that the forest is dominated by medium-sized trees. Celtis africana （8.81 m2.ha^-1） and Pouteria adolfi-friederieii （5.13 m2.ha^-1） make the highest contribution to the basal area and species importance value index. The families/species with the highest importance value index are Ulmaceae, Fabacea and Sapotaceae. Species abundance （r2 = 0.32, p 〈0.001） and species richness （P =0.50, p 〈0.001） are positively related with tree density. Tree density is negatively related with elevation （~ = -0.36, p 〈0.001）, slope （r2 =-0.15, p 〈0.001） and aspect （r2 = -0.07, p 〈0.05）. While basal area is negatively related with elevation （r2 =-0.14, p 〈0.001）, it has a positive relationship with tree density （r2 =0.28, p 〈0.001 and species richness （r2 =0.098）. Species with poor population structure should be assisted by restoration tasks and further anthropogenic distur- bance such as illegal logging and fuel wood extraction should be re- stricted.

Vegetation cover density and disturbance affected arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi spore density and root colonization in a dry Afromontane forest, northern Ethiopia

Arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi(AMF) are vital in the regeneration of vegetation in disturbed ecosystems due to their numerous ecological advantages and therefore are good indicators of soil and ecosystem health at large. This study was aimed at determining how the seasonal, vegetation cover density, edaphic and anthropogenic factors affect AMF root colonization(RC) and spore density(SD)in Desa’a dry Afromontane forest. AMF RC and SD in the rhizosphere of five dominant woody species, Juniperus procera, Olea europaea, Maytenus arbutifolia, Carissa spinarum and Dodonaea angustifolia growing in Desa’a forest were studied during the rainy and the dry seasons in three permanent study vegetation cover density plots(dense, medium, and poor). Each plot(160 x40 m2) has two management practices(fenced and unfenced plots) of area. A 100 g sample of rhizosphere soil from moisturefree composite soil was used to determine spore density.Spore density ranged from 50 to 4467 spores/100 g soil,and all species were colonized by AMF within a range of 4–95%. Glomus was the dominant genus in the rhizosphere of all species. Vegetation cover density strongly affected SD and RC. The SD was significantly higher(p < 0.05) in the poor vegetation cover density than in the other two and lowest in the dense cover; root colonization showed the reverse trend. Management practices significantly(p <0.05) influenced AMF SD and RC, with the fenced plots being more favoured. Seasons significantly(p < 0.05) affected RC and SD. More RC and SD were observed in the wet period than the dry period. Correlating AMF SD and RC with soil physical and chemical properties showed no significant difference(p> 0.05) except for total nitrogen. Disturbance, vegetation cover density, season and total nitrogen are significant factors that control the dynamics and management interventions to maintain the forest health of dry Afromontane forests.

Quantifying multiple-site compositional turnover in an Afrotemperate forest, using zeta diversity

Background： Species turnover is typically measured by partitioning diversity components into alpha and pairwise beta diversity. However, alpha and beta components cannot express the full spectrum of multiple-site compositional turnover. To this end, zeta diversity has been proposed as an extended framework to allow complete biodiversity partitioning and to measure multiple-site species turnover. We use a zeta-diversity framework to explore the turnover and potential community assembly processes of an African Montane Forest. Methods： Using a 20 m grid, we explore the species turnover in a 4.55 ha forest plot located in the Garden Route National Park of South Africa, with 47 and 27 canopy and sub-canopy tree species in the regional poo We first calculate how zeta diversity declines and how the probability of retention of species with particular occupancies changes with increasing zeta orders （i.e. the number of sites [grid cells] involved in the calculation）. Using null models with row sums and column sums constrained respectively, we explore whether species turnover is driven by mechanisms of ecological differences （species-specific occupancies） or habitat heterogeneity （site-specific alpha diversity and thus environmental filters）. Results： The decline of zeta diversity with zeta order followed a power law; that is, the probability of retention increased with species occupancies, suggesting common species being more likely to be discovered in extra sites. The null model retaining row sums （species＇ occupancy） of the species-by-site matrix recreated perfectly the decline of zeta diversity, while the null model of habitat heterogeneity （retaining column sums） was rejected. This suggests that mechanisms driving species-specific occupancies （i.e. ecological differences between species） dictate the multi-site species turnover in the community. The spatial patterns of zeta diversity revealed little spatial structuring forces, supporting a fine-grain structure in these southern Cape forests. Conclusions： The framework of zeta diversity revealed mechanisms driving the large discrepancies in the occupancy among species that are behind the species turnover in the African Montane forest plot. Future studies could further link species turnover to spatial distance decay. Environmental filters and temporal turnover from landscape demography could bring a cohesive understanding of community assembly in these unique forest ecosystems.

The arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi status of selected tree nurseries in the Ethiopian highlands

We investigated the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi(AMF)status of ten nurseries suitable for restoration of dry evergreen Afromontane forests in Ethiopia.We quantified AMF root colonization(RC)and spore abundance(SA)in seedlings of nine native tree species namely Acacia abyssinica Hochst.ex Benth.,Cordia africana Lam.,Dovyalis abyssinica(A.Rich.)Warb.,H agenia abyssinica J.F.Gmel.,Juniperus procera Hochst.ex Endl.,Millettia ferruginea(Hochst.)Baker,Olea europaea L.subsp.c uspidata(Wall.ex G.Don)Cif.,Podocarpus falcatus(Thunb.)R.Br.ex Mirb.and Prunus africana(Hook.f.)Kalkman.We used the ink and vinegar method to stain AMF in roots.RC levels ranged from 8.00 to 99.67%and were generally higher than the RC levels reported from other similar nurseries in Ethiopia.SA levels ranged from 1 to 25 spores g~(-1)and werecomparable with some reports from the field in Ethiopia but they were lower than levels reported by another similar study.RC was more affected by host species than nursery location,while the reverse was true for SA.The results also showed that nursery management could improve AMF status among seedlings.When all nursery tree species were considered,RC and SA levels were unrelated.No strong correlation existed between the nursery management variables considered and RC or SA.However,considering C.africana,J.procera and P.falcatus separately,RC-age(r_(s)=0.829,P=0.042)correlation for O.europaea and RC-pot diameter(r_(s)=0.820,P=0.046),RC-pot volume(r_(s)=0.928,P=0.008)and SA-age(r_(s)=0.943,P=0.005)correlations for C.africana,were significant,strong and positive.Generally,most of the tree species and particularly,early-mid successional tree species had sufficient AMF inoculum.Hence,only the mid-late successional tree species;J.procera,P.falcatus,and P.africana may require AMF inoculation,preferably,during filed planting.Based on our results,age and pot volume were identified to be important variables potentially affecting RC and SA.To better understand the effects of these and other nursery management variables,additional study is required.We demonstrated for the first time that black Hero ink is suitable for staining root AMF and can be used in future AMF research.