Woody plant species diversity and composition in and around Debre Libanos church forests of North Shoa Zone of Oromiya,Ethiopia

Dry afromontane forests are among the most poorly managed and endangered ecosystems.Therefore,we assessed the composition,diversity,and conservation status of woody plant species of the Debre Libanos church forests and surrounding forest lands in Oromiya Regional National State,central Ethiopia in 62 nested circular sample plots spaced 200 m apart along two transect lines.Large circular plots 314 m^(2)were used to sample trees with DBH of at least 10 cm,and subplots of 28.26 m^(2)were laid in each main plot were used to assess saplings and shrubs;a small subplot of 3.14 m2 was used to assess seedlings.In total,70 woody plant species belonging to 62 genera and 43 families were recorded.Of these,59,28 and 32 were in the church,government and private forest types,respectively.The most dominant families were Fabaceae and Verbenaceae,each represented by five species.In the forests considered,trees accounted for 61%,and shrubs with diameter at breast height(DBH)of 1-10 cm accounted for ca.33%.Among growth forms of woody species,shrubs and seedlings,followed by trees constituted much of the density of woody species in all the three ownership types of forests.The church forest had the most species(59)and highest Shannon(3.12)and Simpson(0.92)species diversity indices,and the government and private forests had a nearly similar total number of species and Shannon and Simpson species diversity indices.Most of the species with higher importance value indices(IVI)were indigenous in origin within the church forest(Juniperus procera=82),government forest(J.procera=66)and private forest(Acacia abyssinica=84).The composition,diversity,and population structure of woody species in the church forest were significantly higher than in the other forest lands.However,interventions of the government and private sectors to conserve forest systems in the areas,particularly the government-owned forest and specific species such as Olea europaea need active enrichment plantings due to their limited natural regeneration.Without improved management interventions,livelihood income diversification and ecosystem services obtained from the forest will not be sustainable.

Tree-based ecosystem services supply and multifunctionality of church forests and their agricultural matrix near Lake Tana,Ethiopia

Ecosystem services(ES)are the connection between nature and society,and are essential for the well-being of local communities that depend on them.In Ethiopia,church forests and the surrounding agricultural matrix supply numerous ES.However,the ES delivered by both land use types have not yet been assessed simultaneously.Here we surveyed both church forests and their agricultural matrices,aiming to quantify,compare and unravel the drivers underlying tree-based ES supply,density and multifunctionality.We found that almost all church forests and half of the agricultural matrices provided high ES densities.ES multifunctionality was higher in the agricultural matrices,suggesting that people deliberately conserve or plant multifunctional tree species.Furthermore,the supply of all categories of ES was positively correlated with church forest age(p-value<0.001)in the agricultural matrix,while the extent of church forest was positively correlated with the density of all categories ecosystem services score in the church forests(p-value<0.001).Our results can be used to prioritize conservation efforts at sites that provide high levels of ES supply,ES density and ES multifunctionality,and to prioritize restoration efforts at sites with low levels thereof.

Elevational changes in vascular plants richness, diversity, and distribution pattern in Abune Yosef mountain range, Northern Ethiopia

The aim of this research is to investigate the patterns of vascular plant species richness,diversity,and distribution along an elevation gradient in the Abune Yosef mountain range,Ethiopia.Preferential systematic sampling was employed to collect vegetation and environmental data along the elevation gradient.We found that plant species richness declines monotonically from low to high elevations.Specifically,vascular plant species richness and diversity were lower in the Afroalpine grassland(high elevation)than in the Dry evergreen Afromontane forest and Ericaceous forest(low elevations).In contrast,endemic vascular plant richness was significantly higher in the Afroalpine grassland than in the Dry evergreen Afromontane forest and Ericaceous forest.Elevation showed a significant impact on the richness,diversity,and endemism of vascular plants.According to Sorensen's coefficient,the similarity between Dry evergreen Afromontane forest and Ericaceous forest vegetation types is higher(32%)than the similarity between Ericaceous forest and Afroalpine grassland(18%).Only 5%similarity was recorded between the Dry evergreen Afromontane forest and Afroalpine grassland.Growth forms showed different elevationai richness patterns.Trees and liana increased monotonically up to 3300 m.Shrub and herb richness patterns followed a hump-shaped and inverted hump-shaped pattern along the elevation gradient.The elevation patterns of vascular plant species richness,diversity,and growth form in the present study may be attributed to differences in management intensity,spatial heterogeneity,microclimatic variations,and anthropogenic disturbances.