Status and Woody Plant Species Diversity in Tara Gedam Forest, Northern Ethiopia

Abstract

The study was conducted in Tara Gedam forest with the objective of determining the status and the woody plant species diversity of Tara Gedam forest so as to recommend the conservation of the forest and rehabilitation of the degraded area.Sample plots were laid along line transects based on altitudinal variation of the study area. A systematic sampling of plot of (10 m x 20 m) in each site was established to take vegetation samples. Structural analysis was performed on the basis of density, frequency, DBH and basal area per hectare. The distribution of the size classes were evaluated by computing the density of individuals with DBH >10 cm and > 20 cm as well as the ratio of the former to the latter. The result revealed that a total of forty one different species of woody plants were identified in Tara Gedam forest. Olea europaea was the dominant one with recorded value of 598. Allophylus abyssinicus and Albizia schimperiana ranked the second and third in dominance with 556 and 474 numbers respectively. Acanthus sennii was the least dominant in the study site. Based on their higher IVI value, Olea europaea, Allophylus abyssinicus, Nuxia congesta, Premna schimperi and Albizia schimperiana, respectively are the leading dominant and ecologically most significant woody species in Tara Gedam forest. The density of vegetation in study area decreases with increasing of DBH and height classes, which implies the predominance of small sized individuals in the lower classes than that of higher classes implying good recruitment of the forest and the rare occurrence of large woody plant species.

Keywords: Conservation; Species diversity; Height classes; Woody Plants; Tara Gedam