Savanna Land Use and its Effect on Woody Plant Species Diversity in Borana, Southern Ethiopia

Abstract

A study on the diversity of woody plant species of Boke salt valley  landscape in a semi-arid ecosystem of Borana was conducted. The area is a volcanic crater lake with the lake at the bottom base. Vegetation of such volcanic areas is expected to develop through the process of succession over years. Line transects were laid along four geographical directions  (aspects). A total of 22 quadrats (20 m x 20 m) were used for woody vegetation sampling and the height and diameter at breast height (DBH) data were collected for each species. Vegetation data were analyzed using PC-ORD, CANOCO and SPSS software. A total of 24 woody plant species representing 18 genera in 14 families were recorded. The density of woody plants recorded in the present study was 2622 individuals ha^-1. The results showed that the woody plant species diversity and evenness indices were 2.1 and 0.661, respectively. Moreover, three plant community types were identified namely: Suaeda monoica, Maerua triphylla-Acalypha fruticosa and Hibiscus aponeurus-Solanum somalensis. However, Boke salt valley landscape is under intensive human exploitation. Hence, participatory natural  resource management for the sustainable use of such scarce resources is very crucial.