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Woody Species Composition, Diversity, Structure and Uses of Selected Church Forests in Central Ethiopia

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State of the Art in Ethiopian Church Forests and Restoration Options

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Abstract

The objectives of this study were to investigate woody species diversity, species richness, and identify endangered plant species of three church forests. The churches were located across three agro-ecologies. Transect lines and plots were established for woody species inventory. All woody species with a diameter at breast height of ≥5 cm were considered. Species richness, α-diversity, β-diversity, and Sørensen similarity were calculated. Results revealed the presence of 34, 17, and 27 woody species in Assela Teklehymanot (Church in highland agroecology), Etisa Teklehymanot (Chuch in mid-lowland agroecology), and Saramba Kidanemhret (Church in the lowland agroecology), respectively. The importance value index (IVI) indicated native tree species Podocarpus falcatus (IV = 164.59), Croton macrostachyus (IV = 80.28), and the exotic Eucalyptus globulus (IV = 199.06) are important in church 1, church 2, and church 3, respectively. Moreover, 9 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species recorded in the study. The conservation and additional enrichment planting with the indigenous woody species found in the respective church forests and from similar other areas by performing species-site matching is recommended.

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Acknowledgments

The study was supported financially by Ethiopian Environment and Forest Research Institute (EEFRI) and Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), KOICA-Ethiopia project.

My greater gratitude also goes to my major advisor professor Yowhan Son and my co-advisor professor Asia Khamzina for their unprecedented help and encouragement to accomplish the writing of my research dissertation.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering, Korea University, 145 Anam-ro, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, 02841, Korea

    Eguale Tadesse Kifle, Asia Khamzina, Yowhan Son & Florent Noulèkoun

  2. Ethiopian Environment and Forest Research Institute (EEFRI), 24536, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Eguale Tadesse Kifle, Abdu Abdelkadir & Wubalem Tadesse

Authors
  1. Eguale Tadesse Kifle
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  2. Asia Khamzina
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  3. Yowhan Son
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  4. Florent Noulèkoun
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  5. Abdu Abdelkadir
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  6. Wubalem Tadesse
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Technical University of Munich, Freising, Bayern, Germany

    Mengistie Kindu

  2. Technical University of Munich, Freising, Bayern, Germany

    Thomas Schneider

  3. Organization for Rehabilitation and Development, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia

    Alemayehu Wassie

  4. Unique Forestry and Land Use GmbH, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Mulugeta Lemenih

  5. Department of Range and Forest Resources, Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Gaborone, Botswana

    Demel Teketay

  6. Fachgebiet für Waldinventur und nachhaltige Nutzung, Technische Universität München, Freising, Bayern, Germany

    Thomas Knoke

Appendix

Appendix

See Tables 11.5, 11.6 and 11.7.

Table 11.5 Top 10 woody species in Site 1 (Highlan d, Asela Tekle Hymanot), central Ethiopia
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Table 11.6 Top 10 woody species in Site 2 (mixed midland and Lowland, EtisaTekle Hymanot), central Ethiopia
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Table 11.7 Top 10 woody species in Site 3 (midland, Saramba Kidanemhret church), central Ethiopia
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Kifle, E.T., Khamzina, A., Son, Y., Noulèkoun, F., Abdelkadir, A., Tadesse, W. (2022). Woody Species Composition, Diversity, Structure and Uses of Selected Church Forests in Central Ethiopia. In: Kindu, M., Schneider, T., Wassie, A., Lemenih, M., Teketay, D., Knoke, T. (eds) State of the Art in Ethiopian Church Forests and Restoration Options. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-86626-6_11

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