Abstract
Background: Gura-Ferda forest is one of the Afromontane rainforests in the southwestern region of Ethiopia. However, since 1984, large parts of this forest have become increasingly disturbed and fragmented due to forest conversion into forest farm interface and farmlands. The study was conducted to assess changes of woody species diversity and carbon stock in association with the conversion of natural forest to forest farm interface and farmlands. Methods: Data were collected from natural forest, forest farm interface and farmland which are historically forest lands before 1984. A total of 90 nested plots (20m×20m for natural forest and forest farm interface; 50m*100m for farmland)) were established for inventory of woody species. Three 1m×1m subplots were established to collect litter and soil samples. A total of 180 soil samples were collected. The total carbon stocks were estimated by summing carbon stock in the biomass and soil (0-60 cm depth). Results: Results showed that Shannon-Wiener diversity (H’) in forest farm interface (H’ = 1.57) is relatively lower than that of natural forest (H’ = 3.33) but higher than farmland (H’ = 1.42). The total carbon stocks of natural forest were approximately 1.21 and 2.54 times higher than that of forest farm interface and farmland. Conclusion: Our study revealed that the changes of Natural Forest to Forest Farm Interface and Farmland have effects on the diversity of woody species and carbon stocks.
Highlights
Forests and forest management have changed greatly over the past two decades
Description of the study area The study was conducted at Gura-Ferda district of southwestern Ethiopia which is located at 603 km southwest of the capital city Addis Ababa (Figure 1)
Woody Species Diversity A total of 59, 24 and 19 woody species belonging to 34 families were recorded and identified in the sample plots of Gura-Ferda Natural forest (NF), Forest-farm interface (FFI), and FL respectively (Table 4)
Summary
Forests and forest management have changed greatly over the past two decades. In 1990, the world had 4.13 billion hectares (ha) of forests (31.6% of total land area of Earth). According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, by 2015 this area has decreased to 3.99 billion ha (30.6% of total land area of Earth) (FAO, 2015). This caused a net loss of 129 million ha of forests (natural and planted) from 1990 to 2015. The study was conducted to assess changes of woody species diversity and carbon stock in association with the conversion of natural forest to forest farm interface and farmlands. Conclusion: Our study revealed that the changes of Natural Forest to Forest Farm Interface and Farmland have effects on the diversity of woody species and carbon stocks
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
