Woody plants' diversity, structural analysis and regeneration status of Wof Washa natural forest, North‐east Ethiopia

Abstract

AbstractWof‐Washa forest is one of the few remaining dry Afromontane forests in the central plateau of Ethiopia. Woody species composition, structure and regeneration patterns of this forest were studied to generate information essential for formulating feasible management options for the forest. Vegetation data were collected from 64 quadrats of size 20 m × 20 m, 10 m × 10 m and 5 m × 5 m for tree/shrub, sapling and seedling, respectively, laid systematically along transects. A total of 62 woody species belonging to 54 genera and 40 families were recorded. Rosaceae was the most diverse family with five (12.5%) species followed by Anacardiaceae, Euphorbiaceae and Myrsinaceae with three (7.5%) species each. Tree/shrub, sapling and seedling densities were 699, 1178 and 7618.7 individuals/ha. About 56.7% of the importance value index was contributed by Juniperus procera, Maytenus arbutifolia, Podocarpus falcatus and Ilex mitis. Vegetation classification resulted in five plant communities: Ilex mitis – Maytenus obscura, Galiniera saxifraga – Maesa lanceolata, Juniperus procera – Erica arborea, Podocapus falcatus – Allophylus abyssinicus and Pittosporum viridiflorum – Polycias fulva community types. Regeneration status of all the woody plant species was categorized as ‘Good’ (28%), ‘Fair’ (19%), ‘Poor’ (8%), ‘None’ (40%) and ‘New’ (5%).