Abstract
Dry forests are potentially contributed for the local community livelihood, microclimate stability and biodiversity conservation. However, appropriate emphasis has not given for its sustainability management. Our study aims to study the woody species diversity, vegetation structure, and recruitment and regeneration status in Higelely dry forest of Somali National Regional State of Ethiopia for the purpose of conservation priority. Systematic sampling following the transect lines and sample plots employed to collect all necessary data. Data were analyzed using access software which was designed for the purpose of forest genetic resource conservation database and data analysis tool. Forty two woody species belongs to 21 genera and 15 families were recorded. The richest families were Fabaceae and Burseraceae (represented by 11 and 7 species each). 1112.97 individuals of woody species per ha was recorded in Higelely forest. Acacia oerfota and Acacia mellifera were the top specie with higher stem numbers per ha. More than 67% of the individuals in the forest had DBH/DSH ≤ 7.5 cm and 90% of the individuals had a height ≤ 5 m. The most ecologically important species in Higelely forest were Acacia oerfota, Acacia mellifera, and Acacia bussie. Whereas, Ipomoea donaldsonii, Commiphora africana, and Acacia drepanolobium were the most threatened species in all criteria’s of IVI, population structure and regeneration status and are the first prioritized for conservation measures. The total density of 1047.3 seedling and 3033.77 sapling individuals per ha was recorded in Higelely forest. In general, the vegetation structure, population recruitment and regeneration status of some species indicates, Higelely forest is under poor conservation status. Therefore, for the conservation of woody species in Higelely dry forest, appropriate conservation measures such as in-situ (to allow natural regeneration) and cold room seed storage methods are recommended.
Highlights
The major causes of forest destruction in Ethiopia are: increasingly intensive use of land for agriculture and livestock, tree cutting for fuel wood and construction materials, forest fires and human settlement [1,2,3,4,5,6]
Forest is administratively located in Deghabur district, Jerer Zone in Somali National Regional State of Ethiopia
Forest should be seen as one of the biodiversity conservation area because of the fact that it is one of highly threatened dry forest areas in the region. This forest had about 42 woody species, which belong to 15 families
Summary
The major causes of forest destruction in Ethiopia are: increasingly intensive use of land for agriculture and livestock, tree cutting for fuel wood and construction materials, forest fires and human settlement [1,2,3,4,5,6]. These major causes of forest destruction are very much interrelated to each other and are in one way or another related to the population growth of the country [7, 2]. The weighted average of annual per capita energy consumption for the households of the country is 1.2 m3 or 241 kg of oil equivalent [9] and from this, according to Beyene [10], 96% of the nation’s energy comes from biomass source and 85% of it is derived from fuel wood
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