Abstract:
The present study was conducted in Gabriel forest located in Woldia District, Amhara
Regional State, with the objective of Floristic Composition, Structure and Regeneration
Status of Woody Plant Species of the forest. Forests worldwide are known to be critically
important habitats in terms of the biological diversity they contain and interms of the
ecological functions they serve. A total of 65 plots were sampled using transect sampling
method. Three transect lines was laid down from the top to the base, where the distance
between the transects was measured to be 200 m. Along the transect lines of each study
site, 20 m x 20 m (400 m2
) quadrats was laid down at every 50 m to analyze species
turnover. In addition, five 5 m x 5 m subplots, one at each of the four corners and one at
the center of the main plot was also laid to count number of seedlings and saplings of
each species. Hierarchical cluster analysis was used to map out the community types
using R-Package. Data for cover abundance, DBH, basal area, frequency, height, IVI and
number of individual per species were collected from each plot. A total of 66 species
included in 44 genera and 59 families were recorded in the forest. The family
Euphorbiaceae was the most dominant with (8.57%) species followed by Fabaceae with
(5.71%) species. The density of woody plants of the forest includes seedlings and
saplings. Out of the total woody plant species 400, 375 and 328 individuals’ ha-1 were
found to be seedling, sapling and mature respectively. The total basal area of the Forest
was 10.3ha-1
. As a result the forest was dominated by young woody species and seedling
stage. It indicated that the forest is in a good regeneration status. Five community types
were recognized from hierarchical cluster analysis. The overall Shannon-Wiener diversity
and evenness of woody species in the forest were 2.82 and 0.71 respectively indicating
medium diversity and evenness of woody species. Population structure and regeneration
status of selected woody species were assessed and results revealed that some species had
regeneration problems and need management measures.
Key words: Afromontane forest, Deforesation, Diversity, Plant Communities, Plots