Abstract:
Conserving woody species in parkland agroforestry in many landscapes of the Amhara region,
Ethiopia plays a vital role in not only conservation but also production and productivity.
Womberima is among the districts in the Amhara region which is under challenges of woody
species degradation. This study was conducted to assess the diversity and management of woody
species in parkland agroforestry in Womberima district. A total of 129 households were randomly
selected for socioeconomic data and woody species inventory by categorizing households into
poor, medium, and rich wealth classes. Woody species inventory was carried out on 60 (each 50
x 50 m) randomly taken plots from the parkland of sampled households. For this study independent
sample t-test and one-way ANOVA was used in SPSS version 26 at 5 % significance level. The
density, frequency, and dominance of woody species were computed to characterize the structure
of woody species. Woody species composition and diversity were also determined. A total of 47
woody species belonging to 28 families were recorded. Of these, 33 species were recorded from
the lowland, and 28 species were recorded from the midland. There was a significant difference
(p <0.05) among agro-ecologies and wealth classes in terms of species diversity. The study
indicated that the Shannon (1.93), Simpson (0.83), and Margalef index (7.34) of woody species in
the lowland and 1.71, 0.79, and 5.93 in midland agro ecology, respectively. Rich households grow
high number of species than poor and medium households. Farmers in the study area retain woody
species mostly for microclimate amelioration (92.2%), shading (89.1%), house construction (87.6
%), soil fertility improvement (76 %), animal fodder (71.3 %) and fuelwood (64.3 %). Pruning
(69.8 %) and lopping (58.9%) are the dominant management practices employed for woody
species in the study area. The diversity of woody species in lowland agroecology was higher than that of the midland agroecology. Bearing this in mind the conservation and plantation of woody
species in the midland agro ecology are particularly important.