Abstract:
In Ethiopia at the moment, there is a growing realization of the severity of resource
degradation. Although several factors drive natural forest destruction in Ethiopia, agricultural
land expansion triggered by increasing human population is probably the dominant force. This
study was conducted in Zemeda Mariam Monastery Forest to assess woody plant species
composition, structure and regeneration status. Data were collected systematically along ten
transects laid at 200m apart from each other and sixty six quadrats (20m X 20m) were
established at every 100m interval along the transects. In each major quadrat, five 1m by 1m
and 5m by 5m sub quadrats were established at center and corners for seedlings and saplings
assessment, respectively. Totally, 56 woody plant species were recorded in Zemeda Mariam
Monastery Forest belonging to 42 families and 54 genera. Most representative families were
Anacardiaceae and Euphorbaceae with four species each. From the listed plants in the sample
quadrats, 28 were trees, 16 shrubs, and 4 were woody climbers and 8 were tree/shrub life
forms, which cover 50%, 29%, 7% and 14%, respectively. The overall diversity and evenness of
the forest was 3.06 and 0.91 respectively. From DBH class data analysis, lower DBH classes
had higher number of stems that indicates the forest was highly occupied by small sized shrubs.
Total density of woody plant species in Zemeda Mariam Monastery Forest was 2665.38
individuals/ha. From population distribution of DBH and height; higher numbers were
accounted by lower classes. The highest tree height was recorded by Juniperus procera
followed by Allophylus abyssinicus and Ehretia cymosa. The most frequent species were
Junipers procera, Calpurnia aurea, Clutia lanceolata; Olea europea, while the lowest frequent
species were Cordia africana, and Eucalyptus camaldulensis. The overall basal area of the
monastery forest was 66.95 m2/ha. In the study area, species with the highest IVI were Junipers
procera (47.5), Olea europrea (35.65), Clutia lanceolata (11.6) and Calpurnia aurea (11.48).
Regeneration status of Zemeda Mariam Monastery Forest was fair (matured > sapling >
seedling) that indicates that the forest was affected by different anthropogenic activities. The
Study on the structure and regeneration of the forest indicated that there are species that
require urgent conservation attention. Future research directions and recommendations are
forwarded for the sustainable utilization of the forest natural resources.