DIVERSITY, STRUCTURE AND CONSERVATION STATUS OF CHURCH FORESTS            IN DANGLA TOWN, AWI ZONE OF THE AMHARA REGION OF NORTHWESTERN DIVERSITY, STRUCTURE AND CONSERVATION STATUS OF CHURCH FORESTS            AWI ZONE OF THE AMHARA REGION OF NORTHWESTERN DIVERSITY, STRUCTURE AND CONSERVATION STATUS OF CHURCH FORESTS            AWI ZONE OF THE AMHARA REGION OF NORTHWESTERN  ETHIOPIA

TAYACHEW, BIRHANU

dc.contributor.author	TAYACHEW, BIRHANU
dc.date.accessioned	2018-11-05T03:42:37Z
dc.date.available	2018-11-05T03:42:37Z
dc.date.issued	2018-11-05
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/9096
dc.description.abstract	The study was conducted at Dangla town Church Forests, Awi Zone, Amhara Region, Northwestern Ethiopia. The objective of this study was to determine and analyze the species diversity, population structure and regeneration status of woody species of the Church forests. Forty plots of 20m x 20m (400m 2 ) were laid along twenty transect lines for vegetation data collection. In addition, 5m x 5m subplots were laid within the main plots to collect the regeneration status data of plant species of the forests. A total of 73 plant species in 64 genera and 42 families were identified. Family Fabaceae was the most dominant contributing 9 (12.5%) species to the total followed by Euphorbaceae, Acantaceae, Rosaceae and Moraceae with 7 (9.72%), 3 (4.17%), 3 (4.17%) and 3 (4.17%) species respectively. The remaining families (65.27% of species) were represented by two or one species each. From the representative woody species of the Church forests, a total of 548.13 seedlings/ha, 841.88 saplings/ha and 2180.6 mature individuals/ha were counted in the sample plots. Two population structure patterns were revealed which were J-shape and inverted J-shape. Species were prioritized for conservation based on their population structure, important value index and regeneration status.The historical data of the Church forests showed the presence of deforestation and most of cultivated forests of the Churches were covered by natural forests before. The growth forms of the forests species were 43.06% tree, 12.5% tree/shrub, 36.11% shrub and 8.33% climber. The total density of woody plant species in Dangla Church Forests was 3570.6ha viii -1 and ranged between 445.63ha for Eucalyptus camaldulensis and 0.63ha -1 for Mimusops kummel, Argemone mexicana, Myrica salicifolia and Podocarpus falcatus. The Shannon diversity index and evenness of woody plant species of the forests were 3.5 and 0.82 respectively indicating that the diversity and evenness of woody species in the forests are relatively high. The total basal area of the forests was 534.39m 2 /ha. Based on the results of the study more ecological studies with respect to various environmental factors such as climate, soil type and properties, slope and ethnobotanical studies are needed for wise and sustainable use of the forests resource. Key words/Phrases: Conservation Status, Dangla Church Forests, Diversity, Population Structure, Regeneration and Woody Plant Species -1 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. Background of the Study Ethiopia, with its wide range of ecosystems ranging from low lands to rainforests	en_US
dc.language.iso	en	en_US
dc.subject	Biology	en_US
dc.title	DIVERSITY, STRUCTURE AND CONSERVATION STATUS OF CHURCH FORESTS IN DANGLA TOWN, AWI ZONE OF THE AMHARA REGION OF NORTHWESTERN DIVERSITY, STRUCTURE AND CONSERVATION STATUS OF CHURCH FORESTS AWI ZONE OF THE AMHARA REGION OF NORTHWESTERN DIVERSITY, STRUCTURE AND CONSERVATION STATUS OF CHURCH FORESTS AWI ZONE OF THE AMHARA REGION OF NORTHWESTERN ETHIOPIA	en_US
dc.type	Thesis	en_US