Abstract:
BSTRACT: In the Northern-Ethiopian highlands, deforestation and subsequent soil erosion have
led to serious environmental degradation. High fuel wood demand and livestock grazing pressure
continue causing further deterioration of the scarce forest resources. This work addressed a study
made on forest remnants in_,..East Gojam Zone (Chemoga area) and evaluated their past and current,
and forecasts a possible future floristic situation, The floristic composition, structure and threats study
of the vegetation of Chemoga forest are described. To analyze the vegetation and environmental data
128 quadrants (20m x 20m) were used. For each species the cover/abundance value was estimated.
Diameters at breast heightj'Dlsl-l) of all woody individuals were measured. For the socioeconomic
survey, 120 household leaders were selected randomly amongst the near by peasant associations
(kebeles) and open discussion was held with four district authorities and ten private investors in order
to get information on how the Chemoga kola was selected for agricultural purpose. A total 142 woody
species in an area of 5.12 ha were recorded, which were belonging to 69 families. Eleven endemic ·
and eight National and International Conservation Priority Woody Species were identified. From all
woody plants recorded in the study 48.7% were trees, 40.7% shrubs and 10.6% lianas. Density
and frequency of the woody species varied considerably among speccies. The total mean density of
woody plants in Chemoga forst was 1160 ha-1. Carisa spinarum was recorded in 93 quadrats
(72.5% of the total) out of the total 128 quadrats studied. The overall Shannon evenness and
diversity of woody species in Chemoga forest were 0.761 and 2.61, respectively. The family
Fabaceae was represented by 17 species (12. %), Rosaceae by 7 species (5.0%), Euphorbiaceae by 6
Rutaceae and Rubiaceae by 4 species (3%) each. Other families were represented by one to three
species. The general arrangement of all species was found to show higher number and species at
lower DBH classes. Multiple pressure analysis showed tha! pressure trends increased with cumulative
high degree of pressure while threats trends will continue in the future were predicted as high with
medium term of possibility for rehabilitation to its nearly natural state if appropriate measure is taken
on time. Among several pressures and threats to woody plants, overgrazing, wood cutting for various
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species (4.2%), Celastraceae and Myrtaceae by 5 species (4%) each and Malvaceae, Oleaceae,
.,.
purposes, expansion of farmland and investments expansion resulted in high disturbance. Causes for
threats of woody plants largely emanated from the long year uncontrolled harvest of forest resources
strongly linked with traditional pattern of life. To mitigate the devastation of forests the community