No abstract

The dry land forest of Ethiopia possesses diverse tree species that are known for their ecological and economic values. Despite growing recognition of environmental and economic benefits of these species, the woodland harbouring these species is degrading. Adequate knowledge on the resource base including the current status of its population is crucial for sustainable management of the forest resource. Therefore, this study was carried out to investigate the diversity and composition of woody species in Kara dry lands forest. A total of 90 quadrants were established along transect lines. A 400 m 2 quadrants was used, distance between quadrants and transecting lines were 200 m and 500 m respectively. Species diversity and evenness, density, frequency, important value and regeneration status were assessed. This study reveals total of 48 woody species representing 23 families and 31 genera's were found. Out of that, 13 woody species were identified as gum and resin bearing species. The genus of Commiphora and Acacia species were found to be the dominant gum and resin bearing species at the study area. Diversity of the entire woody species assemblage and of the gum-and resin-bearing species was H= 3.47 and H= 2.3 respectively. The evenness values of entire and gum and resin producing woody species were 0.67 and 0.77 respectively. The gum and resin producing woody species accounted for 44.56% of the density, 49.87% of the basal area and 45.49% of the Importance Value Index. However, we recorded the declining natural regeneration of most gum-and resinbearing woody species except for a small number of species, which exhibited signs of healthy populations. Generally, the results of the present study highlighted the absence of conservation actions that will probably be subject to a progressive decline of gum and resin bearing species because of uncontrolled grazing, charcoal production and shifting cultivation. Therefore, proper management plan and domestication of the species through artificial regeneration and area closure are urgently needed.

The genus Echinops is native to African countries, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia comprises 120 species. In Ethiopia, this genus is represented by well known endemic and critically endangered species Echinops kebericho Mesfin also known as "Kebercho," in Amharic language which has a long history of ethnomedicinal uses. Due to the popularity of species as a source of ethnomedicine, this species is severely over-harvested throughout their distributional ranges. This review documents fragmented information on traditional uses and pharmacological evidence of Echinops kebericho in Ethiopia. This review article was carried out by searching studies in PubMed, Google scholar and Google search up to August 2019. The search terms were "Echinops kebericho Mesfin", "therapeutic" & "pharmacological". Ethnomedicinal uses of Echinops kebericho Mesfin has been recorded from different regions of Ethiopia for 32 human and 2 livestock ailments. E. kebericho is used to treat evil eye, headache, cough, stomachache, febrile illness and malaria ailments. The extracts of E. kebericho, particularly those from root, exhibited a wide range of pharmacological effects including antihelminthic, antibacterial, antifungal, antidiarrheal, anti spasmolytic and antimalarial activities. These pharmacological studies have established a scientific basis for therapeutic uses of Echinops kebericho Mesfin. Although Ethiopian Echinops kebericho is widely used by traditional practitioners but, it is threatened due to over exploitation of root part. Therefore, E. kebericho need urgent conservation attention, micro propagation, effective documentation and further research.