This study documents indigenous medicinal plant utilization, management and the threats affecting them. The study was carried out in Mana Angetu district between January 2003 and December 2004. Ethnobotanical data were collected using semi structured interviews, field observations, preference and direct matrix ranking with traditional medicine practitioners. The ethnomedicinal use of 230 plant species was documented in the study area. Most of the plants (78.7%) were reportedly used to treat human diseases. The most frequently used plant part were roots (33.9%), followed by leaves (25.6%). Most of the medicinal species (90.4%) were collected from the wild. Direct matrix analysis showed that Olea europaea L. Subsp. cuspidata (Wall. ex G. Don) was the most important species followed by Acacia tortilis (Forssk.) Hayne (120) indicating high utility value of these species for the local community. The principal threatening factors reported were deforestation (90%), agricultural expansion (85%) and fire (53%). Documenting the eroding plants and associated indigenous knowledge can be used as a basis for developing management plans for conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plants in the area.

No abstract

Abstract. This paper describes an analysis of the floristic composition and ecological relationships of the Jibat forest, a large remnant humid forest in western Shewa, Ethiopia. The description was based on cover‐abundance data for both woody and understorey species. The environmental analysis included altitude, slope, aspect, and physical and chemical soil properties. The application of classification and ordination methods resulted in the recognition of eight community types, which could be arranged along an altitudinal gradient. Organic matter, cation exchange capacity, phosphorus, and silt are positively correlated, while clay, electrical conductance and magnesium are negatively correlated with altitude. A clearer result was obtained when Canonical Correspondence Analysis was applied only to the woody species composition.

Experiences worldwide reveal that degraded lands restoration projects achieve little success or fail. Hence, understanding the underlying causes and accordingly, devising appropriate restoration mechanisms is crucial. In doing so, the ever-increasing aspiration and global commitments in degraded lands restoration could be realized. Here we explain that arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) biotechnology is a potential mechanism to significantly improve the restoration success of degraded lands. There are abundant scientific evidences to demonstrate that AMF significantly improve soil attributes, increase above and belowground biodiversity, significantly improve tree/shrub seedlings survival, growth and establishment on moisture and nutrient stressed soils. AMF have also been shown to drive plant succession and may prevent invasion by alien species. The very few conditions where infective AMF are low in abundance and diversity is when the soil erodes, is disturbed and is devoid of vegetation cover. These are all common features of degraded lands. Meanwhile, degraded lands harbor low levels of infective AMF abundance and diversity. Therefore, the successful restoration of infective AMF can potentially improve the restoration success of degraded lands. Better AMF inoculation effects result when inocula are composed of native fungi instead of exotics, early seral instead of late seral fungi, and are consortia instead of few or single species. Future research efforts should focus on AMF effect on plant community primary productivity and plant competition. Further investigation focusing on forest ecosystems, and carried out at the field condition is highly recommended. Devising cheap and ethically widely accepted inocula production methods and better ways of AMF in situ management for effective restoration of degraded lands will also remain to be important research areas.

Objective. To evaluate the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) according to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and Adult Treatment Panel (ATP) III criteria among working East African adults. Design. This cross-sectional study of 1,935 individuals (1,171 men and 764 women) was conducted among working adults in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The study was conducted in accordance with the STEPwise approach of the World Health Organization. Results. According to ATP III and IDF definitions, the overall prevalence of MetS was 12.5% and 17.9%, respectively. Using ATP III criteria, the prevalence of MetS was 10.0% in men and 16.2% in women. Application of the IDF criteria resulted in a MetS prevalence of 14.0% in men and 24.0% in women. The most common MetS components among women were reduced high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) (23.2%) and abdominal obesity (19.6%); whilst reduced HDL-C concentrations (23.4%) and high blood pressure (21.8%) were most common among men. Conclusion. MetS and its individual components are prevalent among an apparently healthy working population in Ethiopia. These findings indicate the need for evidence-based health promotion and disease prevention programs; and more robust efforts directed towards the screening, diagnosis and management of MetS and its components among Ethiopian adults.

Studies of early human settlement in alpine environments provide insights into human physiological, genetic, and cultural adaptation potentials. Although Late and even Middle Pleistocene human presence has been recently documented on the Tibetan Plateau, little is known regarding the nature and context of early persistent human settlement in high elevations. Here, we report the earliest evidence of a prehistoric high-altitude residential site. Located in Africa’s largest alpine ecosystem, the repeated occupation of Fincha Habera rock shelter is dated to 47 to 31 thousand years ago. The available resources in cold and glaciated environments included the exploitation of an endemic rodent as a key food source, and this played a pivotal role in facilitating the occupation of this site by Late Pleistocene hunter-gatherers.

The floristic composition and structure of the Dry Afromontane Forest at Bale Mountains National Park was studied from July 2003 to June 2004. A total of 90 plots were established at three sites (Adelle, Boditi and Gaysay) at an altitudinal range of 3010-3410 m. The cover abundance values, density, and diameter at breast height and list of species were recorded in each plot. About 230 species belonging to 157 genera and 58 families were identified and documented. Analysis of vegetation data revealed 5 homogenous clusters. The densities of trees in the diameter class >2 cm were 766 and 458 individuals ha -1 in Adelle and Boditi forests, respectively. The basal areas were about 26 and 23 m 2 ha -1 in Adelle and Boditi forests, respectively. About 43% of the basal area in Adelle and 57 in Boditi forests were contributed by Juniperus procera and Hagenia abyssinica, respectively. Both Adelle and Boditi forests were found at an earlier secondary stage of development and had, more or less, a similar trend of development. The population structures of tree species were assessed and these had clearly signalled the occurrence of excessive cutting of selected diameter classes of ecologically, economically and medically important tree species for various purposes, particularly for construction.

No abstract