Woody Species Composition in Relation to Spatial and Environmental Gradients in Acacia-Commiphora Vegetation Ecosystem of Ethiopia

Abstract

Abstract:Woody species composition at local scale has been studied well in the tropics. However, how the species composition is related to the spatial and environmental gradients was poorly studied. Here, we examined the effects of the topographic aspects and altitude gradient on the species composition across four sites of Acacia-Commiphora woodland and bushland ecosystem. We collected data on the number of species, number of individuals, dbh and total height for those dbh was ≥ 2.5cm from ten quadrates (size: 50 × 50 m each) along transect of about 2kms laid out in each four sites. Altitude was taken with handheld GPS (Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx) and topographic aspects were recorded for each quadrate. The species composition was dissimilar among the four sites, across altitudinal gradients and topographic aspects. Here, the majority of the rare species are specific to each site, for example, Olea europea is the rare species in site (A) but not recorded in the rest of the three sites. Our overall results underscore the importance of considering the spatial scales and environmental variables in designing conservation methods. Nevertheless, identifying the biotic attributes driving the species composition in the ecosystem envisages further studies.

Land Use and Land Cover Change Within and Around the Greater Serengeti Ecosystem, Tanzania

“…Similar findings have been reported for other protected areas in Tanzania, including the Loliondo Game Controlled Area [11], Rungwa Game Reserve [93,94], Ruaha National Park [94], Tarangire-Manyara ecosystem [95] and the Selous wildlife corridor [74]. The African elephant also often destroys woody vegetation in many African savanna ecosystems, including in Tanzania [96,97,91], Kenya [98,99], Malawi [100], Zimbabwe [87], Botswana [101], as well as Ethiopia [102] and South Africa [103,104]. Besides elephant browsing, woodland declines in the Serengeti ecosystem have been associated with frequent fires and wildebeest population growth [97].…”

Vegetation Structure and Regeneration Status of the Western Escarpment of the Rift Valley of the Gamo Zone, Southern Ethiopia

“…This might be species are harvested at an early growth stage by the local people for charcoal production, live fence and construction of houses. Several studies were reported in the different region of Ethiopia for [46] in the Sheko forest; [43] in the Hallideghie wildlife reserve; [47] Vegetation Ecosystem of Ethiopia; [44] in the boda dry evergreen Montana forest; [48] in the rangeland of Southeast Ethiopia and [49] in the Kimphe Forest.…”