An Ecological Study of Vegetation Around Lake Abijata
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Date
2005-07
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Ecological study of the vegetation around Lake Abijata was carried out within the principal
objective of describing the plant communities of the study site. In order to determine the
plant communities five transects were laid from the shoreline to the open land. Along the
laid transects, different sized quadrats 1 m2 (for herbs), 25 m2 (for shrubs) and 100 m2 (for
woody species) were systematically laid to collect floristic data following a 1-9 modified
Braun Blanquet scale (van der Maarel, 1979). All together a total of 143 quadrats were
sampled from the study site. Soil samples were taken from the depth of 0-20 cm using soil
auger and analyzed for soil pH, electrical conductivity, cation exchange capacity, soil
texture and bulk density.
Data were analyzed using various multivariate methods, inter alia, TWINSPAN (Two way
indicator species analysis), CCA (Canonical Correspondence Analysis) and DCA
(Detrended Correspondence Analysis). A total of 97 plant species belonging to 28 families
were identified. The TWINSPAN out put showed that there are 6 different plant
communities.
The distribution patterns of plant species in the study area shows horizontal stratification
with the strata being dominated by its dominant species. The distribution patterns of the
plant species in the area appears to be governed by soil as the most important
environmental factors.
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Biology