Elephant and Anthropogenic Impacts on Woody Plant Species in Babile Elephant Sanctuary, Eastern Ethiopia
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Date
2007-07
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Results from this study present an assessment for the possible elephant (Loxodonta africana) and
anthropogenic impacts on woody plant species to evaluate natural resource management scheme.
Research was carried out for seven months, from September to December 2006, and from March
to May 2007 in Babile Elephant Sanctuary, eastern Ethiopia. Stratified sampling method was
used and a total of 52 woody plant species were recorded. Of these, elephant impacts were
observed on 28 (53%) species belonging to 12 families. Furthermore, 13 (45.8%) of these
species were trees and 15 (54.2%) shrubs. The total density of these woody under the impacts of
elephant was found to be 11,169.3 individuals/ha while the mean density is 399 ± 156.
Elephant-induced damage to trees and shrubs that dominated the vegetation biomass suggested
that elephants had a random impact on the vegetation throughout the riverine and woodland
vegetations. There was size variation in the proportion of woody plants damaged by elephants.
In riverine vegetation, saplings, small trees and medium-sized trees showed higher-than-average
impact levels. In woodland vegetation, large, medium and small trees showed impact levels
above the overall mean across all stems. The most common damage from the elephants was
branch and stem breaking, felling and uprooting of the whole trees or shrubs. The least frequent
damage class recorded in this study was bark stripping. The riverine vegetation show relatively
more felled woody species (22.61%) than the woodland (18.19%) although woodland areas have
a higher proportion uprooted (10.44%) species than riverine (5.26%). Tree and shrub species
were utilized by the local community (anthropogenic) for four main purposes: medicinal,
fencing, firewood, and shelter. These uses were mainly confined to four key species: Acacia
mellifera, Acacia senegal, Acacia tortilis and Balanites glabra. Human-elephant conflict was
manifested in the decline in tree and shrub cover due to charcoal burning, land use changes
particularly agricultural expansion and fencing. Even though tree and plant resources were still
available, it is important to monitor their use to avert potential over exploitation.
Key words: African elephant, anthropogenic impact, human-elephant conflict, woody species.
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Keywords
African elephant, anthropogenic impact, human-elephant conflict, woody species