Ecological Studies of Plantations In Some Parts of Ethiopia, With Special Regard to Ecological Effects of the Use of Eucalyptus SPP.
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Date
1994-04
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Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Abstract
Ethiopia has a long trad ition of es ta blishing planl31ion trees. EllcalYPlllS plantatio ns.
especially. ha ve been developed in Ih is country si n ce Ihe beginning of th is ce ntu r y. This
stud y presents inf ormati on on thc undergrowth vegc tatio n cha ra cte ri s ti cs. soil co ndit io ns
l nd nutrient cycling in established plantati o ns and n:ltural fo rests in Ethi opia. combined
with bioassays o f ge rmin atio n, g rowth a nd nutri ent uptake o f pla n ts.
Vegctat ion and environmen tal dlt3 we rc collec ted fr om ninet y-two p l::tnt3ti on and natural
fo rest sites in wC51. nonh-cast. sou th. lnd ccn n31 regions of Ethio pia. Fou r permanent pl o ts
werc cSllblishcd in three planl:lIion lnd l n:lIur:.ll mo nl:lnc forest stands fo r long term
3ssessments of nutrient cycling 3nd soi l fertility. So ils collected f rom under plant3tions and
3 n3 tu ell f o rcs!, a nd aqueous 1e3 f e:<ITac ts of I hc pl3 n ted tree species were used as subst ra tes
in bio3ssa ys.
T he study demOnstr3ted th3t the fl o ri st ic composi ti on o f the undergr o v,th \cgct 3l ion was
influenced by altitude and rainf all. These env iro nme ntll g ra dients were assoc iat ed with
vari:uions in so il physic3] 3nd c hemiC31 pro perties and stand c harae leristies of the
pl a n tati on tree species. GenerallY.lhe s pecies r ichness. herbaceous biomass lnd covc ra ge o f
pllnl3l io ns (except those o f CllprcHlis II/walllca) we re si milar. o r higher than thai of the
nltural f o re sts. Changes in soi l c hemical prope nies (dee relse in p H, N. P.. Jild Ca ) W,Cre
f ound in plantat ion so il s. The rele vance o f linerfaH and lin c.r dtcrrrhposi: ioil ~ n reJatic.,n to
nUlri e n! cyc ling is discussed. The dltl from Ih e la:gt n ... mOer of phll1t :: tiuri 0 110 naturnl
fore st s ite s, together with data from the detlil ed s tudi~ s of. n"t fi en,t ...usc .,:Tfi c.iene!y. plallt
pe rforma nee a nd Ii ({eT decomposit ion sugges tthl t ph os phor'Js v, ::IS I lmil ing p ia n' &riJ ""'tn and
decompos iti on in the Ethi o pian hi ghl a nd plantati on fure s t s.
Biol ss3Y usi ng 3QUCOUS IC3 r C:tlt3CIS or C.IIIHfnllicn 3nd Ihrcc £ lIcnlJ'Ptlls spp. signiricanlly
rcduccd secd ge rm in3lion. r3dic1e lnd secdling g ro" Ih or rour crop plants: Clar annJIIllm
£ragrostis Ie/. PiSllm salimm alld Zea mays. The des! i tu tC g row th or plants under or ad jaccnt
to thc se plantation Irces was related to al1 elo p:uh y.
The s ignirieance or combining rield siudies with biol ss3 Ys in sur ve ys or the undergrowth
species charac teri st ics a nd the re niJ it y or soi Is 3 rter pJ3 nta ti on establishment is emphasized.
T he impact or plantation tree species se lection 3nd si te man3gement on soi l rertil ity and
herba ceous plant cover in the Ethiopian highland r o re sls is discussed.
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Keywords
Ecological Studies of Plantations In Some Parts