Diversity and Ecology of Woody Plants Around Selected Churches in Tahitay-Koraro Woreda, North Western Tigray, Ethiopia
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2019-09-09
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The main purpose of this study was to investigate diversity of plant species and Churches of Tahitay-Koraro District in North West Tigray, Northern Ethiopia. During data collection process 40 plots of 225m2(15 m x 15 m) size were established at every 100m distance between them. Quadrats were selected purposely from five church areas based on homogeneity of vegetation cover. In each quadrat, data on species identity and abundance of woody plant species were recorded. The richness and evenness of species in the plant communities were analyzed using Shannon-Wiener diversity index. For the collection of indigenous knowledge of the local community on management of forest resources, semi-structured questionnaire were prepared and used. A total of 54 species of plants representing, 47 genera and 34 families were recorded from the study area. Among these plants, 33(61.11%) were trees, 13 (24.07%) tree/shrub and 8 (14.8%) were shrubs. The family Fabaceae had the highest number of genera (10.6%; n = 5) followed by Anacardiaceae (6.4%, n = 3). Similarly Fabaceae had the highest number of plant species (14.8%, n = 8) followed by Anacardiaceae (5.6%, n = 3).From the collected plant species. Olea europaea, Calpurnia aurea and Grewia trichocarpa were the most common trees at all selective church area. Cluster analysis of the church areas showed with different level of species richness, diversity and eveness. The churches Enda Abune Teklehaymanot Koyetsa and EndaAbuneAregawi Adiwenfito had the highest species richness while, Enda Mariam Sew Sekel and Enda Abanew Kelakil exhibited the least species richness. Establishment time (period) and population density might be the main reason for this variation in plant diversity. The overall survey implies church areas of the study area harbor a number of native plant species and the church rule of forest conservation was most respected among followers of Orthodox churches in the study area than that of government rule. So, the federal as well as the regional government should provide incentive for the churches for their contribution in conserving forests and preventing extinction of plant diversity.
Description
Keywords
Churches, Distribution of Species, Ecological Function, Plant Conservation, Species Richness and Vegetation Composition