Vegetation Description and Condition Assessment of Protected Rangelands of Alagae and Neteli, in the Main Ethiopian Rift Valley
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Date
2004-06
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Addis Ababa Universty
Abstract
Rangeland management aimed at animal production can reduce, maintain or even
increase range plants diversity. Although the maintenance of biodiversity has become
one of the goals in ecosystem management, the relationship between diversity and
ecosystem characteristics such as level of herbivory, productivity, and vegetation
structure are still poorly understood. The way that management actions constrain (or
perhaps magnify) rangeland biodiversity must clearly be understood for sustaining both
productivity and biodiversity in rangelands. The purpose of this study was to investigate
the floristic diversity and productivity aspects of protected aJId/or managed rangelands
in the Main Ethiopian Rift (MER), semi arid agI'o ecological zone. In this paper, the
major issues addressed include floristic diversity, vegetation description, herbaceous
biomass estimation, and range condition assessment. For the study we used a
combination of ecological survey (Zurich Montpelier) method and a standard range
condition assessment technique (adopted for the South-Eastern Ethiopian Rangelands).
TWINSPAN computer program is used to make vegetation classifications. We examined
the relationships between herbaceous biomass production and plant diversity in four
native range sites differing in range condition in the Open Grasslands (2), and Wooded
Grasslands (2) in semi-arid AEZ of MER. The results of this study have revealed the
unique vegetation and rich plant diversity of the two rangelands. Range condition of the
four range sites ranged from poor to good and found to be supported by herbaceous
biomass production and grazing indicator species. Herbaceous biomass production
follows a quadratic relationship with range condition. There is some indication that the
humpback model appears to be functional in the MER rangelands. Important
information generated has pictured the need for optimizing productivity and biodiversity
conservation and elicited information on how agricultural and biodiversity conservation
interest should be integrated for the sustainable utilization of rangelands.
Key Words: Vegetation Description, TWINSPAN, Range condition, Main Ethiopian Rift
Vnlley
Description
Keywords
Vegetation Description, TWINSPAN, Range condition, Main Ethiopian Rift Valley