Soil Seed Bank Study and Natural Regeneration Status at Entoto Mountain and Along the Addis Ababa - Gohatsion Road
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Date
2013-07
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Soil seed ballks are all imporumt source olilew im/i viduals l or mOlly plm" poplllatiollS (llId COIItribllte
to llllure genetic variability, 71le objectil'e of this stl/dy II'OS 10 im'estigate the compositioll
olld density of soil seed bank ([millalUral regeneratioll sUltliS {II £lItoto-mOIllIl([i/l ami along the
Addis Ababa - Golwtsioll road. A IOral of fortY- lIille quat/mts were established i/l the selectell
sites. The quadrat size (10 m x 10 l1I)for tree:,', shrubs {llId herb {lnd lI'ilh seedling (heighl ~ 1.0
m), saplillg (height befween I alld 3 III) ami malllre free/shrub (height > 3 m) laid dowl/ 10 examine
similarity between standing vegetation (II/(I seed Ixmkflora as well as lIalllral regel/emtioll of
the sllldy site. Soil sample:,' were collectedl romtlie main quadrats measuring J 5 cm X 15 em alld
from four soil layers. the litter layer and three .mcee.\',vil'e layers (0-3 cm. 3-6 em, alld 6-9 em), A
total of 98 plam species germinated f rom (llIlhe soil samples collected for Ihe investigation.
Herbs dominated the SSB represelllillg lIearly 87,ljO/O of Ihe i(/emijiell species. 71/C distriblltion
of seeds through the profi le illdic(/(ed a sharp declille ill ablilldallee with depth. The greatest reserves
of seeds were ill the sllf:face layer of the soil (0-3 em). Similarity between StfllUJjllg vegetatioll
(II/(I SSB show thar there was negligibly loll' similarity (JCS :: 0,204-0.375). However,
there was (I general tendency of disappearance of na/ive 1I'00dy species /rom fhe SSfJ as evidenced
by the germination of few woody species. 71,is implies thaI reliallce on the SSB for the
recove,y ofl1ative woody species is 110/11'01"/ily. Allalysis ofl/a/ural regeneration of woody :,pecies
shows Ihal a lotal of 25 WOOlly species (llId 8. 977 iudividual:,//w Il'ere recorded. The highest seed
del/silY of naturaJ/y regener(llillg woody pIa illS alld Ihe highest number of specie,~' were recorded
ill Eucalyptlls plal/tation foresl. Farmlalld. pasturelaml lind wetlaml habitat types sholl' 110 seedIillg
aud/or sapling of woody species, 71lis. ill 111m. indicates IIiat f uture exisleflee of Ihe woody
flora characteristic of tropical dry el'ergreell Afromolllaue areas ill Ethiopia depellds Oil/he eOl/sen'a/
iOIl {lml sllstainable ulilizarioll of the few remualll natllral forests,
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Keywords
Entoto Mountain, Ellca~ypt /ls plantat ion, species composition, seed density, soil seed bank, natural regeneration