Abeje Eshete

To inform forest conservation and management policies, an understanding of the species diversity and composition along environmental gradients is essential. This study investigated how topographic and disturbance gradients affect the woody species diversity and composition in the moist evergreen Afromontane forest of Southwest Ethiopia. Data collection was done from 160 plots of 20 m by 20 meters, systematically established along elevational gradients at 100 m intervals ranging from 1400 to 3000 meters above sea level. Woody species diversity and composition were analyzed across topographic and disturbance gradients. The results reveal a total of 98 woody plant species belonging to 85 genera and 57 families. These consisted of 56 tree species (57.14%), 30 shrub species (30.6%), and 12 liana species (12.24%). Elevation and disturbance gradients resulted in variations in woody species diversity and composition. The mid-elevation range (2000–2700 m) exhibited the highest woody species richness. Disturbance intensity greatly varied significantly along the elevation gradient (p < 0.001). Specifically, Coffee dominance decreased with increasing elevation. Higher disturbance intensity led to a reduction to both species richness and Shannon diversity index value. This study demonstrated that woody species composition and diversity are significantly shaped by topographic and disturbance gradients. Therefore, long-term monitoring should focus on how topography and disturbance influence woody species compositions and diversity.

The livelihoods of rural households in Ethiopia’s highlands are closely intertwined with the production and marketing of Eucalyptus‐based products. Among these, Eucalyptus charcoal constitutes a major source of household energy and income, particularly in areas where alternative energy resources are limited. Despite its increasing socioeconomic and environmental significance, relatively little research has examined the structure, efficiency, and equity of the Eucalyptus charcoal value chain. This study investigates the Eucalyptus charcoal value chain in Mecha District, northern Ethiopia, with the objectives of identifying key actors, analyzing their interactions, and assessing the distribution of value‐added benefits among stakeholders. Primary data were collected from 70 respondents representing charcoal producers, transporters, brokers, laborers, wholesalers/traders, retailers, service providers, and local government representatives. Data collection methods included key informant interviews, household surveys, focus group discussions, market assessments, and the review of relevant secondary sources. Value chain and gross margin analyses identified 11 distinct marketing lines. Among these, three major channels: Channel 1: village charcoal producer to consumer, Channel 2: village charcoal producer to Bahir Dar charcoal retailer to consumer, and Channel 3: urban charcoal producer to Merawi charcoal trader to Addis Ababa charcoal retailer to consumer, accounted for more than 90% of the total charcoal flow: The analysis revealed that urban retailers captured the largest share of value‐added income, while rural producers, despite their central role in production, received the smallest portion of returns. The major challenges constraining the value chain include inefficient production technologies, weak market linkages, inadequate infrastructure, low bargaining power among producers, and limited institutional and policy support. The study recommends the promotion of efficient and environmentally safer charcoal production technologies, improved market access and infrastructure development, and the establishment of equitable benefit‐sharing mechanisms among value chain actors. Strengthening institutional capacity and policy frameworks is also essential. Collectively, these interventions are critical for enhancing rural livelihoods, promoting sustainable charcoal production, and reducing pressure on Ethiopia’s natural forest resources.

The production of seedlings from selected indigenous tree species is influenced by the type of potting media and soil ratios. A nursery experiment was conducted in the Libo Kemekem District of Addis Zemen, northwest Ethiopia, to assess the growth performance and biomass of Olea africana, Albizia gummifera, Cordia africana, Millettia ferruginea , and Grewia ferruginea . Seeds were initially sown in seedbeds and later transplanted into polythene pots of varying sizes (8, 10, and 12 cm in diameter) filled with a mixture of forest soil, farmyard manure, and fine sand in three different ratios (3:3:1, 3:2:1, and 3:1:1). A factorial experiment using a randomized complete block design with three replications was implemented. Growth and biomass data were analyzed using the general linear model in SPSS software (Version 26). Significant variations were observed in root collar diameter and shoot height among potting media, pot sizes, and their interactions at level of 0.05 but not in shoot and root biomass. The most vigorous seedlings of G. ferruginea, C. africana, M. ferruginea, A. gummifera , and Olea europaea thrived in a 3:3:1 soil ratio with a 12‐cm pot size. While shoot and root dry weights showed minimal variation across treatments, M. ferruginea excelled in the 3:3:1 mixture and 12‐cm size. The findings indicate that the growth performance of indigenous tree seedlings is significantly influenced by the composition of potting media and pot size. The optimal mixture of forest soil, farmyard manure, and fine sand, particularly with a higher proportion of organic matter, enhances seedling vigor. Therefore, selecting the right substrate is crucial for enhancing the growth of indigenous tree species in nursery settings, thereby contributing to the restoration of degraded Afromontane forests.

The vitality of seedlings is significantly impacted by nursery activities. Among other things, the size of containers and growing media are the most important variables in producing healthy and high‐quality seedlings. For that reason, this experiment took place at the Boye Nursery Site in the Jimma Zone of Ethiopia, aimed to evaluate the impact of varying growing media and pot sizes on the growth of seedlings of three significant indigenous tree species: Prunus africana , Croton macrostachyus , and Millettia ferruginea . For this purpose, three distinct soil mixtures comprising local soil, forest soil, and sand, with ratio of 3:3:1, 3:2:1, and 3:1:1, were combined with three different pot sizes (8, 10, and 12 cm). Based on a 3 × 3 factorial design with four replications, a complete randomized block design was employed. Measurements of seedling height and root collar diameter were made. According to the findings, seedlings grown in large pots exhibited significantly greater height (mean heights of 26.17, 25.19, and 22.67 cm for Millettia ferruginea , Croton macrostachyus , and Prunus africana , respectively) and larger root collar diameters (mean diameters of 0.384, 0.39, and 0.32 cm for the same species) compared to those grown in smaller pots. On the other hand, the soil mix had no effect. Therefore, to ensure better success in tree establishment, we advise using large pots for the production of Millettia ferruginea , Croton macrostachyus , and Prunus africana seedlings in these places.

Ethiopia’s forest coverage is decreasing from time to time due to agricultural expansion, settlements, misuse of existing forest resources, and a lack of awareness and sense of ownership among the local population. Not only forest coverage but also species composition and diversity are decreasing in the country. The current study aims to investigate the woody species composition, structure, regeneration, diversity, and distribution of the soil seed bank in a degraded part of the Gera moist Afromontane forest. A systematic random sampling technique was used to collect tree data. Twenty representative sample square plots, each measuring 400 m² for trees and shrubs, were established. Inside the main plots, five subplots measuring 9 m² were assigned for regeneration data collection. Another five subplots were also marked for soil seed bank data collection that are 9 cm deep and 15 cm wide. The forest had twenty‐one woody species that belonged to seventeen families. The Shannon–Wiener, Simpson’s indices, and evenness of the whole forest were recorded to be 2.17, 0.82, and 0.42, respectively. Syzygium guineense had the highest species‐specific value indices (68.49), accounting for 22.83 percent of the total. The first DBH and height class patterns encompass over 61.16 and 59.92 percent of the total individuals, respectively. There were two growth phases (seedling and saplings) missing in three tree species (Allophylus abyssinicus, Olea welwitschii, and Schefflera abyssinica). The soil seed bank in the forest contained 77 plant species belonging to 41 families. Compared to other moist Afromontane forests, the Gera forest has a smaller composition of woody species and medium diversity. The soil seed bank did not significantly contribute to the restoration of the forest.

Soil is the centre of plant growth and, in turn, plants are important elements in soil creation. This points to a strong positive correlation between forest growth dynamics and soil qualities. However, the decline in the biological, chemical and physical characteristics of forest soils alters this link. Therefore, the objective of the study was to determine the physical and chemical properties of soils in the Afromontane rainforest of Gera as inputs for vegetation and land management. A systematic random sampling design was used to collect a soil sample. Twenty main plots with a size of 20 m by 20 m pits measuring (0.5) m by (0.5) m, one in the centre and four in the corners, were dug for the collection of soil samples. Soil samples were collected to a depth of 0 - 20 cm using an auger because the soil has a similar profile and is mixed to form a soil composite. From the composite sample, twenty samples were randomly selected as a working sam-ple. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were carried out to analyze the data using SAS software. The sampled soil contains an average of 56.93 % sand, 26.22 % silt and 16.36 % clay. The average bulk density of the forest is 1.49 g cm-3. The forest contains 3.91 and 6.74 % organic carbon and matter, re-spectively. The analysis revealed that sandy loam accounts for 70 % of the texture classes in the Gera forest. Total nitrogen was highly correlated with organic carbon and matter, and magnesium and calcium were highly correlated with cation exchange capacity, while sodium was highly correlated with electrical conductivity. Further study on other soil physico-chemical properties will be required for rapid rehabilita-tion of the Gera forest for site species that match and sustain the forest.

Forest canopies are in a dynamic condition and changing continually. The formation of gaps result in changes microclimatic conditions of forests. The tree regeneration triggered by gaps are a fundamental process of forest dynamics and plays a key role in maintaining forest structure, composition, and diversity of forest ecosystems. Thus, understanding of the gaps dynamics in natural forests is principal for forest restoration, sustainable management and conservation of forests. This study was conducted at Kafa Afromontane forest, located in Gimbo and Gawata Districts of Kafa Zone at 450 km west of the capital Addis Ababa. For the purpose of this study, three plots with an area of four hectares, (200 x 200 m) were selected systematically inside the main forest area in each of the three sites (Yeyibto, Achewa and Saja) from 15 March 2019 to 30 May 2019. Inside these plots, four transacts laid 50 m apart from each other. For each gaps encountered along these transects the longest distance between any two-canopy and the largest distance perpendicular to the length was measured and fitted using an ellipse formula. Distances from the centre of the gap to the edges of the gaps was measured in eight compass directions, namely 0, 45, 90, 135, 180, 225, 270 and 315 and a sketch map of the gap was drawn. The result showed that the mean gap size of the study area is 223.31 m2 with standard deviation of 152.14 m2. Most of the gaps were caused by snapping of (43 %), that followed by broken branches that accounts for 29 % of the gap former trees. About 57 % of the gaps were categorized as smaller gaps. Within these gaps 36 seedling of woody species belonging to 21 families were recorded. Among these Rubiaceae family is the most dominant family, which constitutes six seedlings woody species. The population structure of the seedlings showed an inverted J-shape.

A forest is a storehouse of carbon released from different sources when the activities of sustainable forest management, planting, and rehabilitation exist. However, few allometric equations are present to determine its contribution to carbon reduction. The target of the study was to develop species-specific allometric equations and establish a database for biomass expansion factor and wood density for five tree species grown in the dry Afromontane forest of Ethiopia. A direct or destructive sampling method was used on 62 trees from different diameter classes. The diameter at breast height and the total height of selected trees ranged from 7 to 48cm and 6.7 to 23.4m, respectively. Trees were felled and divided into various biomass sections. Stem and big branch discs were sampled to determine the wood density and volume of the trees. Sample wood and foliage were oven-dried for three days and two days at 105C and 70C, respectively, to get their dry weight. Total above-ground biomass was regressed using diameter at breast height, total height, wood density, and average crown diameter as independent variables. R software version 4.0.1 was used to fit the biomass equations. The best biomass models were determined to have lower AIC and RSE and highest adj. R². The biomass expansion factor and wood density of five tree species ranged from 1.19 to 1.40 and 0.53 to 0.74g/cm⁻³, respectively. Species-specific allometric equations were better than both mixed species and pan tropical models for the assessment of above-ground biomass in the Chilimo dry Afromontane forest of Ethiopia.

Information on species composition, structure, and diversity is essential to introduce and select different management activities to improve the forest productivity. Accordingly, species composition, structure, diversity, and regeneration status of trees were assessed in the Dindin natural forest. In this forest, trees or shrubs having 2.5cm diameter at breast height and height >1.5m were identified and measured in 35 quadrats of 20m×20m. Regeneration status was assessed in 5m×5m subplots that were laid within each main plot to sample seedling and sapling. Woody species diversity, density, basal area, and importance value index were calculated. To prioritize conservation efforts, the study utilized factors such as the importance value index, seedling and sapling densities, and population structure. A total of 42 woody tree species representing 30 families were recorded in the forest. The diversity and evenness of woody species in the Dindin forest were 2.66 and 0.70, respectively. Woody species density was 1403 individual ha⁻¹, and the total basal area was 35.54m²ha⁻¹. About 480 seedlings per hectare were recorded in the Dindin forest. The research yielded practical insights into the dominance, population structure, importance value, and regeneration status of tree species. The analysis of population structure indicates that certain dominant species are experiencing inadequate regeneration. In addition, multiple nondominant shrubs and tree species within the forest are also at risk of extinction due to insufficient regeneration. Therefore, these important findings play a crucial role in the formulation and implementation of effective strategies to restore and rehabilitate the studied forest.

The application of biomass models for quantifying forests’ above-ground biomass is essential for sustainable forest management. However, lack of knowledge in modelig biomass of individual tree growth hinders the sustainable management of Dry Afromontane forests. In this study, models to estimate above-ground biomass were developed for Rhus ruspolii, Ekebergia capensis, and Nuxia congesta. To develop the models, a total of 45 trees from different diameter classes were selected, felled, and divided into different biomass compartments. For the model’s development, diameter at breast height (DBH), total height (TH), diameter at stump height (DSH), and wood density (WD) were used as independent variables. Models’ performances were evaluated using RSE, adjusted coefficient of determination, and AIC. Also, model validations were done by using rRMSE, mean absolute deviation, bias, and coefficient of variation. Models 5 (Adj-R² = 0.92), 6 (Adj-R² = 0.97), and 8 (Adj-R₂² = 0.82) were the best fitted models for Nuxia congesta, Ekebergia capensis, and Rhus ruspolii, respectively. The average wood densities of Ekebergia capensis, Nuxia congesta, and Rhus ruspolii were 0.59, 0.50, and 0.69, respectively. The variation between observed biomass and estimated biomass using new models was statistically not significant ( ). Thus, the biomass models developed here can be important tools to accurately estimate above-ground biomass in the Menagesha Suba forest and can be integrated into decision support tools.