Species composition, structure, and regeneration status of trees were assessed in five dry Afromontane forests. In each of the forests, trees having ≥5 cm diameter at breast height were identified ...and measured in 80 quadrats (20 × 20 m
2
). We compared tree species composition and similarities, stem densities, frequencies, basal area and importance value index of trees. Harvesting index was calculated to 13.3% in the least disturbed and 22.5% in highly disturbed forests. A total of 1,655 individuals representing 38 species and 28 families were recorded. The tree densities varied from 364.1 to 664.1stem ha
−1
with an average basal area of 20.7 m
2
ha
−1
. The analysis showed significant differences in basal areas of tree species between the least and highly disturbed forests. Seedling densities ranged from 2000 to 8162.5 stem ha
−1
and sapling densities ranged from 512.5 to 2562.5 stem ha
−1
. The anthropogenic disturbances revealed high degradation of population structure and regeneration statutes of the trees in the studied forest ecosystem. In conclusion, the study provided empirical results on the dominance, population structure, importance value and regeneration status of tree species, which would be instrumental for the development of successful rehabilitation strategies for the studied forests.
We identified the major non-timber forest products （NTFPs）, their contributions to household incomes, and the determinants influenc-ing engagement of households in using NTFPs in the Bonga forest ...area of Gimbo and Decha Districts of Kaffa Zone, southwest Ethiopia. Six Kebeles （the lowest administrative unit in Ethiopia） were sampled from two Districts and 150 households were randomly sampled using propor-tional-to-size techniques based on the number of farm households in each Kebele. Secondary data were collected from and focus group discussions were conducted with selected individuals. The farmers diversified liveli-hood activities such as crop and livestock production, collection of NTFPs and off-farm activities. NTFPs played a significant role in household incomes. The contribution from the major NTFPs （forest coffee, honey and spices） accounted for 47% of annual household in-come. The role of NTFPs was influenced by a number of factors. Vari-ables including being native to the area （＋）, total land holding （＋）, pos-session of livestock （＋） and access to extension （＋） significantly affected forest coffee production. Age of household head （-）, land holding （＋） and distance of the market from the residence （-） significantly affected honey production. Size of landholding （＋）, distance to market （-） and distance of the forest from the residence （-） were significant variables determining the NTFP incomes derived by the households. Attention is needed in the design of policies and strategies for the well-being of households to the contribution of NTFPs to local incomes and the variables that affect the collection of NTFPs must be considered.
The phenological responses of plants to climatic variables are critical for conservation planning; however, it is less understood in an Afrotropical context. Here, we observed how flowering and ...fruiting phenophases of seven indigenous plant species are related to monthly rainfall and temperature for 24 months in Ethiopia. We employed linear and non-linear models to test the effects on flowering and fruiting intensity. The results of the linear model showed that flowering intensity decreased with increasing monthly temperature for Maytenus arbutifolia, Prunus africana, and Solanecio gigas, but increased for Bersama abyssinica, and decreased with increasing monthly rainfall for Maytenus arbutifolia. The results of the non-linear model indicated that the flowering intensity of Brucea antidysenterica, Dombeya torrida and Rosa abyssinica decreased, leveled off and increased with increasing monthly temperature. Moreover, the fruiting intensity of Brucea antidysenterica and Rosa abyssinica decreased with increasing monthly rainfall, but increased for Bersama abyssinica; The fruiting intensity increased with increasing monthly temperature for Brucea antidysenterica and Rosa abyssinica. Altogether, the effects of climatic variables not only vary among the species, but also among the phenophases of a plant species. Hence, considering these varied effects in forest conservation schemes is critical, especially during the epoch of this continuing climate change.
This study aimed to assess the Spatio-temporal Acacia decurrens plantation (ADP) cover dynamics and its drivers in the Awi highlands of Northwestern Ethiopia. Landsat imageries (1993, 2007, and 2022) ...with Support vector machine classification techniques and Normalized difference vegetation index were used to analyze the ADP cover changes from 1993 to 2022. Besides, questionnaires, focused-group discussions, and interviews were employed to identify the drivers of ADP cover changes. The findings revealed that ADP cover witnessed substantial changes between 1993 and 2022 in the study area. ADP cover dramatically increased from 0.05 percent in 1993 to 24.53 percent in 2022, with a total gain of 40,788.97 ha. In contrast, cropland, grassland, and shrubland significantly decreased from 1993 to 2022, with a net loss of 23,111.63 ha, 18,479.23 ha, and 7942.44 ha, respectively. Hence, ADP was expanded considerably in the study area at the expense of cropland, grassland, and shrubland in the past 29 years. Soil infertility/acidity; land degradation; attractive benefits of ADP; increasing fuelwood demand; living condition improvement of ADP growers; and suitability of ADP with other land uses were identified as the top six drivers for ADP expansion. The innovative environmental rehabilitation and tree plantation experiences of the Awi-community should be upgraded and expanded to other areas.
Introduction
Since the last few decades, the government of Ethiopia has introduced and adopted participatory forest management (PFM) in different regions of the country. However, there is a lack of ...research dealing with perceptions and attitudes of local people towards PFM in Wof-Washa Forests (WWF). The aim of this study was to evaluate the perceptions and attitudes of local people towards PFM implemented in WWF. We hypothesized that the perceptions and attitudes of local people towards PFM differ with socio-economic variables, such as sex, age, level of education, family size, occupation type, annual income, length of duration of local residence, livestock, and land ownership.
Methods
A structured questionnaire comprised of close- and open-ended questions was developed and administered to a total of
n
= 64 households to collect information on the perceptions and attitudes of local people towards PFM in WWF. Descriptive statistics and multiple linear regressions were used to analyze and interpret the data.
Results
The results revealed that socio-economic variables had significant effects on the perceptions towards “the prevalence of the problems with the existing PFM system” (39% variance explained), “the concept of PFM” (30% variance explained), and “the presence of PFM practice” (11% variance explained). Majority of the respondents accepted the PFM program introduced in WWF in order to protect and manage the WWF. The study also revealed that socio-economic variables had significant effects on the attitudes towards “managing forests via participatory approach” (16% variance explained), “having the responsibility to protect the WWF” (40% variance explained), and “accepting the PFM practice” (54% variance explained). However, the findings suggested that there were some respondents who were yet unsure to fully accept the concept and practice of PFM.
Conclusions
Creating public awareness about PFM is crucial to alleviate the problems of deforestation and reduce the unsustainable use of the WWF. As socio-economic variables that affect perceptions and attitudes of local people towards PFM may change over time, future research is crucial to consider the time dimension as possible factor while studying perceptions and attitudes of local people towards PFM.
Land use and land cover (LULC) change is a common trend in all parts of the globe. The possible reasons might be economic, political, social or cultural motives. In Ethiopia, most of the rural and ...urban people are highly dependent on eucalypts for various purposes, particularly, for fuel wood and construction materials. In the study area, Western Gurage Watersheds of Omo-Gibe Basin, eucalypt plantations have become the emergent and dominant activity next to growing Enset. The specific objectives of this study were to assess the land use and land cover changes driven by eucalypt plantations over time and agro-ecological extent, and to identify socio-economic, demographic, and environmental factors that facilitated expansion of eucalypts plantation.
Landsat images from 1987 (TM), 2001 (ETM) and 2017 (Landsat 8 OLI) were used for detecting LULC changes. Digital image processing operations, i.e. haze removal, geo-referencing, contrast enhancement and classification, were completed using ERDAS Imagine 2011 Software. During the period between 1987 and 2017, the area cover of LULC types, namely plantation forest, Enset-based agroforestry, cereal crop and built-up areas increased in the study watersheds at the expenses of natural forests and grassland. The total forest cover declined in the study period from 1987-2000 and, then, increased from 2001-2017 as a result of expansion of eucalypts in bare land, grazing land and cereal crop land use types. The drivers for the expansion of eucalypts in the watersheds are population growth, ‘Meskel’ and ‘Arafah’ celebrations, land degradation and conservation, road development, increased access to markets, and economic factors, such as the growing need for fuel wood, construction materials, and growing need for money. The divergent interest of stakeholders, skepticism and debate around eucalypts are presented; call for further scientific investigations and management options are recommended.
In the northwestern highlands of Ethiopia, rapid land use land cover (LULC) change and small-scale forest expansion has taken place due to the engagement of small-holder farmers. This study was aimed ...to understand the trends, magnitudes, drivers of LULC changes, and small-scale forest expansion in three Woredas of the northwestern Ethiopian Highlands, during 1987 to 2020 periods. The study employed a hybrid classification technique to group the images in to LULC classes. Moreover, key informants were used to assess the drivers of LULC change and small-scale forest expansion. The results indicated that small-scale forest increased from 2.5% in 2009 to 19.4% in 2020 in Fagta Lekoma Woredas. An increment of small-scale forest from almost none to 33% was also observed in North Mecha Woredas (1987–2020). Coverage of small-scale forest increased from 0.32% in 2009 to 7.9% in 2020 in Guna Begemidir Woredas. These happened as the expense of cropland and grazing land. Unlike during 1987–2009, cropland showed continuous decline during a period of 2009 and 2020 in all study Woredas. Grasslands significantly diminished by 65.6%, 47.4%, and 40.9% in Fagta Lekoma, North Mecha, and Guna Begemidir Woredas, respectively over the entire study period. In general, the landscapes of the study areas have shown remarkable changes across spatial and temporal differences. The main drivers of the changes in the LULC were associated with the shift of livelihood dependence and demand for various ecosystem services. The LULC changes in the study areas have implications on enhancing forest-based ecosystem services.
A study was conducted in Tara Gedam and Abebaye forests l,northwestern Ethiopia to investigate the diversity,regeneration status,socio-economic importance and the factors causing destruction of the ...forests.A total of 30 plots,measuring 20 m ×20 m,were established along line transects laid across the forests.Participatory Rural Appraisal （PRA） method was employed to generate the socio-economic data.Primary data were collected by field observation,semi-structured interview with key informants and discussion with relevant stakeholders.A total of 143 woody species belonging to 114 genera and 57 families were recorded,and of all the species 44 （30.8%） were trees,57 （39.9%） trees/shrubs,33 （23.1%） shrubs and 9 （6.3%） lianas.The diversity and evenness of woody species in Tara Gedam forest are 2.98 and 0.65,respectively,and in Abebaye forest they are 1.31 and 0.31,respectively.The total density and basal area of woody species in Tara Gedam forest are 3001 individuals ha-1 and 115.36 m 2 ha-1,respectively,and in Abebaye forest the values are 2850 individuals ha-1 and 49.45 m 2 ha-1,respectively.The results on the importance value index （IVI） and DBH class distributions suggest that the species with low IVI value and poor regeneration status need to be prioritized for conservation.In the socio-economic survey,the responses from the key informants indicatedthat the forests are the major sources of fuelwood （90%）,construction material （80%）,timber （75%） and farm implements （55%）.The forests are also sources of medicines,animal fodder,bee forage and edible fruits.Tara Gedam monastery,assisted by the local people who have strong religious belief and high respect to the monastery,has played a great role in the maintenance of the sacred forest since a long time.At present,the conservation efforts are made jointly by the monastery and institutions concerned with conservation.The major factors that cause destruction of the forests are livestock grazing,tree cutting for various purposes and farmland expansion.The implications of the results are discussed,and the recommendations are suggested for conservation,management and sustainable utilization of the forest ecosystems.
Smallholder farmers in the northwestern Ethiopian Highlands are highly engaged in small-scale forest management. Participation in this activity can provide a key source of income for the farmers as ...well as wider benefits to the environment. To gain a better understanding of how spatial and socio-ecological factors determine farmers’ engagements in small-scale forest management, we conducted a comparative study in three Districts of northwestern Ethiopia. We used a mixed method approach including both quantitative (n = 375) and qualitative (n = 45) surveys to understand farmers’ motivations and decisions in three Districts of northwestern Ethiopia. We found that there were a number of factors motivating farmers’ decisions to participate, including land degradation and decline in crop productivity (in Fagta Lekoma District); adverse impact of adjacent woodlots (in North Mecha District); and increasing demand of wood products (in Guna Begemidir District). Further analysis on the extent of farmer engagement revealed that their decision to increase or decrease the share of land allocated to woodlots is heavily dependent on the comparative socio-economic benefits of woodlots and distance to markets. Other key (District-specific) determinant factors included wealth status, soil fertility status, gender, adult equivalent value, total land holding size, and annual crop production risk perception. Our findings suggest that to increase the uptake of woodlots, we would need to adopt a demand-driven forestry extension approach, which considers the heterogeneity of farmers and farm characteristics. Further research is required to quantify the optimal level of land allocation for small-scale forest management.
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