Plant diversity and community analysis of Sele-Nono forest, Southwest Ethiopia: implication for conservation planning

Abstract

Background Studying the floristic diversity of a certain forest is a basic aspect of the design and management of forest vegetation; and consequently this study focused on the plant diversity and community analysis of the Sele-Nono forest. For the current study, plants were sampled from 90 plots using a stratified random sampling technique along the established strata of the study forest. In all the plots, both floristic and environmental data that were relevant to the study were collected following the state of the art. Based on the collected data, the community types, ordination, floristic diversity, and threats to the forest were analyzed using R-package and SPSS software. Results Cluster analysis produced seven distinct community types which significantly differed among themselves (Cophentic correlation coefficient = 0.785, P < 0.001) of which community types 2 and 6 were relatively poor; whereas communities 1 and 4 were rich in terms of their species richness and diversity. In addition, Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) suggests that a number of environmental factors such as altitude and slope (topographic factor), OM and N (edaphic factors) and disturbance were the main drivers for the current distribution of plant species and disparity in plant community composition in Sele-Nono forest. Moreover, the study revealed high beta diversity ($${\beta }_{w}$$ β w >12) of plant species at the landscape level (i.e., throughout the study forest). Deforestation for agricultural land expansion and degradation through selective logging are the main threats to the Sele-Nono forest. Conclusions The present study revealed that the Sele-Nono forest is a large and heterogenous forest at the landscape level (150, 325.27 ha; $${\beta }_{w}$$ β w >12). Moreover, it is one of the richest and diverse forest ecosystems in terms of plant biodiversity, and it could qualify to be labeled as a keystone ecosystem. However, currently it is exposed to a variety of threats. We recommend the forest to be developed into a biosphere reserve. We also recommend the prioritization of areas belonging to community types 2 and 6 of the forest for any possible conservation actions so as to maximize species richness and diversity of the native plants of the area.

Community Based Cross-sectional Study of the Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Resources Limited Setting: A Case of Mettu Town, South Western of Ethiopia

“…The reason for high utilization of traditional medicine in Ethiopia is due to limited access to healthcare, especially in rural areas and the others factors with regard to determinants of traditional medicine practice in Ethiopia, some literature studies also hypothetically linked the affordability of traditional medicine to the fact of its use by up to 80% of the population, while others added deprived access to modern healthcare facilities and also cultural belief, monthly income, and religious belief have also been mentioned as determinants for utilization of CAM [14]. Similar to that ,the current study also revealed as there was high utilization (94.9%) of traditional medicine in the study area, this may be due to the Yayo Coffee Forest Biosphere Reserve is situated in south western of Ethiopia which is located near to the study area and the area plays a key role in the conservation of natural and cultural landscapes because of that the around community can access easily types of herbal medicine they need for treatment of human ailments [21]. It is hoped that the results of this study will encourage various stakeholders to get involved in this area and serve as a baseline for other studies that will be conducted in the future because there has been no previous study done in Mettu town and other regional kebeles in Ethiopia regarding CAM knowledge, practice, and attitudes.…”

Floristic composition and community analysis of woody species in Hereje Natural Forest, southwest Ethiopia

“…Several researchers have investigated the vegetation coverage and species composition of southern Ethiopia [5,7,9,16]. Despite these studies, the area is still facing significant challenges in conserving its vegetation and is becoming one of Ethiopia's most threatened ecosystems.…”

“…Despite these studies, the area is still facing significant challenges in conserving its vegetation and is becoming one of Ethiopia's most threatened ecosystems. Furthermore, due to the Southern part's unique physical setting, climatic conditions, and biogeographical position, the area received little attention from researchers compared to other corners of Ethiopian vegetation [16]. Thus, it would be critical to conduct additional floristic studies for each patch of the Southern forest, particularly in areas that had not previously been studied [4].…”