woodyspeciesdiversity,vegetationstructure,andregeneration

Research ArticleWoody Species Diversity Vegetation Structure and RegenerationStatus of the Moist Afromontane Forest of Agama inSouthwestern Ethiopia

Abyot Dibaba 1 Teshome Soromessa2 Alemayehu Kefalew3 and Admassu Addi4

1Department of Biology Debre Berhan University Debre Berhan Ethiopia2Center for Environmental Science Addis Ababa University Addis Ababa Ethiopia3Department of Biology Debre Markos University Debre Berhan Ethiopia4Holeta Bee Research Center Holeta Ethiopia

Correspondence should be addressed to Abyot Dibaba abyotdibaba77yahoocom

Received 29 November 2019 Revised 6 February 2020 Accepted 9 March 2020 Published 30 June 2020

Academic Editor Panos V Petrakis

Copyright copy 2020 Abyot Dibaba et alis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution Licensewhich permits unrestricted use distribution and reproduction in any medium provided the original work is properly cited

is study was conducted in Agama Forest in Kafa Zone Southwestern Ethiopia to assess species diversity vegetation structure andregeneration status of woody species A systematic sampling technique was employed to collect vegetation data Sixty (60) sampleplots of 25mtimes 25mwere laid at 300m intervals all along ten grids interspaced 800m apart Sample plots of 25mtimes 25mwere used torecord DBH and H of all woody plant species reaching a DBH gt25 cm and height gt2m For the inventory of seedling and saplingtwo subplots of 2mtimes 5m were used at the beginning and the end of the baseline on opposite sides of the main quadrat Vegetationdata such as DBH height seedling and sapling density of woody species were recorded in each plot Altogether 72 woody plantspecies of 65 genera and 35 families were identified Analysis of selected tree species showed diverse population structuresis studyshowed that small trees and shrubs dominated the Agama Forest which revealed its status under a secondary regeneration stageStudy on the structure and regeneration of some woody species indicated that there are species that require urgent conservationmeasures Soundmanagement andmonitoring as well as maintenance of biodiversity and cultural and economic values of the forestrequire conservation activities that encourage sustainable uses of the forest and its products

1 Introduction

Ethiopiarsquos highly variable ecology topography and climatemake it an internationally recognized centre of biodiversity[1] e country has around 6000 higher plant species ofwhich about 10 are endemic [2 3] e vegetation ofEthiopia has been classified into 12 types [4] e vegetationtype at Agama Forest in Southwestern Ethiopia the subjectof this paper is part of the moist evergreen Afromontaneforest that is characterized by one or more closed strata ofevergreen trees that may reach heights of 30 to 40m

Southwestern Ethiopia best represents remnant naturalforests but those are being destroyed at an alarming rate [5]Human-induced loss of forest cover structure and biodi-versity is of global concern in Ethiopia [6] estimated rates of

deforestation and forest degradation at between 150000 and200000 hayear and this was associated with loss of foreststructure diversity dynamics and evolution New invest-ment opportunities in Southwestern Ethiopia are convertingthese remnant forests into other land uses such as tea andcoffee plantations [7] New settlers migrating from thenorthern and central parts of Ethiopia have also contributedto land use changes and forest degradation [8 9]

e ShannonndashWiener index H is the most popularmeasure of species diversity because it scores for both speciesrichness and evenness and is not affected by sample size[10 11] In the analysis of vegetation structure the growthstages of trees as seedlings saplings and mature trees as wellas the distribution of size classes within a population can beessential elements of diversity that permit or deny the

HindawiInternational Journal of EcologyVolume 2020 Article ID 1629624 10 pageshttpsdoiorg10115520201629624

likelihood of quick recovery after disturbances [12] estatus and dynamics of woody-tree populations can be ex-amined by conducting a size class distribution and seedlingand sapling counts [13 14] Healthy natural populationswith continuous regeneration exhibit an exponentiallydecaying size class distribution whereby trees in smaller sizeclasses are represented in greater numbers than in largerclasses e absence or rarity of seedlings can be consideredan indication of a declining population e populationstructure of a tree species is indicative of its history of pastdisturbance and can be used to predict its future status in theforest [13] is study investigated the woody species di-versity structure and regeneration status of the AgamaForest in Southwestern Ethiopia e results will be used toset conservation and management strategies for this forest

2 Materials and Methods

21 Study Area is study was conducted in Gimbo districtof the Kafa Zone in the Southern Nationsrsquo Nationalities andPeoplesrsquo Regional State (SNNPRS) which is located 500 kmfrom Addis Ababa and 30 km from Bonga (Figure 1) earea is centered at 716degN 3611degE the altitudinal range isfrom 1800m to 2370m and the topography is undulatingwith valleys and rolling plateaus [15] e size of the studyforest covers about 1872 hectares (Figure 1)

e climate data between the years 2005 and 2018recorded by the meteorological station at Bonga that islocated 20 km south of the study area was used to describethe climatic condition of the study area ere is a unimodalrainfall pattern with eight months between March andOctober with rainfall gt100mmmonth [16] e mean an-nual rainfall is 1830mm and the monthly mean maximumand mean minimum temperatures are 296degC and 95degCrespectively e mean annual temperature is 197degC

e major soil groups of the study area according to theFAOUNESCO legend of soil classification are NitisolsAcrisols and Vertisols [17] e Nitisols are agriculturally themost important and dominant type of soils in the Kafa ZoneeNitisols are clay-red in color and havemoderate CEC andrelatively high organic matter content and total nitrogen

22 Vegetation Sampling A preliminary survey was madefrom 30 April 2017 to 15May 2017 to obtain an impression onthe general physiognomy of the vegetation and identifysampling sites in the study area e actual field study wasconducted from 10 December 2017 to 30 April 2018 esystematic sampling design was used to collect vegetation andenvironmental data [10 18 19] Sixty (60) sample quadrats of25times 25m were laid at 300m intervals along ten gridsinterspaced 800m apart Seedling and sapling inventories ofall woody-tree and shrub species were recorded in two 2times 5msubquadrats located on opposite sides of each quadrat For allwoody species of height (H)ge 2m and diameter at breastheight (DBH)ge 25 cm H and DBH were measured using aclinometer and diameter tape respectively Regenerationpatterns were assessed using the total count of seedlings(Hle 50 cm and DBHle 25 cm) and saplings (Hgt 50 cm and

DBHle 25 cm) within the subquadrats Geographical coor-dinates and altitudes were recorded for each quadrat usingGPS Plant specimens were collected pressed dried andbrought to the National Herbarium (ETH) Addis AbabaUniversity for taxonomic identification and nomenclatureese were determined by comparison with authenticatedspecimens housed at ETH and by referring to publishedvolumes of the Flora of Ethiopia and Eritrea [20ndash25]

23DataAnalysis Species diversity was calculated using theShannonndashWiener diversity index H as

H minus 1113944s

i1pi lnpi (1)

where s is the number of woody species and pi is the pro-portion of individuals or the abundance of the ith speciesexpressed as a proportion of the total

Shannonrsquos evenness J was calculated as the ratio ofobserved diversityH to themaximum diversityHmax usingthe following equation

J H

ln(s)

H

Hmax (2)

where ln(s)Hmaxe structure of the vegetation was described using a

frequency distribution of H DBH and Importance ValueIndex (IVI) Tree or shrub density and basal area values werecalculated on a per-hectare basis For all species IVIs werecalculated as the sum of their relative density (RD) relativefrequency (RF) and relative dominance (RDO) [10] where

RD the number of all individuals of a species

the total number of all individualstimes 100

RF the number of plots where a species occursthe total occurrence of all species in all plots

times 100

RDO the basal area of a species

total basal areatimes 100

(3)

where the basal area of an individual wasπd24 (π 314dDBH)

Five IVI classes were established Ilt 1 II 1ndash10IIIge 10ndash20 IVge 20ndash30 Vgt 30

Frequency (F) and density (D) were calculated as [26]

F no of quadrats in which a species occurs

total no of quadrats examinedtimes 100 (4)

Species were grouped into five frequency classesA 0ndash20 B 21ndash40 C 41ndash60 D 61ndash80 E

81ndash100

D total no of individuals of a species found

total area examined (5)

Species were classified into six density classes Ale 1Bge 1ndash10 Cge 10ndash20 Dge 20ndash35 Ege 35ndash50 Fge 50 individ-uals per hectare

2 International Journal of Ecology

e vertical stratification of trees in Agama Forest wasexamined following the IUFRO classification scheme [27]where three simplified vertical structures are distinguishedthe upper (individualsgt 23 top height) middle (individualsbetween 13 and 23 top height) and lower (individualslt 13 top height) storey

To interpret the dynamics of woody species in the forestthe population structures of selected species were expressedas a frequency of individuals against established DBHclasses e emerging patterns of diameter class distributionwere also used to interpret the recruitment processes of agiven species Species were divided into seven H and DBHclasses To use the regeneration analysis for priority settingthe species considered in the study area were classified intothree groups based on the density of the total regeneration

3 Results

31 Woody Species Diversity Seventy-two woody plantspecies belonging to 35 families and 65 genera were recorded(Table 1) Of these 43 species were trees 18 were shrubs and12 were lianas Rubiaceae was the most common family with8 (110 contribution) species in 8 (123) genera Acan-thaceae and Euphorbiaceae were the second most commoneach with 5 (69) species in 5 (77) genera e Rutaceaehad 4 species in 4 genera and the Fabaceae 4 species in 3generae Araliaceae Celastraceae Dracenaceae Oleaceaeand Rosaceae contributed 3 species each and the remaining25 families lt3 species each e ShannonndashWiener diversityindex and Shannonrsquos evenness values were 325 and 078respectively

36deg2prime0PrimeE

7deg17

prime30

PrimeN

7deg17

prime30

PrimeN

36deg4prime0PrimeE 36deg6prime0PrimeE

36deg2prime0PrimeE

0 1 2 4km

Agama Forest

Ethiopia

N

Southwest moist montane forest

Elevation (meter)1700ndash19001900ndash21002100ndash2300

Sample plots


504ha1040ha

328ha

Figure 1 Map and sample plots of the study area

International Journal of Ecology 3

Table 1 List of woody species in Agama moist Afromontane forest

No Species name Family lowastLocal name Habit1 Acanthopale ethio-germanica Ensermu Acanthaceae Huxxo Shrub2 Acanthus eminens CBClarke Acanthaceae Pheecco Shrub3 Alangium chinense (Lour) Harms Alangiaceae Shotto Tree4 Albizia gummifera (JFGmel) CA Sm Fabaceae Caatto Tree5 Albizia Schimperiana Oliv Fabaceae Caatto Tree6 Allophylus abyssinicus (Hochst) Radlk Sapindaceae Sheeo Tree7 Apodytes dimidiata E Mey ex Arn Icacinaceae Wundifo Tree8 Bersama abyssinica Fresen Melianthaceae Booqqoo Tree9 Brillantaisia madagascariensis T Anders ex Lindau Acanthaceae Huxxo Shrub10 Buddleja polystachya Fresen Loganiaceae Ataaro Tree11 Canthium oligocarpum Hiern Rubiaceae Xixiribbo Tree12 Cassipourea malosana (Baker) Alston Rhizophoraceae Woraalo Tree13 Celtis africana Burmf Ulmaceae Uffo Tree14 Clausena anisata (Willd) Benth Rutaceae Immico Shrub15 Clematis longicauda Steud ex A Rich Ranunculaceae Shaggee qombo Liana16 Clematis simensis Fresen Ranunculaceae Phirsquoo Qombo Liana17 Coffea arabica L Rubiaceae Bunoo Tree18 Combretum paniculatum Vent Combretaceae Baggo Liana19 Cordia africana Lam Boraginaceae Dirsquoo Tree20 Croton macrostachyus Del Euphorbiaceae Waagoo Tree21 Cyathea manniana Hook Cyatheaceae Sheshino Tree22 Dalbergia lactea Vatke Fabaceae Gimiro Liana23 Dombeya torrida (JFGmel) P Bamps Sterculiaceae Shawakko Tree24 Dracaena afromontana Mildbr Dracaenaceae Coqimato Tree25 Dracaena fragrans (L) Ker Gawl Dracaenaceae Emoo Shrub26 Dracaena steudneri Engler Dracaenaceae Yuddo Tree27 Ehretia cymosa onn Boraginaceae Wagaamo Tree28 Ekebergia capensis Sparrm Meliaceae Ororo Tree29 Elaeodendron buchananii (Loes) Loes Celastraceae Washo Tree30 Erythrococca trichogyne (Muell Arg) Prain Euphorbiaceae Biccre kucco Shrub31 Euphorbia ampliphylla Pax Euphorbiaceae Gachoo Tree32 Fagaropsis angolensis (Engl) Dale Rutaceae Yaayyo Tree33 Ficus sur Forssk Moraceae Caaro Tree34 Flacourtia indica (Burmf) Merrill Flacourtiaceae Anam shiko Tree35 Galiniera saxifraga (Hochst) Bridson Rubiaceae Diidoo Tree36 Hippocratea pallens Planch ex Oliv Celastraceae Qawe qombo Liana37 Ilex mitis (L) Radlk Aquifoliaceae Qetoo Tree38 Jasminum abyssinicum Hochst ex DC Oleaceae Hawute qombo Liana39 Justicia schimperiana (Hochst ex Nees)T Anders Acanthaceae Sharsharo Shrub40 Landolphia buchananii (Hallf) Stapf Apocynaceae Yame qombo Liana41 Lepidotrichilia volkensii (Gurke) Leroy Meliaceae Shahiyo Tree42 Macaranga capensis (Baill) Sim Euphorbiaceae Shakkaro Tree43 Maesa lanceolata Forssk Myrsinaceae Caggo Shrub44 Maytenus gracilipes (Welw ex Oliv) Exell Celastraceae Shikko Shrub45 Millettia ferruginea (Hochst) Baker Fabaceae Bibero Tree46 Ocotea kenyensis (Chiov) Robyns amp Wilczek Lauraceae Najjo Tree47 Olea capensis L Oleaceae Shigiyo Tree48 Olea welwitschii (Knobl) Gilg amp Schellenb Oleaceae Yaahoo Tree49 Oxyanthus speciosus DC Rubiaceae Opharo Shrub50 Pavetta abyssinica Fresen Rubiaceae mdash Shrub51 Phoenix reclinata Jacq Araliaceae Yabbo Tree52 Pittosporum viridiflorum Sims Pittosporaceae Sholloo Shrub53 Polyscias fulva (Hiern) Harms Araliaceae Karasho Tree54 Pouteria adolfi-friederici (Engl) Baehni Sapotaceae Qararo Tree55 Premna schimperi Engl Verbenaceae Xumo Shrub56 Prunus africana (Hookf) Kalkm Rosaceae Omo Tree57 Psychotria orophila Petit Rubiaceae Aarsquoimaato Shrub58 Rhamnus prinoides LrsquoHerit Rhamnaceae Geeshoo Shrub59 Rothmannia urcelliformis (Hiern) Robyns Rubiaceae Dibo Tree60 Rubus apetalus Poir Rosaceae Garoo Liana


32 Density of Woody Species e density D of trees andshrubs withHgt 2m and DBHgt 25 cm was 1446 individualsper hectare Twelve species were in density class A and 2010 10 3 and 7 species in classes B C D E and F re-spectively e seven most abundant species in the densityclass F (Dgt 50 haminus1) were Coffea arabica Elaeodendronbuchananii Millettia ferruginea Olea capensis Oxyanthusspeciosus Syzygium guineense and Vepris dainellii

e D of trees and shrubs with DBH 10minus20 cm andDBHgt 20 cm were respectively 556 and 281 individuals perhectare Accordingly the ratio of individuals with DBH10minus20 cm (a) to DBHgt 20 cm (b) was 20

Comparison of trees and shrub densities with DBH10ndash20 cm (a) DBHgt 20 cm (b) and the ratio (ab) for AgamaForest with 5 other forests in Ethiopia is given in Table 2

33 Frequency Twenty-seven 17 8 4 and 6 species wererecorded in frequency classes A B C D and E respectivelye six most frequently occurring species in class E wereElaeodendron buchananii Olea capensis Olea welwitschiiOxyanthus speciosus Syzygium guineense andVepris dainellii

34 Basal Area e total basal area was 808m2ha ehighest (333) and the lowest (0001) BA haminus1 werecontributed by Olea welwitschii and Pavetta abyssinicarespectively Elaeodendron buchananii Olea welwitschiiSapium ellipticum Schefflera abyssinica and Syzygiumguineense covered 714 of the total basal area

35 Important Value Index (IVI) Ten species contributed599 of the IVI ese were in decreasing order Oleawelwitschii Elaeodendron buchananii Olea capensis Syzy-gium guineense Schefflera abyssinica Vepris dainelliiOxyanthus speciosusMillettia ferruginea Sapium ellipticumand Coffea arabica About 39 of the IVI was contributed bythe remaining 52 species Percentage values in the five IVIclasses I to V were 25 43 189 219 and 137respectively Most species were in classes I and II

36 Vertical Stratification e tallest tree was an individualof Olea welwitschii with H 46m e lower storey

contained the highest number of species 60 and stemdensity 1309ha and the upper the lowest 7 and 17harespectively the middle storey was intermediate 26 and 11ha respectively (Table 3)

e seven tree species that occupied the upper storey wereApodytes dimidiata Olea welwitschii Pouteria adolfi-friedericiPrunus africana Sapium ellipticum Schefflera abyssinica andSyzygium guineense and the 11 in the middle storey wereAlbizia gummifera Croton macrostachyus Elaeodendronbuchananii Fagaropsis angolensis Ficus sur Ilex mitis Mac-aranga capensisMillettia ferrugineaOcotea kenyensis Phoenixreclinata and Polyscias fulva e main species in the lowerstorey shrubs and small trees were Allophylus abyssinicaCoffea arabicaCyatheamannianaClausena anisataDombeyatorrida Dracaena afromontana Ehretia cymosa Erythrococcatrichogyne Maesa lanceolata Maytenus gracilipes Oleacapensis Oxyanthus speciosus Rothmannia urcelliformisRytigynia neglecta Teclea nobilis and Vepris dainellii

37 Height and DBH Class Distribution e H and DBHclass distributions of all individuals in the different sizeclasses were an inverted J shapeus the majority of specieshad the greatest number of individuals with relatively low Hand DBH with a gradual decrease in numbers of both withincreasing H and DBH About 63 of individuals werefound in the first height class (25ndash5m) only a few indi-viduals about 1 attained heightsgt 30m DBH distributionshowed that about 81 of individuals were in the DBH classlt20 cm and a very small proportion (12) reachedDBHgt 110 cm

Table 2 Comparisons of tree and shrub densities with DBH10ndash20 cm (a) and tree density with DBHgt 20 cm (b) from AgamaForest with 5 other moist Afromontane forests in Ethiopia

ForestsDensity Ratio Sources

(a) (b) abBelete 3051 1490 204 [28]Gelesha 3154 2446 129 [29]Komto 3300 2150 153 [30]Masha 6330 2860 221 [31]Menna Angetu 2920 1390 210 [32]Agama 5563 2809 198 Present study

Table 1 Continued

No Species name Family lowastLocal name Habit61 Rubus steudneri Schweinf Rosaceae Garoo Liana62 Rytigynia neglecta (Hirn) Robyns Rubiaceae Naxaacho Shrub63 Sapium ellipticum (Krauss) Pax Euphorbiaceae Shaddo Tree64 Schefflera abyssinica (Hochst ex A Rich) Harms Araliaceae Buto Tree65 Sericostachys Scandens Gilg ampLopr Amaranthaceae Shuddii Liana66 Syzygium guineense (Willd) DC Myrtaceae Yinoo Tree67 Teclea nobilis Del Rutaceae Shangaro Tree68 Tiliacora troupinii Cuf Menispermaceae Caamee qombo Liana69 Trema orientalis (L) Bl Ulmaceae Ufo Tree70 Vepris dainellii (Pic Serm) Kokwaro Rutaceae Mangirexxo Tree71 Vernonia amygdalina Del Asteraceae Giraawwoo Tree72 Vernonia auriculifera Hiern Asteraceae Dangaretto ShrublowastLocal nameKafinono


38 Population Structure of Agama Forest ere were fourmain patterns of population structure (Figures 2(a)ndash2(d))e first was a bell-shaped distribution in which the numberof individuals in the middle diameter classes is highest egOlea welwitschii and Syzygium guineense e second was aJ-shaped distribution in which the number of individualsincreases with diameter class eg Schefflera abyssinicaCyathea manniana and Rytigynia neglecta e third wasformed with species showing an inverted J shape a patternwhere the highest frequency is in the lower diameter classesand it decreases towards the higher diameter classes egElaeodendron Buchananii Olea capensis Vepris dainelliiOxyanthus speciosus and Teclea nobilis e fourth patternhad no individual in DBH class one an abrupt increase fromDBH class two to the middle classes and an abrupt decreasefrom themiddle to the higher classes eg Sapium ellipticumCroton macrostachyus and Poliscas fulva (Figure 2(d))

39 Regeneration Status of Agama Forest Total density ofseedling sapling and treeshrubs was 3378 haminus1 1888 haminus1and 1486 haminus1 respectively Out of 54 trees and shrubs ofDBHgt 25 cm 6 were not represented as seedlings and 11 notrepresented as saplings Nine species Coffea arabica Elaeo-dendron buchananii Galiniera saxifragaMaytenus gracilipesMillettia ferruginea Olea capensis Oxyanthus speciosusPhoenix reclinata and Vepris dainellii contributed 543 and552 of the total seedling and sapling count respectively

Regeneration status was represented by five distributionpatterns (Figure 3) (I) seedlinggt saplinggt treeshrub apattern exhibited by Albizia gummifera Bersama abyssinicaCanthium oligocarpum Coffea arabica and Millettia fer-ruginea (Figure 3(a)) (II) seedlinggt saplinglt treeshrub byElaeodendron buchananii Oxyanthus speciosus Eryth-rococca trichogyne and Vepris dainellii (Figure 3(b)) (III)seedlinglt saplinglt treeshrub by Dracaena afromontanaFicus sur Ocotea kenyensis Olea welwitschii and Sapiumellipticum (Figure 3(c)) (IV) no individual in either seedlingor sapling stages but many treesshrubs by Buddleja poly-stachya Euphorbia ampliphylla Fagaropsis angolensis Fla-courtia indica Premna schimperi Rhamnus prinoides andTrema orientalis (Figures 3(d) and 3(e)) (V) with no in-dividual in seedling and sapling stages but relatively manyindividuals in treeshrub stage eg Alangium chinenseCordia africana Cyathea manniana Ekebergia capensis andSchefflera abyssinica (Figure 3(f))

ree priority classes based on the total density ofseedlings and saplings were established for conservationclass 1 with no seedling or sapling class 2 with density ofseedlings and saplings gt0 but lt50 individuals haminus1 and class3 with density of seedlings and saplings gt50 individuals haminus1

(Table 4)

4 Discussion

41 Floristic Diversity Seventy-two (72) species of shrubslianas or trees were recorded Among the tree species twoVepris dainellii and Millettia ferruginea are endemic toEthiopia e ShannonndashWeiner diversity and evenness in-dexes were 325 and 078 respectively us the species mixat Agama is representative of a forest with high speciesdiversity [10] and the species are well represented across theextent of the forest

42 Vegetation Structure e ratio of DBHgt 10 cm toDBHgt 20 cm (ab ratio) was 20 and indicative of thepredominance of small-sized individuals in the forest iswas largely due to the high density of Olea capensis andVepris dainellii is ratio can also be used as a measure ofsize class distribution [33] and shows that in EthiopiaAgama Forest is comparable to moist Afromontane forestsat Belete Masha and Menna Angetu but with a greaterpredominance of small-sized individuals than those atGelesha and Komto at the proportion of individuals ofDBH between 25 and le10 cm was 421 suggests thatAgama Forest is in a secondary stage of development

Frequency provides an approximate indication of thehomogeneity of a stand [10] High values in higher frequencyclasses (D and E) and low values in lower frequency classes(A and b) indicate constant or similar species compositionOn the other hand high values in lower frequency classesand low values in higher frequency classes indicate a highdegree of floristic heterogeneity [27] In this study highvalues were obtained in lower frequency classes whichshowed the existence of high degree of floristic heterogeneityin Agama Forest

Elaeodendron buchananii Olea welwitschii Sapiumellipticum Schefflera abyssinica and Syzygium guineenseoccupied gt70 of the total basal area and can be consideredthe most important species in Agama Forest A basal areaprovides a better measure of the relative importance of thespecies than simple stem count [34] us species with thelargest contribution in a basal area can be considered themost important woody species in the study area

Important Value Index (IVI) permits a comparison ofspecies in a given forest type and depicts the sociologicalstructure of a population in its totality in the community Itoften reflects the extent of dominance occurrence andabundance of a given species in relation to other associatedspecies in an area [10] It is also important to compare theecological significance of a given species erefore it is agood index for summarizing vegetation characteristics andranking species for management and conservation practicesImportant Value Index combines data for three parameters

Table 3 Density and number of woody species by storey in Agama Forest

Storey Height (m) Density (no of stemsha) Percentage Species numberLower 2ndash15 13093 8788 60Middle 15ndash30 16374 1099 26Upper gt30 168 133 7


Seedling Sapling TreeshrubCategories

050

100150200250

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(a)


050

100150200250

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(b)


05

10152025

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(c)


02468

1012

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(d)


0

2

4

6

8

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(e)


0

5

10

15

20

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(f )

Figure 3 (andashf) Seedlings saplings and treeshrub distribution of some selected species occurring in Agama Forest (a) Coffea arabica (b)Vepris dainellii (c) Ficus sur (d) Flacourtia indica (e) Buddleja polystachya (f ) Schefflera abyssinica

1 2 3 4 5 6 7DBH class

0

10

20

30

40

50

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(a)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7DBH class

0

5

10

15

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(b)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7DBH class

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(c)

DBH class1 2 3 4 5 6 7

0

5

10

15

20

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(d)

Figure 2 (andashd) Pattern of frequency distribution of selected tree species over DBH classes (DBH classes 1 25ndash10 cm 21001ndash20 cm3 2001ndash50 cm 4 5001ndash80 cm 5 8001ndash110 cm 611001ndash140 cm 7ge140 cm) (a) Olea welwitschii (b) Schefflera abyssinica (c)Elaeodendron Buchananii (d) Sapium ellipticum


(relative frequency relative density and relative abundance)[35] We pointed out that Important Value Index gives amore realistic figure of dominance from the structural pointof view It is useful to compare the ecological significance ofspecies [27] In the present study 5992 of the IVI wascontributed by Olea welwitschii Elaeodendron buchananiiOlea capensis Syzygium guineense Schefflera abyssinicaVepris dainellii Oxyanthus speciosus Millettia ferrugineaSapium ellipticum and Coffea arabica ese species wereabundant frequent and dominant in Agama Forest

In Agama Forest distribution of all individuals in dif-ferent height and DBH classes indicated an invertedJ-shaped curve which shows a normal population structurewith a high number of individuals in the lower size classesand only a few individuals in the higher size classes ispattern is an indicator of healthy regeneration of the forestand species and shows a good reproduction and recruitmentcapacity Even though the overall height and DBH distri-bution revealed inverse J shape different population dy-namics for different species were in this study

Information on the population structure of a tree speciesindicates the history of the past disturbance to that speciesand the environment and hence is used to forecast thefuture trend of the population of that particular species [13]Population structure is an extremely useful tool for orientingmanagement activities and perhaps most important forassessing both the potential of a given resource and theimpacts of resource extraction [13] In this study fourpatterns population distributions based on DBH wererevealed for selected woody species ese are J-shaped bell-shaped inverted J-shaped and irregular shaped eJ-shaped patterns show poor reproduction and hamperedregeneration due to the fact that either most trees are notproducing seeds due to age or there are losses due topredators after reproduction (eg Schefflera abyssinica) Abell shape follows a Gauss distribution pattern is patternindicates a poor reproduction and recruitment of specieswhich may be associated with the overharvesting of seedbearing individuals (eg Olea welwitschii) Bell-shaped orvariable size class distribution has been attributed to adisturbed forest where regeneration is hampered [36] An

inverted J-shaped distribution pattern of species is consid-ered as an indication of stable population status or goodregeneration status [37] An irregular shaped patterncharacterized by no individual in DBH class one with anabrupt increase from DBH class two to the middle classesand with an abrupt decrease from the middle to the higherclasses (eg Sapium ellipticum) might reflect limited re-generation possibly due to human disturbance livestocktrampling or browsing and other biotic and abiotic factors

43 Regeneration Status Regeneration refers to the processof silvigenesis by which trees and forests survive over time[38]e population structure along different developmentalstage of a species in a forest can express its regenerationbehavior [39] e population structure described by theexistence of sufficient population of seedlings saplings andadults shows successful regeneration of forest species [39]

In this study five distribution patterns of regenerationstatus were observed from the 54 woody species investigatedfor regeneration (1) Seedlinggt saplinggt treeshrub state(eg Millettia ferruginea) this pattern indicates good re-generation (2) Seedlinggt saplinglt treeshrub state (egElaeodendron buchananii) this pattern represents fair re-generation and recruitment of the species (3)Seedlinglt saplinglt treeshrub state (eg Ficus sur) thispattern shows poor reproduction and hampered regenera-tion either due to the fact that most trees are not producingseeds as a result of their old age or there has been a loss ofseeds by predators after reproduction For instance thefruits of Ficus sur were usually eaten as food by many an-imals including humans which might be a reason for thispattern (4) With no individual either in seedling or saplingstages but relatively many individuals in treeshrub stage(eg Fagaropsis angolensis and Flacourtia indica) thispattern also shows poor reproduction and hampered re-generation (5) With no individual in seedling and saplingstages but relatively many individuals in treeshrub stage(eg Ekebergia capensis and Schefflera abyssinica) speciesexhibiting this pattern were not regenerating Even thoughSchefflera abyssinica exhibits this pattern of regeneration it

Table 4 Species conservation priority classes

Priority class 1 Priority class 2 Priority class 3Alangium chinense Cassipourea malosana Albizia gummifera Maesa lanceolataBuddleja polystachya Celtis africana Allophylus abyssinica Maytenus gracilipesCordia africana Dombeya torrida Apodytes dimidiata Millettia ferrugineaCyathea manniana Ehretia cymosa Bersama abyssinica Olea capensisEkebergia capensis Erythrococca trichogyne Canthium oligocarpum Oxyanthus speciosusEuphorbia ampliphylla Ficus sur Clausena anisata Phoenix reclinataFagaropsis angolensis Ocotea kenyensis Coffea arabica Psychotria orophilaFlacourtia indica Olea welwitschii Croton macrostachyus Rothmannia urcelliformisPremna schimperi Pittosporum viridiflorum Dracaena steudneri Rytigynia neglectaRhamnus prinoides Polyscias fulva Dracaena afromontana Syzygium guineenseSchefflera abyssinica Pouteria adolfi-friederici Elaeodendron buchananii Teclea nobilisTrema orientalis Prunus africana Galiniera saxifraga Vepris dainellii

Sapium ellipticum Ilex mitisVernonia amygdalina Lepidotrichilia volkensiiVernonia auriculifera Macaranga capensis


is difficult to conclude the species was not regenerating emain reason is that it grows as an epiphyte mainly on othertree species and finally overtakes it to become an inde-pendent tree as a result the seedling and sapling stages arenot visible on the ground [40]

From the three classes established for priority settingbased on their regeneration status for the sake of conser-vation activities those species under class 1 and class 2 arerecommended to be given the highest priority us allstakeholders at both national and regional level shouldparticipate in the conservation endeavor of these specieswhich can encompass both in situ and ex situ conservation

5 Conclusion

Description of floristic diversity of woody species in AgamaForest revealed the presence of high species diversity Of thespecies recorded in this forest two tree species Veprisdainellii and Millettia ferruginea are endemic to EthiopiaStructural analysis and assessment of regeneration status ofwoody species in this forest showed that the overall eco-logical condition of the forest was healthy Howeverstructural analysis and assessment of regeneration of somespecies revealed that there are species which exhibit ab-normal population structure and abnormal pattern of re-generation which in turn necessitates conservation andmanagement of these species e in situ conservationstrategy which has been implemented by FARM Africa anNGO that has been engaged in conservation endeavor of thestudy forest in the form of participatory forest management(PFM) should be strengthened via collaboration of allpotential stakeholders to reverse the unhealthy populationstructure and regeneration status of woody species

Data Availability

Part of the data used in this research are included and at-tached as Additional Files 1 2 and 3us the data used forthis manuscript are available

Conflicts of Interest

e authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest

Acknowledgments

e authors would like to acknowledge Addis Ababa Uni-versity for providing financial support and logistics toconduct this research

Supplementary Materials

Additional File 1 data were used to calculate density fre-quency basal area and relative density relative frequencyand relative basal area Additional File 2 data were used tocalculate Importance Value Index (IVI) Additional file 3data were used to determine regeneration status and priorityclass for conservation (Supplementary Materials)

References

[1] EPA Conservation Strategy of Ethiopia EPA Addis AbabaEthiopia 1997

[2] I Hedberg I Friis and E Person Flora of Ethiopia andEritrea Volume 8 General Part and Index to Vol 1-7 eNational Herbarium and Uppsala Sweden Addis AbabaEthiopia 2009

[3] E Kelbessa and S Demissew ldquoDiversity of vascular plant taxaof the flora of Ethiopia and Eritreardquo Ethiopian Journal ofBiological Sciences vol 13 pp 37ndash45 2014

[4] I Friis S Demissew and P van Breugel A New PotentialVegetation Map of Ethiopia in 12000000 Det KongeligeDanske Videnskabers Selskab Copenhagen Denmark 2010

[5] M Reusing ldquoChange detection of natural high forests inEthiopia using remotesensing and gis techniquesrdquo in Inter-national Archives of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensingvol 33 Amsterdam e Netherlands 2000

[6] M Reusing Monitoring of Natural High Forests in EthiopiaMinistry of Agriculture and GTZ Addis Ababa Ethiopia1998

[7] K Yeshitela and T Bekele ldquoPlant community analysis andecology of Afromontane and transitional rainforest vegetationof southwestern Ethiopiardquo SINET Ethiopian Journal of Sci-ence vol 25 no 2 pp 155ndash175 2002

[8] M Ezra ldquoDemographic responses to ecological degradationand food insecurity drought-prone areas in northernEthiopiardquo Doctoral dissertation University of GroningenPDOD Publications Amsterdam e Netherlands 1997

[9] M Lemenih and T Woldemariam ldquoReview of forestwoodland and bushland resources in Ethiopia up to 2008rdquo inEthiopian Environment Review No 1 S Edwards Ed Forumfor Environment Addis Ababa Ethiopia 2010

[10] M Kent Vegetation Description and Data Analysis A Prac-tical Approach John Wiley amp Sons Chichester UK 2012

[11] C J Krebs Ecological Methodology Addison Welsey Edu-cational Publishers Boston MA USA 2nd edition 1999

[12] J L Harper Population Biology of Plants Academic PressLondon UK 1982

[13] C M Peters ldquoe ecology and management of non-timberforest resourcesrdquo World Bank Technical Report No 322World Bank Washington DC USA 1996

[14] U Shankar ldquoA case of high tree diversity in a Sal (Shorearobusta) dominated lowland forest of Eastern Himalayafloristic composition regeneration and conservationrdquo Cur-rent Science vol 81 no 7 pp 776ndash786 2001

[15] EVDSA Ethiopian Valleys Development Studies AuthorityAddis Ababa Ethiopia 1996

[16] NMSA National Meteorological Service Agency Ethiopia2018

[17] EMA National Atlas of Ethiopia Ethiopian Mapping Au-thority Addis Ababa Ethiopia 1988

[18] M Dumbois and H Ellenberg Aims and Methods of Vege-tation Ecology John Willey and Sons New York NY USA1974

[19] B McCune and J B Grace Analysis of Ecological Commu-nities MjM Software Design Gleneden Beach OR USA2002

[20] S Edwards M Tadesse and I Hedberg Flora of Ethiopia andEritrea Canellaceae to Euphorbiaceae Vol 2 Addis Ababae National Herbarium Addis Ababa University AddisAbaba Ethiopia 1995

[21] S Edwards S Demissew and I Hedberg Flora of Ethiopiaand Eritrea Hydrocharitaceae to Arecaceae Vol 6 Addis


Ababa e National Herbarium Addis Ababa UniversityAddis Ababa Ethiopia 1997

[22] S Edwards M Tadesse S Demissew and I Hedberg Flora ofEthiopia and Eritrea Magnoliaceae to Flacourtiaceae Vol 2Addis Ababa e National Herbarium Addis Ababa Uni-versity Addis Ababa Ethiopia 2000

[23] I Hedberg and S Edwards Flora of Ethiopia Pittosporaceae toAraliacae Vol 3 Addis Ababa e National HerbariumAddis Ababa University Addis Ababa Ethiopia 1989

[24] I Hedberg S Edwards and S Nemomissa Flora of Ethiopiaand Eritrea Apiaceae to Dipsaceae Vol 4 Addis Ababa eNational Herbarium Addis Ababa University Addis AbabaEthiopia 2003

[25] I Hedberg E Kelbessa S Edwards S Demissew andE Persson Flora of Ethiopia and Eritrea Volume 5 Gen-tianaceae to Cyclocheilaceae Vol 5 Addis Ababa e Na-tional Herbarium Addis Ababa University Addis AbabaEthiopia 2006

[26] J T Curtis and R P McIntosh ldquoe interrelations of certainanalytic and synthetic phytosociological charactersrdquo Ecologyvol 31 no 3 pp 434ndash455 1950

[27] H Lamprecht Silviculture in the Tropics Tropical ForestEcosystems and Eeir Tree SpeciesmdashPossibilities and Methodsfor Eeir Long Term Utilization TZ-VerlagsgesellschaftGmbH Rossdort Germany 1989

[28] K Gebrehiwot and K Hundera ldquoSpecies composition plantcommunity structure and natural regeneration status of Beletemoist evergreen montane forest Oromia regional stateSouthwestern Ethiopiardquo Momona Ethiopian Journal of Sci-ence (MEJS) vol 6 no 1 pp 97ndash101 2014

[29] B Alemu K Hundera and B Abera ldquoFloristic compositionand structural analysis of Gelesha forest Gambella regionalState Southwest Ethiopiardquo Journal of Ecology andEeNaturalEnvironment vol 7 no 7 pp 218ndash227 2015

[30] F Gurmessa T Soromessa and E Kelbessa ldquoStructure andregeneration status of Komto afromontane moist forest EastWollega Zone West Ethiopiardquo Journal of Forestry Researchvol 23 no 2 pp 205ndash216 2012

[31] A Assefa S Demissew and ZWoldu ldquoFloristic compositionstructure and regeneration status of Masha forest South-westEthiopiardquo African Journal of Ecology vol 52 no 2pp 151ndash162 2013

[32] E Lulekal E Kelbessa T Bekele and H Yineger ldquoPlantspecies composition and structure of the Mana Angetu moistmontane forest South-Eastern Ethiopiardquo Journal of EastAfrican Natural History vol 97 no 2 pp 165ndash185 2008

[33] P J Grubb J R Lloyd T D Pennington andT C Whitmore ldquoA comparison of montane and lowland rainforest in Ecuador I e forest structure physiognomy andfloristicsrdquo Ee Journal of Ecology vol 51 no 3 pp 567ndash6011963

[34] S A Cain and G M d O Castro Manual of VegetationAnalysis Harper and Brothers New York NY USA 1959

[35] J T Curtis and R P McIntosh ldquoAn upland forest continuumin the prairie-forest border region of Wisconsinrdquo Ecologyvol 32 no 3 pp 476ndash496 1951

[36] L Poorter F Bongers R S A R van Rompaey andM De Klerk ldquoRegeneration of canopy tree species at five sitesin West African moist forestrdquo Forest Ecology and Manage-ment vol 84 no 1ndash3 pp 61ndash69 1996

[37] J W Silvertown Introduction to Plant Population EcologyLongman London UK 1982

[38] P Bhuyan M L Khan and R S Tripathi ldquoTree diversity andpopulation structure in undisturbed and human impacted

stands of tropical wet evergreen forest in Arunachal PradeshEastern Himalayas Indiardquo Biodiversity amp Conservationvol 12 pp 1753ndash1773 2003

[39] A K Saxena and J S Singh ldquoTree population structure ofcertain Himalayan forest associations and implications con-cerning their future compositionrdquo Vegetatio vol 58 no 2pp 61ndash69 1984

[40] A Abiyu G Gratzer D Teketay G Glatzel and R AertsldquoEpiphytic recruitment of schefflera abyssinica (a rich)harms and the role of microsites in affecting tree communitystructure in remnant forests in Northwest Ethiopiardquo SINETEthiopian Journal of Science vol 36 no 1 pp 41ndash44 2013


likelihood of quick recovery after disturbances [12] estatus and dynamics of woody-tree populations can be ex-amined by conducting a size class distribution and seedlingand sapling counts [13 14] Healthy natural populationswith continuous regeneration exhibit an exponentiallydecaying size class distribution whereby trees in smaller sizeclasses are represented in greater numbers than in largerclasses e absence or rarity of seedlings can be consideredan indication of a declining population e populationstructure of a tree species is indicative of its history of pastdisturbance and can be used to predict its future status in theforest [13] is study investigated the woody species di-versity structure and regeneration status of the AgamaForest in Southwestern Ethiopia e results will be used toset conservation and management strategies for this forest

2 Materials and Methods

21 Study Area is study was conducted in Gimbo districtof the Kafa Zone in the Southern Nationsrsquo Nationalities andPeoplesrsquo Regional State (SNNPRS) which is located 500 kmfrom Addis Ababa and 30 km from Bonga (Figure 1) earea is centered at 716degN 3611degE the altitudinal range isfrom 1800m to 2370m and the topography is undulatingwith valleys and rolling plateaus [15] e size of the studyforest covers about 1872 hectares (Figure 1)

e climate data between the years 2005 and 2018recorded by the meteorological station at Bonga that islocated 20 km south of the study area was used to describethe climatic condition of the study area ere is a unimodalrainfall pattern with eight months between March andOctober with rainfall gt100mmmonth [16] e mean an-nual rainfall is 1830mm and the monthly mean maximumand mean minimum temperatures are 296degC and 95degCrespectively e mean annual temperature is 197degC

e major soil groups of the study area according to theFAOUNESCO legend of soil classification are NitisolsAcrisols and Vertisols [17] e Nitisols are agriculturally themost important and dominant type of soils in the Kafa ZoneeNitisols are clay-red in color and havemoderate CEC andrelatively high organic matter content and total nitrogen

22 Vegetation Sampling A preliminary survey was madefrom 30 April 2017 to 15May 2017 to obtain an impression onthe general physiognomy of the vegetation and identifysampling sites in the study area e actual field study wasconducted from 10 December 2017 to 30 April 2018 esystematic sampling design was used to collect vegetation andenvironmental data [10 18 19] Sixty (60) sample quadrats of25times 25m were laid at 300m intervals along ten gridsinterspaced 800m apart Seedling and sapling inventories ofall woody-tree and shrub species were recorded in two 2times 5msubquadrats located on opposite sides of each quadrat For allwoody species of height (H)ge 2m and diameter at breastheight (DBH)ge 25 cm H and DBH were measured using aclinometer and diameter tape respectively Regenerationpatterns were assessed using the total count of seedlings(Hle 50 cm and DBHle 25 cm) and saplings (Hgt 50 cm and

DBHle 25 cm) within the subquadrats Geographical coor-dinates and altitudes were recorded for each quadrat usingGPS Plant specimens were collected pressed dried andbrought to the National Herbarium (ETH) Addis AbabaUniversity for taxonomic identification and nomenclatureese were determined by comparison with authenticatedspecimens housed at ETH and by referring to publishedvolumes of the Flora of Ethiopia and Eritrea [20ndash25]

23DataAnalysis Species diversity was calculated using theShannonndashWiener diversity index H as

H minus 1113944s

i1pi lnpi (1)

where s is the number of woody species and pi is the pro-portion of individuals or the abundance of the ith speciesexpressed as a proportion of the total

Shannonrsquos evenness J was calculated as the ratio ofobserved diversityH to themaximum diversityHmax usingthe following equation

J H

ln(s)

H

Hmax (2)

where ln(s)Hmaxe structure of the vegetation was described using a

frequency distribution of H DBH and Importance ValueIndex (IVI) Tree or shrub density and basal area values werecalculated on a per-hectare basis For all species IVIs werecalculated as the sum of their relative density (RD) relativefrequency (RF) and relative dominance (RDO) [10] where

RD the number of all individuals of a species

the total number of all individualstimes 100

RF the number of plots where a species occursthe total occurrence of all species in all plots

times 100

RDO the basal area of a species

total basal areatimes 100

(3)

where the basal area of an individual wasπd24 (π 314dDBH)

Five IVI classes were established Ilt 1 II 1ndash10IIIge 10ndash20 IVge 20ndash30 Vgt 30

Frequency (F) and density (D) were calculated as [26]

F no of quadrats in which a species occurs

total no of quadrats examinedtimes 100 (4)

Species were grouped into five frequency classesA 0ndash20 B 21ndash40 C 41ndash60 D 61ndash80 E

81ndash100

D total no of individuals of a species found

total area examined (5)

Species were classified into six density classes Ale 1Bge 1ndash10 Cge 10ndash20 Dge 20ndash35 Ege 35ndash50 Fge 50 individ-uals per hectare




3 Results


36deg2prime0PrimeE

7deg17

prime30

PrimeN

7deg17

prime30

PrimeN


36deg2prime0PrimeE

0 1 2 4km

Agama Forest

Ethiopia

N



Sample plots


504ha1040ha

328ha



















Table 1 Continued







(Table 4)

4 Discussion










050

100150200250

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(a)


050

100150200250

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(b)


05

10152025

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(c)


02468

1012

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(d)


0

2

4

6

8

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(e)


0

5

10

15

20

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(f )


1 2 3 4 5 6 7DBH class

0

10

20

30

40

50

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(a)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7DBH class

0

5

10

15

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(b)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7DBH class

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(c)

DBH class1 2 3 4 5 6 7

0

5

10

15

20

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(d)















5 Conclusion


Data Availability




Acknowledgments




References















































3 Results


36deg2prime0PrimeE

7deg17

prime30

PrimeN

7deg17

prime30

PrimeN


36deg2prime0PrimeE

0 1 2 4km

Agama Forest

Ethiopia

N



Sample plots


504ha1040ha

328ha



















Table 1 Continued







(Table 4)

4 Discussion










050

100150200250

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(a)


050

100150200250

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(b)


05

10152025

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(c)


02468

1012

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(d)


0

2

4

6

8

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(e)


0

5

10

15

20

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(f )


1 2 3 4 5 6 7DBH class

0

10

20

30

40

50

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(a)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7DBH class

0

5

10

15

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(b)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7DBH class

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(c)

DBH class1 2 3 4 5 6 7

0

5

10

15

20

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(d)















5 Conclusion


Data Availability




Acknowledgments




References





























































Table 1 Continued







(Table 4)

4 Discussion










050

100150200250

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(a)


050

100150200250

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(b)


05

10152025

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(c)


02468

1012

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(d)


0

2

4

6

8

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(e)


0

5

10

15

20

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(f )


1 2 3 4 5 6 7DBH class

0

10

20

30

40

50

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(a)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7DBH class

0

5

10

15

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(b)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7DBH class

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(c)

DBH class1 2 3 4 5 6 7

0

5

10

15

20

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(d)















5 Conclusion


Data Availability




Acknowledgments




References

















































(Table 4)

4 Discussion










050

100150200250

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(a)


050

100150200250

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(b)


05

10152025

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(c)


02468

1012

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(d)


0

2

4

6

8

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(e)


0

5

10

15

20

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(f )


1 2 3 4 5 6 7DBH class

0

10

20

30

40

50

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(a)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7DBH class

0

5

10

15

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(b)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7DBH class

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(c)

DBH class1 2 3 4 5 6 7

0

5

10

15

20

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(d)















5 Conclusion


Data Availability




Acknowledgments




References














































050

100150200250

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(a)


050

100150200250

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(b)


05

10152025

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(c)


02468

1012

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(d)


0

2

4

6

8

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(e)


0

5

10

15

20

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(f )


1 2 3 4 5 6 7DBH class

0

10

20

30

40

50

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(a)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7DBH class

0

5

10

15

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(b)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7DBH class

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(c)

DBH class1 2 3 4 5 6 7

0

5

10

15

20

No

of i

ndiv

idua

ls

(d)















5 Conclusion


Data Availability




Acknowledgments




References

























































5 Conclusion


Data Availability




Acknowledgments




References













































woodyspeciesdiversity,vegetationstructure,andregeneration

Documents