Community dynamics and Floristic composition of Natural vegetation in Abaya Hamassa, Rift Valley of Ethiopia

Volume : (3), Issue : 211, January - 2019

Abstract :  Ethiopia, with its multidimensional biogeo terrain is unique for its species diversity and bizarre dispersion of wood land. A total of 315 plant species representing 198 genera and 59 families were identified in Abaya-Hamassa natural vegetation in the rift valley of Ethiopia. Six plant communities were identified and described. Community-environment correlation was assessed based on Ecological, physiological and pedological data collected from 55 quadrates (400 square meters ) belonging to eight selected sites between October 2013 to June 2014.The environmental parameters such as altitude, slope, aspect, PH, electrical conductivity, total nitrogen and soil texture (% sand, % clay and% slit) were measured for all quadrats. Among the environment parameters, altitude was negatively correlated with sand and clay. The floristic composition, floral diversity, identification of community type and community-environment interaction were investigated. The Percentage of coverage, Canopy, abundance and frequency of species were estimated and converted as per the modified Brawn-Blanquet 1-9 scale.

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