Examining woody plant diversity across indigenous agroforestry practices in the Kellem Wollega zone, Western Ethiopia

Abstract

Growing woody plants on farmland not only promotes biodiversity conservation but also supports the livelihood of local communities by offering essential ecosystem services. The present study aimed to assess the woody species diversity within indigenous agroforestry practices in Kellem Wollega Zone, western Ethiopia. From Kellem Wollega, three districts: Dale Sadi, Gawo Qebe,and Sadi Canqa were purposively selected. A total of 135 plots were surveyed, with 45 plots per district across various land use classes, documenting species diversity, evenness, richness, frequency, and important value index. Fifty six (56) woody species from 29 families were counted. Fabaceae family was identified as the most dominant, comprising 7 species (12.5 %), followed by Moraceae and Euphorbiaceae families, each with 4 species (7.17 %). About 71.43 % of species identified species were categorized as trees, while 28.57 % were classified as shrubs. This finding confirmed that the indigenous home garden agroforestry exhibited the greatest diversity of woody species, while woodlots exhibited the lowest diversity. Furthermore, the results indicate significant variations in species diversity across different land use categories (p < 0.001). These results underscore the contribution of indigenous agroforestry practices in enhancing biodiversity and supporting a number of woody species within their ecosystem.

Keywords

• Agroforestry practices
• Diversity index
• Importance value index
• Shannon diversity index
• woody species