Eyasu Gebru, Tolera Motuma, Negash Mesele
Tigray Agricultural Research Institute, Mekelle Agricultural Research Center P.O. Box 258, Mekelle, Ethiopia.
Hawassa University, Wondo Genet College of Forestry and Natural Resources, P.O. Box 128, Shashmene, Ethiopia.
Heliyon. 2020 Dec 28;6(12):e05500. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e05500. eCollection 2020 Dec.
Nowadays, the conservation of biodiversity is a major environmental challenge globally. Homegarden agroforestry systems (HGAFs) have a large potential for biodiversity conservation. However, little attention has been given to the relative importance of HGAFs in terms of biodiversity conservation. The present study, therefore, aimed to estimate and compare the woody species diversity and structure of HGAFs and adjacent natural forest (NF) in Northern Ethiopia. Three sites were purposively selected based on the presence of HGAFs and NF adjacent to each other. A stratified sampling system was used to select representative homegardens from different wealth categories. In NF, a systematic transect sampling technique was employed. A total of 90 sample plots (10 m × 20 m) were used to collect vegetation data. A total of 32 species representing 26 genera and 20 families were identified from the studied HGAFs and NF. Thirty woody species belonging to 24 genera and 20 families were recorded in the HGAFs whereas, 11 species, belonging to 9 genera and 8 families were recorded in the NF. Native woody species accounted for 66% of all woody species recorded in both HGAFs and NF. Stem density, richness, and diversities of woody species were significantly higher in HGAFs than in NF ( ≤ 0.05). Trees and shrubs in the HGAFs had significantly lower stem diameters, height, and basal area than the adjacent NF ( ≤ 0.05). The results show that HGAFs complements the NF for biodiversity conservation and supports in counteracting the loss of woody species from the natural ecosystem. Hence, promoting HGAFs habitats in human-dominated landscapes should be part of the biodiversity conservation strategy.
如今，生物多样性保护是全球面临的一项重大环境挑战。庭院农林业系统（HGAFs）在生物多样性保护方面具有巨大潜力。然而，HGAFs在生物多样性保护方面的相对重要性却很少受到关注。因此，本研究旨在评估和比较埃塞俄比亚北部HGAFs和相邻天然林（NF）的木本植物物种多样性及结构。基于HGAFs和NF彼此相邻的情况，有目的地选择了三个地点。采用分层抽样系统从不同财富类别中选取有代表性的庭院。在天然林中，采用系统样带抽样技术。总共使用90个样地（10米×20米）来收集植被数据。从研究的HGAFs和NF中总共鉴定出32个物种，分属于26个属和20个科。在HGAFs中记录到30个木本物种，分属于24个属和20个科，而在天然林中记录到11个物种，分属于9个属和8个科。本地木本物种占HGAFs和NF中记录的所有木本物种的66%。HGAFs中木本物种的茎密度、丰富度和多样性显著高于天然林（P≤0.05）。HGAFs中的乔木和灌木的茎直径、高度和基部面积显著低于相邻的天然林（P≤0.05）。结果表明，HGAFs对天然林的生物多样性保护起到补充作用，并有助于抵消自然生态系统中木本物种的损失。因此，在人类主导的景观中推广HGAFs栖息地应成为生物多样性保护战略的一部分。
