Hatsey Abraha, Yahya Nesibu, Eshete Abeje, Gidey Tesfay
Mekelle Center, Ethiopian Forestry Development, P.O. Box 1282, Mekelle, Ethiopia.
WeForest Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Heliyon. 2024 Jul 6;10(14):e34200. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e34200. eCollection 2024 Jul 30.
Ethiopian Orthodox churches are significant habitats for endemic and threatened plant species, yet their vegetation status and the land use systems impacting them, are little known. Therefore, this study assessed the land use and land cover changes (LULCC) within a 3 km buffer area and the woody vegetation status of the Tsimur Gebriel Monastery in the Tigray region, Northern Ethiopia. The United States Geological Survey's multi-dated (1986, 1999, and 2018) Landsat imagery was used for LULCC analysis. A supervised classification technique was employed for image classification using a maximum likelihood algorithm. Systematic sampling techniques were used to collect vegetation data (tree species, height, and DBH), using 20 sample plots (20 × 20 m) distanced 100 m apart. The results highlighted that among the five identified LULCC types in the buffer zone of the monastery, the farmland area has expanded from 56 to 78 % at the expense of shrublands between 1986 and 2018. At the monastery, 19 woody tree species from 13 families were identified, with an evenness of 0.5 and a Shannon diversity index of 2.4. The stem density was 336 stems per hectare, and the forest cover was approximately 65 %. was the dominant tree species, while showed a lack of regeneration at the monastery. Despite the fair natural regeneration, the monastery exhibited lower species diversity, richness, and evenness. However, the monastery remains an important habitat for rare and threatened tree species and may supply seeds for the restoration of degraded lands. Therefore, establishing exclosures in the buffer zone, strengthening stone walls and enrichment planting of degraded tree species should be implemented to ensure the sustainable conservation of valuable tree species.
埃塞俄比亚东正教堂是当地特有和濒危植物物种的重要栖息地，然而，其植被状况以及影响它们的土地利用系统却鲜为人知。因此，本研究评估了埃塞俄比亚北部提格雷地区齐穆尔·加布里埃尔修道院3公里缓冲区内的土地利用和土地覆盖变化（LULCC）以及木本植被状况。利用美国地质调查局的多期（1986年、1999年和2018年）陆地卫星图像进行LULCC分析。采用监督分类技术，使用最大似然算法进行图像分类。采用系统抽样技术收集植被数据（树种、树高和胸径），使用20个样地（20×20米），样地间距为100米。结果表明，在修道院缓冲区确定的五种LULCC类型中，1986年至2018年间，农田面积从56%扩大到78%，以灌木地面积减少为代价。在修道院，共鉴定出13个科的19种木本树种，均匀度为0.5，香农多样性指数为2.4。茎密度为每公顷336株，森林覆盖率约为65%。 是优势树种，而 在修道院表现出缺乏更新。尽管自然更新情况尚可，但修道院的物种多样性、丰富度和均匀度较低。然而，该修道院仍然是珍稀濒危树种的重要栖息地，可为退化土地的恢复提供种子。因此，应在缓冲区设置围栏，加固石墙，并对退化树种进行补植，以确保珍贵树种的可持续保护。
