Ojelel Samuel, Katuura Esther, Mucunguzi Patrick, Kalema James
Department of Plant Sciences, Microbiology and Biotechnology, College of Natural Sciences, Makerere University, P.O. Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda.
BMC Ecol Evol. 2025 Jan 18;25(1):12. doi: 10.1186/s12862-024-02323-1.
As the extinction risk of plants increases globally, there is need to prioritize areas with high floristic richness and diversity to inform the design of evidence-based conservation interventions. As such, this study aimed to comparatively analyse floristic diversity in six central forest reserves (CFR) of north eastern Uganda. This was guided by two objectives namely; (i) to determine the floristic richness and diversity in the CFRs and (ii) to evaluate the similarity and complementarity of floristic composition. Data was collected from nested quadrats (20 × 20 m for trees, 10 × 10 m for shrubs and 5 × 5 m for herbaceous climbers, forbs and grasses) placed at intervals of 100 m along a transect of 1000 - 1500 m. Species richness, diversity and evenness were determined for each CFR. Binary similarity coefficients were computed because only presence/absence data of plant species was recorded. A sum of 417 plant species in 76 families were recorded representing 8.7% of known vascular plants reported in Uganda. The CFRs have significantly variable Shannon-Wiener diversity indices ranging from 4.2 in Kano CFR to 4.47 in Bululu hill CFR (t = 85.291, df = 4, p = 0.00). The CFRs cluster into two groups namely Onyurut and Ogera hills and Akur, Kano, Bululu hills and Mount Moroto. The lowest similarity index was between Ogera hills and Moumt Moroto CFRs (0.37 or 37%) while the highest was between Akur and Kano CFRs (0.63 or 63%). The CFRs complement one another by supporting plant species not recorded elsewhere with three CFRs (Bululu hills, Mount Moroto and Onyurut) accounting for 81.53% of the plant taxa. The CFRs in NE Uganda have richness and floristic diversity with up to 8.7% of the known plants in Uganda present. The conservation status of these species is Vulnerable (4), Near Threatened (4), Least Concern (137), Data Deficient (1) and Not Evaluated (271). The two similarity clusters depict variation in altitudinal, proximity and climatic conditions. Five CFRs are required to conserve 95% of the species recorded. Therefore, the CFRs investigated play a complementary role in conserving the floristic diversity in north eastern Uganda.
随着全球植物灭绝风险的增加，有必要对植物种类丰富且多样的地区进行优先排序，以便为基于证据的保护干预措施的设计提供依据。因此，本研究旨在对乌干达东北部六个中央森林保护区（CFR）的植物多样性进行比较分析。这一研究受两个目标的指导，即：（i）确定中央森林保护区的植物丰富度和多样性；（ii）评估植物组成的相似性和互补性。数据是从沿着1000 - 1500米样带每隔100米设置的嵌套样方中收集的（树木样方为20×20米，灌木样方为10×10米，草本攀缘植物、草本植物和草类样方为5×5米）。确定了每个中央森林保护区的物种丰富度、多样性和均匀度。由于仅记录了植物物种的存在/不存在数据，因此计算了二元相似系数。共记录了76科的417种植物，占乌干达已知维管植物的8.7%。中央森林保护区的香农 - 维纳多样性指数差异显著，从卡诺中央森林保护区的4.2到布卢卢山中央森林保护区的4.47（t = 85.291，自由度 = 4，p = 0.00）。中央森林保护区分为两组，即奥纽鲁特和奥杰拉山以及阿库尔、卡诺、布卢卢山和莫罗托山。最低相似指数出现在奥杰拉山和莫罗托山中央森林保护区之间（0.37或37%），而最高相似指数出现在阿库尔和卡诺中央森林保护区之间（0.63或63%）。中央森林保护区通过支持其他地方未记录的植物物种相互补充，其中三个中央森林保护区（布卢卢山、莫罗托山和奥纽鲁特）占植物分类群的81.53%。乌干达东北部的中央森林保护区拥有丰富度和植物多样性，有多达8.7%的乌干达已知植物。这些物种的保护状况为易危（4种）、近危（4种）、无危（137种）、数据缺乏（1种）和未评估（271种）。这两个相似性聚类描绘了海拔、距离和气候条件的差异。需要五个中央森林保护区来保护所记录物种的95%。因此，所调查的中央森林保护区在保护乌干达东北部的植物多样性方面发挥了互补作用。
