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Ethiopian Journal of Biodiversity - EthJBD
Vol 3 - No 1
Ethiopia is one of the most important centers of biodiversity that include high forests, woodlands, bushlands, plantations and trees outside forests. The diversity in these resources is threatened because of mismanagement and environmental degradation which have caused selective and total loss of genetic diversity. Understanding the variation among provenances and progenies during cultivation is essential in tree improvement programmes. Effect of provenance on seed germination and seedling vigor of Balanites aegyptiaca, Ficus sur, Terminalia brownii, Tamarindus indica and Acacia abyssinica were evaluated at Arba Minch Agricultural Research Center nursery by using Complete Randomized Design. Provenances were considered as treatments for all studied tree species. Data on germination rate, root collar diameter, leaf number, shoot height, fresh biomass and dry biomass weight were collected and analyzed by using ANOVA while Least Significance Difference (LSD) was employed for mean separation. In terms of seedling vigor, significant difference was not observed among provenances for T. brownii. Except shoot length, the same holds true for seedling vigor of F. sur. For T. indica and A. abyssinica, all studied parameters, except root collar diameter, showed significant variation among the provenances. Shoot length and leaf number significantly varied among provenance of B. aegyptiaca seedlings. Significantly higher A. abyssinica and T. indica seedling vigor was measured for Gununo and Arba Minch provenances, respectively. The present study concluded that the best seed source for B. aegyptiaca, F. sur and T. indica is Arba Minch area. Similarly, Gununo and Gofa provenances were identified as the best seed sources for A. abyssinica and T. brownii respectively.
Keywords: Biomass, Provenance, Seed germination, Seedling vigor.
This study was conducted in Lephis Forest field gene bank in West Arsi Zone, Southeastern Ethiopia. The study aimed to estimate stand structure, floristic composition and regeneration status. Systematic sampling method was used to collect vegetation data. Thirty plots of 20 m x 20 m (400 m2) for trees, 120 subplots of 5 m x 5 m (25 m2) for saplings and 30 subplots (2 m x2 m) for seedlings were laid. Specimens of all vascular plants were collected and brought to Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute for identification. A total of 63 woody species belonging 37 genera and 30 families were recorded. Rubiaceae was the most dominant family. The other dominant families were Asteraceae, Rutaceae, Mrysinaceae, Rosaceae and Oleaceae, each represented by two species (5.4%). Four plant communities were identified. The Shannon diversity and evenness indexes for the entire study area were 3.11 and 0.85 respectively. The total basal area of the forest was 174.58 m2/ha. Density of mature trees, seedling and sapling were 1097, 2061 and 848 individuals per hectare respectively. The population structure and regeneration status of the forest indicated that there are anthropogenic disturbances in the forest. In the regeneration assessment, plants with few numbers of seedlings were found in the forest. Therefore, immediate conservation actions and implementation of forest management are required to facilitate healthy regeneration of the forest.
Keywords: Basal area, Diversity, Important value index, Sapling, Seedling, Species richness
Knowledge on distribution and habitat use overlap with livestock in time and space is crucial for planning the conservation of Grevy’s zebra. The objective of this study was to determine the temporal and spatial distributions of Grevy’s zebra and of livestock with reference to habitat use overlap in Hallaydeghe Asebot Proposed National Park. Habitat use overlap map was determined by projecting the Grevy’s zebra and livestock GPS points in ArcGIS. One-way ANOVA was applied to test seasonal variation in mean abundances of livestock and Grevy’s zebra. Habitat use similarity between livestock and Grevy’s zebra was computed by S18 Kulczynski, and Pearson correlation coefficient was used to examine the degree of similarity in their habitat use. The habitat use overlap area covered an area of 110 square kilometers in the wet season and 272 square kilometers in the dry season. Results showed that the mean abundance of livestock in dry and wet season was 2.4 ± 0.1 and 3.1 ± 0.1, respectively. The mean abundance of Gravy’s zebra in dry and wet season was 0.6 ± 0.1 and 0.2 ± 0.2 respectively. Degree of habitat use similarity between Grevy’s zebra and livestock was 50.53% in dry, and 50.32% in wet season. Pearson correlation coefficient result showed that the degree of habitat use similarity between livestock and Grevy’s zebra was r = 0.232 in the dry season and r = 0.243 during the wet season. This study concluded that there was habitat use overlap between livestock and Grevy’s zebra in Hallaydeghe Asebot Proposed National Park in time and space.
Keywords: Equus grevyi, Habitat use overlap, Livestock.
Published literatures were used to review the impact of the Boer goat crossbreeding programs on performances of the indigenous goats in Ethiopia. Growth, reproduction, production and adaptability performances were assessed. The overall growth rate of the Boer goats and their crosses in Ethiopia was generally low as compared to their native areas. Boer kids had better birth weight (3.05–3.50 kg) than their crosses (2.39–3.00 kg) however, this dominancy was not observed at the later ages. The maximum reported litter size at birth for the Boer (1.76) and Central Highland goats (1.75) was comparable while the value of their crosses was lower. Extremely low conception (37.64%), low kidding (21.94%) and high abortion (15.01%) of the Boer were reported while the performance of local goats for conception, kidding and abortion was 54.38%, 47.50%, and 5.62% respectively. Their crosses performed better in conception (73.86%), kidding (60.23%) and abortion (9.09%). Meat production and carcass characteristics of local goats were better than the Boer crosses on poor nutrition, while Boer crosses outstand as the level of supplementation increases. Survival of Boer and the crossbreeds was quite low and below expected, which indicated their sub-optimal adaptability to Ethiopian environment. Therefore, unless it is practiced in a high intensive farming where the health management and supplementation of feeding is appropriate, using Boer goats crossing or replacement cannot help in achieving the required results. At the small holders’ level, achieving stable genetic improvement without harming the diversity (options like within breed selection) need to be considered.
Keywords: Adaptation, Boer, Crossbreeding, Ethiopia, Growth, Reproduction