Soil seed bank study of Hirmi woodland vegetation: Implications for restoration and conservation of natural vegetation, in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia
Soil seed bank (SSB) is an important component in the process of rehabilitating degraded lands by forecasting the future vegetation cover of a given area. The present study was conducted in Hirmidryland vegetation, Tigray, Northern Ethiopia; to investigate the soil seed bank under different land use...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2022-06-01
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| Series: | Trees, Forests and People |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666719322000565 |
| _version_ | 1811244816288186368 |
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| author | Mehari Girmay Tamrat Bekele Ermias Lulekal Sebsebe Demissew |
| author_facet | Mehari Girmay Tamrat Bekele Ermias Lulekal Sebsebe Demissew |
| author_sort | Mehari Girmay |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Soil seed bank (SSB) is an important component in the process of rehabilitating degraded lands by forecasting the future vegetation cover of a given area. The present study was conducted in Hirmidryland vegetation, Tigray, Northern Ethiopia; to investigate the soil seed bank under different land use types in the vegetation ecosystem. A total of 128 soil samples were taken from eight points of four land use types (Shrubland, forest, grassland and bare land) and four soil layers (litter layer, 0–3 cm, 3–6 cm and 6–9 cm depth). Each sample plots measured 15 cm x 15 cm (225cm2). The density, composition and vertical distribution of seedlings were computed. A total of 58 species representing 51 genera and 22 families were recovered from the soil seed bank. Of these, 86.2% of them were herbs. The total density of soil seed banks from all land-use types was 3,116.7seeds/m2. The highest species composition was recorded in the shrubland and the least number of species were recorded in the bare land. Poaceae, Asteraceae, Fabaceae and Lamiaceae were among the plant families with high species composition that accounted for 60.35% of the total. Oplismenus burmannii, Woodfordia uniflora, Rhus retinorrhoea and Pennisetum glaucifolium were among the species with high density. The highest Jaccard's coefficient of similarity was revealed between soil seed bank of forest and shrubland whereas the least similarity was recorded between forest land and bare land. The soil seed bank result from all land use types in the study area showed that the regeneration potential of the woody species were poor. Hence, this study underscores other restoration approaches such as growing seedlings of woody species and plantation, direct seeding in the degraded ecosystem and preventing selective cutting of the matured woody species are recommended. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T14:32:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4c5a27d32d864014a74ea92b6bb51de2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2666-7193 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T14:32:25Z |
| publishDate | 2022-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Trees, Forests and People |
| spelling | doaj.art-4c5a27d32d864014a74ea92b6bb51de22022-12-22T03:29:15ZengElsevierTrees, Forests and People2666-71932022-06-018100249Soil seed bank study of Hirmi woodland vegetation: Implications for restoration and conservation of natural vegetation, in Tigray, Northern EthiopiaMehari Girmay0Tamrat Bekele1Ermias Lulekal2Sebsebe Demissew3Environment and climate change directorate, Ministry of mining Ethiopia, P.O.Box: 486, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Corresponding author.Department of Plant Biology and Biodiversity Management, Addis Ababa University, P.O. Box 3434, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaDepartment of Plant Biology and Biodiversity Management, Addis Ababa University, P.O. Box 3434, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaDepartment of Plant Biology and Biodiversity Management, Addis Ababa University, P.O. Box 3434, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaSoil seed bank (SSB) is an important component in the process of rehabilitating degraded lands by forecasting the future vegetation cover of a given area. The present study was conducted in Hirmidryland vegetation, Tigray, Northern Ethiopia; to investigate the soil seed bank under different land use types in the vegetation ecosystem. A total of 128 soil samples were taken from eight points of four land use types (Shrubland, forest, grassland and bare land) and four soil layers (litter layer, 0–3 cm, 3–6 cm and 6–9 cm depth). Each sample plots measured 15 cm x 15 cm (225cm2). The density, composition and vertical distribution of seedlings were computed. A total of 58 species representing 51 genera and 22 families were recovered from the soil seed bank. Of these, 86.2% of them were herbs. The total density of soil seed banks from all land-use types was 3,116.7seeds/m2. The highest species composition was recorded in the shrubland and the least number of species were recorded in the bare land. Poaceae, Asteraceae, Fabaceae and Lamiaceae were among the plant families with high species composition that accounted for 60.35% of the total. Oplismenus burmannii, Woodfordia uniflora, Rhus retinorrhoea and Pennisetum glaucifolium were among the species with high density. The highest Jaccard's coefficient of similarity was revealed between soil seed bank of forest and shrubland whereas the least similarity was recorded between forest land and bare land. The soil seed bank result from all land use types in the study area showed that the regeneration potential of the woody species were poor. Hence, this study underscores other restoration approaches such as growing seedlings of woody species and plantation, direct seeding in the degraded ecosystem and preventing selective cutting of the matured woody species are recommended.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666719322000565ConservationHirmiLand use typesRegeneration potentialSoil seed bankTigray |
| spellingShingle | Mehari Girmay Tamrat Bekele Ermias Lulekal Sebsebe Demissew Soil seed bank study of Hirmi woodland vegetation: Implications for restoration and conservation of natural vegetation, in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia Trees, Forests and People Conservation Hirmi Land use types Regeneration potential Soil seed bank Tigray |
| title | Soil seed bank study of Hirmi woodland vegetation: Implications for restoration and conservation of natural vegetation, in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia |
| title_full | Soil seed bank study of Hirmi woodland vegetation: Implications for restoration and conservation of natural vegetation, in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia |
| title_fullStr | Soil seed bank study of Hirmi woodland vegetation: Implications for restoration and conservation of natural vegetation, in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Soil seed bank study of Hirmi woodland vegetation: Implications for restoration and conservation of natural vegetation, in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia |
| title_short | Soil seed bank study of Hirmi woodland vegetation: Implications for restoration and conservation of natural vegetation, in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia |
| title_sort | soil seed bank study of hirmi woodland vegetation implications for restoration and conservation of natural vegetation in tigray northern ethiopia |
| topic | Conservation Hirmi Land use types Regeneration potential Soil seed bank Tigray |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666719322000565 |
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