Plant Diversity in Western Ethiopia : Ecology, Ethnobotany and Conservation

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to investigate the ecology and ethnobotany of vegetation in Benishangul Gumuz Regional State (BGRS), western Ethiopia. The studies reported in this thesis have confirmed the existence of 1102 vascular plant species in BGRS. The region has, therefore, comparable vascular plant diversity to other floristic regions in Ethiopia. The study, which was carried out using classification and ordination techniques, revealed the existence of five plant comminutes and enabled to identify environmental variables that are structuring the plant composition. These plant communities could be used in conservation planning in BGRS. Potential threats to the vegetation were identified and found to increase with altitude. The study on Tgetes patula has revealed that the species has several characters that might facilitate invasiveness and may be considered as a threat to the natural landscapes in the absence of woodland fire to which the vegetation in the region is adapted. The result of the ethnobotanical study revealed that the people in BGRS and Kafa depend on diverse plant species which are mainly collected from wild population (ca. 70%). Over harvesting of wild plants that give immediate economic return, may increase the burden on wild plant populations. Such findings give hints for prioritization of plant species for in-situ and ex-situ conservation. In conclusion, this thesis has improved to the understanding of the imperfectly known vegetation in BGRS and medicinal plants used by Kafficho people.