Aboveground and Soil Seed Bank Woody Flora Comparison in Plantation and Natural Forest, Southern Ethiopia: An Implication for Forest Ecosystem Sustainability

ABSTRACT

Forest restoration depends on the availability of seeds in the soils. Understanding relationships between soil seed banks and aboveground flora is vital for framing strategies to ensure sustainable use of forest ecosystems. Human-induced pressures are threatening the natural forests of Southern Ethiopia. The aim of this study was to compare the relationships between aboveground and soil seed bank flora of the plantation and natural forest, Southern Ethiopia. Thirty-nine 20 m by 20 m quadrats were laid along six transects. Woody species with DBH ≥ 2.5 cm were recorded in each quadrat. Overall, 117 composite soil samples were collected from three soil layers of 1 m × 1 m subplots. The soil seed bank was analyzed using the seedling emergence technique. The findings revealed that the aboveground vegetation was represented by 55 woody species, whereas the soil seed bank flora was represented by 31. The seed abundance, species richness and diversity decreased with increasing soil depth. Sorensen’s similarity between the soil seed bank and aboveground flora was low inferring low restoration potential from the SSB in the natural and plantation forests. Therefore, in-situ conservation measures other than SSB alone should be implemented for sustainable development and use of the forest ecosystem.

KEYWORDS:

• Forest
• flora
• moist afromontane
• regeneration
• soil seed bank
• species

Acknowledgments

The authors are thankful to Arba Minch University for financial support. The authors thank Gerese Woreda Forestry Department staff for their assistance during data collection.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data repository

We confirm that our data file will be uploaded.

D ata a vailability s tatement

The data used are available within the manuscript.

Authors’ contributions

SS project conceptualization, designed the research, analyzed data, manuscript writing administration, and supervision. HA designed and conducted the field research, analyzed data, and drafted the manuscript. SG interpreted the results and helped in data analysis and in the manuscript writing, SHG designed the fieldwork, commented and helped in manuscript writing. All authors read, revised and approved the final manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

The authors are indebted to Arba Minch University for funding this study.