Floristic Composition And Carbon Stock Potential Of Woody Species Of Wetate Forest,Toke Kutaye District, West Shewa Zone, Oromia, Ethiopia

Abstract

Forests sequester and store more carbon than any other terrestrial ecosystem and are an important natural „brake‟ on climate change. This study was conducted in wetate Forest, with the objective to investigate the floristic composition and carbon stock potential of woody species in the area. Data were collected from the field by measuring plants with a DBH and the carbon stocks of each plant was analyzed. A systematic sampling method was used to conduct the woody species sampling. In order to collect woody species data, a total of 36 quadrants, each with the size of 20 m x 20 m at an interval of 200 m were laid along the established transects at 400 m apart. Woody Species Diversity analysis was carried out by using Shannon Weiner diversity index and Carbon stock was estimated by using non destructive allometric equations. A total of 42 woody species representing 37 genera and 36 families were recorded in the forest, which the mean Shannon Weiner diversity index (H ) and evenness were resulted to be 2.0 and 0.76, respectively . The total basal area of the woody forest was 1285.2 m2 /ha and regeneration status wetate forest was good . The total carbon stock of wetate Forest was found by summing up all the carbon values of all pools that means above ground, below ground carbon, litter carbon and soil organic carbon for all sample plots of the study area was 1255.55ton/ha, From this AGC (587.1), BGC (117.42), SOC (546.6), and CL(4.19) t/ha Respectively.. The other findings of the study was carbon vareition per trees that Hagenia abyssinica (bruce) i.f. gmel species was store the highest carbon AGC (3.89 t/ha) and BGC (0.389t/ha)while,the lowest carbon storage was recorded from Pittosporum viridiflorum Sims AGC( (0.2447 ton/ha) , BGC (0.02447 t/ha) ) among 26 tree species studied. In the present study, the largest carbon stock was contributed by the soil carbon pool, which accounted (an average) 182.2 t/ha from the four carbon pools and the second was the above ground carbon pool which accounted for 16.3 t/ha .The third was recorded in below ground carbon which accounted for 3.3 t/ha and The least carbon pool was in the litter, Which was 1.4 t/ha. The mean carbon stock above and below graund of Wetate forest was found to be 19.6 ton/ha which is ranged about 3.12 to 70.56 ton/ha of which 16.3 ton/ha and 3.3 ,ton/ha of comprised by AGC and BGC respectively. There was high human interference observed in the study site such as deforestation, overgrazing and farming as well, so the regional government should have to give attention and creating awareness to the local people regarding with forest management and sustainable use of natural resources.