Most protected areas in developing countries have been mismanaged due to data gaps that would be used for planning management strategies. Without ecological information, it is difficult to develop and implement effective conservation plans and measure the effectiveness of management interventions. This study was conducted in Chebera Churchura National Park in southwest Ethiopia to determine species diversity, population structure and regeneration status of woody plants across four vegetation types of the park (montane forest, riverine forest, woodland and wooded grassland). Vegetation data were collected in 2021 from a total of 137 quadrates, each measuring 10 × 10 m, allocated proportionally across the four vegetation types. Rarefaction and extrapolation curves were computed to compare richness and diversity indexes across vegetation types. Density, frequency, diameter and height size class distributions, and IVI were used to characterize vegetation structural variables. A total of 76 woody species were recorded across the vegetation types. Species richness varied significantly among the vegetation types in the following order: montane forest (65 species) > woodland (22) > riverine forest (14) > wooded grassland (6). Sorensen’s similarity index among the vegetation types was generally low, ranging from 8.3% (between wooded grassland and montane forest) to 46.7% (between wooded grassland and woodland). The majority of the species in each vegetation type (46%–71%) were found in the lower density ( adults, or seedlings > saplings < adults) in the others. In conclusion, the findings of this study will serve as baseline data against which the effectiveness of conservation interventions and long‐term vegetation monitoring will be evaluated.
Yadeta et al. (Thu,) studied this question.