Diversity and socio-economic importance of woody plants on the peninsula of Zegie, Northern Ethiopia : implications for their sustainable utilization

The study was carried out in the natural forest of Zegie peninsula on Lake Tana in Amhara Regional State of North-western Ethiopia. The central objective of the study was to investigate the diversity of woody species, their socio-economic importance and the implications for sustainable conservation and utilization. Zegie is one of the remnant dry upland forests of the northwestern Ethiopia. The field study was carried out from January to March 2001. For the vegetation census, transects were used following eight aspects, N NE E SE S SW W NW. The vegetation was sampled in 20 m by 20 m quadrates. The total number of quadrates used were 132 (5.28 ha) i.3., 4% of the total area. All woody species which had attained >2.5 cm dbh were measured and recorded. For the socio-economic survey an appropriate questionnaire was developed and used. From the two peasant associations (PAs) of the peninsula, 60 sample households (30 from each PA) were randomly selected and the household members interviewed. Group discussions were also made with relevant stakeholders and key informants.Woody species outside the quadrates were recorded to make a complete checklist of the woody species of the area. A total of 113 woody species were recorded from the peninsula. Out of these, 87 woody species with a total of 3318 individuals in 72 genera and 38 families were encountered in the study quadrates. Nine of the woody species were cultivated plants with Coffee arabica as in the most abundant. The five dominant species in the area are coffea arabica, Justicia schimperiana, Rothmannia urcelliformis, Millettia ferruginea and Ehretia cymosa. Though, individual species show different trends in regeneration, the over all population structure of woody species revealed two patterns i.e. typical J-curve shape structure. This indicates that the forest has good regeneration and recruitment capacity. The study also found out that although the woody plants are dominated by a few species and the forest has been heavily exploited by the local community, mainly for income from selling of fuel wood, the forest still has a rich diversity in woody species. But some of the species are under threat. Recommendations regarding sustainable conservation and utilization of this remnant forest are forwarded.