Plant Community Composition and Structural Pattern Dynamics in Robe-Raya Natural Forest, Southeast Ethiopia

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Due to its fortuitous mix of geography, terrain, and geology, Ethiopia is the home of unique assemblages of rich biodiversity. However, this impressive biological diversity is increasingly threatened by the combined effects of different drivers before they are sufficiently investigated. The present work was carried out in Robe-Raya Natural Forest, located in Southeast Ethiopia, with the intention of examining plant community formation and structural dynamics of the forest species. Sixty (20 m × 20 m) quadrats were placed at 100 m distance along eleven east-west directed transect lines systematically. In order to gather juvenile’s data, five subquadrats (2 m × 2 m) were established within the main quadrat, distributed at each corner and middle. In each quadrat, all woody species were recorded and counted; diameter (DBH) and height were measured using tape meter and a hypsometer, respectively, and cover abundance was recorded (in %). Cluster analysis was computed using R-Package to map-out the community types. Species diversity and composition among community types were computed using the Shannon-Wiener index and Sorenson’s coefficient, respectively. Frequency, density, height, DBH, basal area, and IVI were used to analyze structural dynamics. Age-class density ratios were used to examine the regeneration status. Ninety-four woody plant species belonging to 39 families were documented. Asteraceae was the most species-rich family (10 species). The common growth form was shrubs (44.7%) followed by trees (41.5%). Cluster analysis produced four community types. In total, the species diversity and evenness were 3.75 and 0.88, respectively. The forest density and basal area were 1183.3 stems/ha and 57.52 m2·ha−1, respectively. Structural dynamics analyses demonstrated that the forest was composed of, largely, young trees and shrubs and under fair regeneration status. Certain species that have been identified to have low IVI and poor regeneration status should be prioritized for conservation.