PLANT COMMUNITY ANALYSIS AND ECOLOGY OF AFROMONTANE AND TRANSITIONAL RAINFOREST VEGETATION OF SOUTHWESTERN ETHIOPIA

Abstract

The plant communities of the forests of southwestern Ethiopia were described based on floristic analysis of the data collected between February 1995 and May 1996. Floristic analysis is based on the cover-abundance values of both woody and herbaceous species. Plant community-environment relationship was assessed based on topog-raphic and some soil physical and chemical characteristics. A total of 101 relevés were analysed at altitudes between 1050 and 2550 m a.s.l. (metres above sea level), and a total of 139 species of vascular plants were identified. Nine plant community types were described. Most of these show significant variations for most of the environmental parameters studied. The species in the forest were phytogeographically related to the Afromontane, Guineo-Congolean or Guineo-Congolean linking species.