Examining the Impacts of Plantation Forests on Human and Plant Communities in the Ethiopian Highlands

Abstract

Home to 88 million people, the Ethiopian mountains are a highly heterogeneous landscape. The Afroalpine ecosystem is found above 3000 masl and is characterized by high levels of species diversity, rarity, and endemism. The objective of this article is to investigate impacts of plantation forests on both the human and plant communities of the Afroalpine zone. We use a case study of a community-based conservation area in the north central highlands, Guassa Community Conservation Area (Guassa), where plantation forests have been established since the 1970s. The study area covers about 78 km2 ranging between 2600 and 3700 masl and largely belongs to the Afroalpine zone. We interviewed 100 residents of the 4 administrative regions closest to Guassa and conducted vegetation sampling of 70 quadrats along 2 transect lines. We found a roughly equal number of ecosystem services between native grassland and plantation forest. However, respondents reported 7 unique ecosystem services from the native grassland and only 3 unique ecosystem services from the plantation forest. Both native grassland and plantation areas were valued for their perceived ability to attract rain and provide habitat for wild animals. We recorded a total of 87 species belonging to 63 genera and 31 plant families across both vegetation types surveyed and a total of 19 endemic species. Of the plant families, Asteraceae had the highest species number. Although plantation forests support less diverse plant communities and provide fewer unique ecosystem services to human communities compared to native Afroalpine vegetation, they are still a valuable piece of the landscape mosaic.