Assessment of Usage Diversity of Agroforestry Tree Species in Hadiya Zone, Southern Ethiopia

Abstract

Diversification of products and services from agroforestry trees of Ethiopia becomeimportant for sustainable farming systems. This study was conducted with the aim to investigate usagediversity of tree species. At farm level different tree species were counted, listedand recoded. The DBH of all trees and shrubs ≥5cm was measured. The average basal area per farm was 11 m2 (12 m2 per ha), with a range between 0.74 –59 m2 per farm (2.3–35.8 m2 per ha).Sixteen different usage typeswere identified, of which fuel wood holds the largest percent followed by both pole and medicinal use.Different 65 species of trees were recordedin terms of the mean important Value Index (IVI), of which Eucalyptus species ranked first (57), followed by Cordiaafricana (50.4), Croton macrostachyus (33),Erythrinaabyssinica (31.4), and Cupressuslusitanica (19). The IVI of these five species accounted for more than 30% of the total IVI. Usage diversity is well recognized in the study area but further studies of trees and use diversity in relation to soil fertility in particular and environmental Management in general seems important.