INDIGENOUS FODDER TREE SPECIES COMPOSITION, BIOMASS YIELD AND SOCIOECONOMIC CONTRIBUTION IN SIDAMA RIGIONAL STATE, ETHIOPIA

Background. Fodder trees are integral components of agroforestry system in the tropics. Indigenous fodder trees (IFT) are grown in Sidama, Ethiopia, for different purposes. However, their composition, biomass yield and socioeconomic importance are inadequately studied. Objective.  To assess species composition, biomass yield and socioeconomic contribution of IFT. Methodology. Three districts and 9 kebeles were purposively selected, from which 273 households were randomly selected for household survey. Sixty households were randomly selected for inventory within nested quadrats of 20 x 20 m. Semi-structured questionnaires and 36 key informants were used to collect primary data. Results. Twenty-eight IFT species belonging to 26 genera and 24 families were identified in three agroecologies. Species richness in lowland (11.08) was higher than in highland (9.6) and midland (7.7) (p < 0.001). Similarly, lowland (1.5) was more diverse than midland (1.2) and highland (0.8) (p < 0.001). Arundinaria alpine, Hygenia abyssinica and Erythrina brucei were dominant IFT, altogether accounted for 72.35% of the total basal area. In midland, Cordia africana, Ficus sur, Dracaena steudneri and Melleitia ferruginea were dominant species, and Acacia albida, A. tortolis, Balanites aegyptiaca and C. africana were dominant in lowland, altogether accounting for 56.1 and 76.72% of the total basal area, respectively. E. brucei, Dracaena steudneri and C. africana had the highest biomass yield in highland, midland and lowland, respectively (p < 0.05). Farmers with large land sizes, small family sizes, practicing agroforestry, and having awareness and interest in fodder trees had significantly affected the decision to have IFT. In addition to fodder supply, IFT contributes to soil fertility improvement, income sources, and timber production. Implication. The current findings indicated that the dominant fodder tree species with the highest biomass yield can be an alternative source of fodder and used for enhancing the livelihood of farmers in the study area. Conclusion. The most abundant and highly dominant species in the three agroecologies contributed to higher biomass yield and can be a potential feed source.