Revista de ecosistemas y ecografía

Abstracto

Diversity, Population Structure and Regeneration Status of Indigenous Woody Species in and Around Agoro-Agu Central Forest Reserve, Uganda

Peter B. Olanya

Wooded ecosystems provide a range of goods and services to humankind especially to local rural communities in particular. The extraction of these resources raises concerns in relation to the ecological impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem processes. This study assessed the diversity, population structure and regeneration status of the indigenous woody species in and around the Agoro-Agu Central Forest Reserve. A systematic transect sampling technique was used in the study. A total of 216 quadrats of 20 x 20 m were sampled; 108 in the forest; and the remaining 108 were sampled in the farmlands. The study recorded a total of 93 woody species in 62 genera and 31 families both in the Forest Reserve and Farmland. The diversity index (Shannon-Wiener Diversity Index H′) was significantly higher in the farmland (3.2) than in the forest reserve (3.0) (P<0.05). Overall, the farmland had more dense (4,084.03m²/ha) woody species compared to the forest reserve (3,953.70 m²/ha). The ecologically most important species in the forest were Terminalia brownii (IVI = 50.8) followed by Combretum molle (IVI = 50.1). Terminalia brownii and Acacia hockii were ecologically more dominant in the farmland with IVIs of 48.3 and 31.7, respectively. The overall population structure of the species encountered in the forest and farmland reflects an inverse J-shape, indicating good and stable regeneration.