An ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants in Mana Angetu District, South Eastern Ethiopia

This study documents indigenous medicinal plant utilization, management and the threats affecting them. The study was carried out in Mana Angetu district between January 2003 and December 2004. Ethnobotanical data were collected using semi structured interviews, field observations, preference and direct matrix ranking with traditional medicine practitioners. The ethnomedicinal use of 230 plant species was documented in the study area. Most of the plants (78.7%) were reportedly used to treat human diseases. The most frequently used plant part were roots (33.9%), followed by leaves (25.6%). Most of the medicinal species (90.4%) were collected from the wild. Direct matrix analysis showed that Olea europaea L. Subsp. cuspidata (Wall. ex G. Don) was the most important species followed by Acacia tortilis (Forssk.) Hayne (120) indicating high utility value of these species for the local community. The principal threatening factors reported were deforestation (90%), agricultural expansion (85%) and fire (53%). Documenting the eroding plants and associated indigenous knowledge can be used as a basis for developing management plans for conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plants in the area

PRELIMINARY BASELINE SURVEY OF AVIFAUNAL DIVERSITY IN JIMMA ZONE, SOUTH-WESTERN ETHIOPIA

Multidimensional poverty, which is deeply-rooted within least-developed African countries like Ethiopia, is forcing local people to heavily rely on natural resources for their subsistent livelihoods. As a result, remaining wilderness areas in tropical Africa which support huge but little known biological diversity, are subject to extensive habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation in turn causing loss of plant and animal species and ecosystem services provided by them. Coffee forest fragment within the Jimma Zone of Ethiopia cannot be expected to be an exception to such scenario. Taking this persistent problem into consideration, we carried out a preliminary survey of bird biodiversity in selected areas of Jimma Zone during a short term bird ringing training held from Sept. 30 to Oct. 20, 2008. The main objective of the survey was to identify and document bird species of Jimma Zone, Southwestern Ethiopia, for further in-debth ornithological studies. Survey data were collected through exhaustive observations in and around 10 coffee forest fragments in Garuke, one fragment in Eladale, one urban area site in Jimma town and in scrubland vegetation around Gilgel Ghibe hydropower reservoir, Jimma Zone, Southwestern Ethiopia. In addition, five mist-nets were employed to capture understory forest birds in two purposively selected coffee forest fragments. Mist nets were opened at 5:50 A.M. and checked every 30 minutes until they were closed at 12:00 A.M. Over 196 bird species were identified during this survey and of these, 41 individuals belonging to 20 species were captured in Garuke and 23 individuals of 9 bird species in Eladale. Montane white-eye (Zosterops poliogastrus) followed by Olive sunbird (Nectarinia olivacea), Abyssinian slaty-flycatcher (Melaenornis chocolatinus) and Rupell’s robinchat (Cossypha semirufa) were the most frequently captured bird species. Of the sites surveyed, Gilgel Ghibe hydropower reservoir had strikingly highest bird species diversity. We approached the reservoir almost in a constant site near Bulbul Kebele (the smallest administrative unit in Ethiopia) and recorded over 115 bird species within about 300 meters distance! We learnt that this area was an important and most appropriate site to see a number of migrant and resident species as well as to undertake future bird ringing activities. We believe that the result of this survey will contribute much for the preparation of a comprehensive bird species checklist for Jimma Zone that could serve as important baseline information for more focused future ornithological investigations in the area so as to promote bird conservation through ecotourism activities and improve the livelihood of local people

Floristic composition and structure of the dry Afromontane forest at Bale Mountains National Park, Ethiopia

The floristic composition and structure of the Dry Afromontane Forest at Bale Mountains National Park was studied from July 2003 to June 2004. A total of 90 plots were established at three sites (Adelle, Boditi and Gaysay) at an altitudinal range of 3010–3410 m. The cover abundance values, density, and diameter at breast height and list of species were recorded in each plot. About 230 species belonging to 157 genera and 58 families were identified and documented. Analysis of vegetation data revealed 5 homogenous clusters. The densities of trees in the diameter class >2 cm were 766 and 458 individuals ha-1in Adelle and Boditi forests, respectively. The basal areas were about 26 and 23 m2ha-1 in Adelle and Boditi forests, respectively. About 43% of the basal area in Adelle and 57 in Boditi forests were contributed by Juniperus procera and Hagenia abyssinica, respectively. Both Adelle and Boditi forests were found at an earlier secondary stage of development and had, more or less, a similar trend of development. The population structures of tree species were assessed and these had clearly signalled the occurrence of excessive cutting of selected diameter classes of ecologically, economically and medically important tree species for various purposes, particularly for construction

Ethnomedicinal plant knowledge and practice of the Oromo ethnic group in southwestern Ethiopia

An ethnomedicinal study was conducted to document the indigenous medicinal plant knowledge and use by traditional healers in southwestern Ethiopia from December 2005 to November 2006. Data were collected from 45 randomly selected traditional healers using semi-structured interviews and observations. Sixty-seven ethnomedicinal plant species used by traditional healers to manage 51 different human ailments were identified and documented. Healers' indigenous knowledge was positively correlated with their reported age but not with their educational level. High degree of consensus was observed among traditional healers in treating tumor (locally known as Tanacha), rabies (Dhukuba Seree) and insect bite (Hadhaa). The use of more than one species was significantly cited for remedy preparations. The reported abundance of the ethnomedicinal plant species varied significantly with respect to the presence of multiple uses of the reported species. Our results showed that ethnomedicinal plant species used by healers are under serious threat due to several factors, which indicates the need for urgent attention towards their conservation and sustainable utilization

Traditional medicinal plant knowledge and use by local healers in Sekoru District, Jimma Zone, Southwestern Ethiopia

The knowledge and use of medicinal plant species by traditional healers was investigated in Sekoru District, Jimma Zone, Southwestern Ethiopia from December 2005 to November 2006. Traditional healers of the study area were selected randomly and interviewed with the help of translators to gather information on the knowledge and use of medicinal plants used as a remedy for human ailments in the study area. In the current study, it was reported that 27 plant species belonging to 27 genera and 18 families were commonly used to treat various human ailments. Most of these species (85.71%) were wild and harvested mainly for their leaves (64.52%). The most cited ethnomedicinal plant species was Alysicarpus quartinianus A. Rich., whose roots and leaves were reported by traditional healers to be crushed in fresh and applied as a lotion on the lesions of patients of Abiato (Shererit). No significant correlation was observed between the age of traditional healers and the number of species reported and the indigenous knowledge transfer was found to be similar. More than one medicinal plant species were used more frequently than the use of a single species for remedy preparations. Plant parts used for remedy preparations showed significant difference with medicinal plant species abundance in the study area

An ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants in Mana Angetu District, southeastern Ethiopia

Abstract This study documents indigenous medicinal plant utilization, management and the threats affecting them. The study was carried out in Mana Angetu district between January 2003 and December 2004. Ethnobotanical data were collected using semi structured interviews, field observations, preference and direct matrix ranking with traditional medicine practitioners. The ethnomedicinal use of 230 plant species was documented in the study area. Most of the plants (78.7%) were reportedly used to treat human diseases. The most frequently used plant part were roots (33.9%), followed by leaves (25.6%). Most of the medicinal species (90.4%) were collected from the wild. Direct matrix analysis showed that Olea europaea L. Subsp. cuspidata (Wall. ex G. Don) was the most important species followed by Acacia tortilis (Forssk.) Hayne (120) indicating high utility value of these species for the local community. The principal threatening factors reported were deforestation (90%), agricultural expansion (85%) and fire (53%). Documenting the eroding plants and associated indigenous knowledge can be used as a basis for developing management plans for conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plants in the area.</p

Plants used in traditional management of human ailments at Bale Mountains National Park, South Eastern Ethiopia

Though the majority of people in Ethiopia at large, and at Bale Mountains National Park in particular, rely on ethnomedicinal plant species to manage human ailments, the indigenous knowledge largely remains undocumented. Therefore, an ethnobotanical study was conducted on medicinal plant species used to manage human ailments at Bale Mountains National Park, Southeastern Ethiopia. Observations and semi-structured interviews were used to gather ethnobotanical data. Altogether, 56 ailments were reported to be managed using 101 different ethnomedicinal plant species. Consensus of traditional healers was high in managing eczema (ICF = 0.58), tinea versicolor (ICF = 0.50), rheumatism (ICF = 0.43), haemorrhoids (ICF = 0.33), earache (ICF = 0.33) and gonorrhoea (ICF = 0.27). The mean number of plant species used by each healer showed significant difference with district. Most medicinal plant species reported in this study were found to be under threat and this calls for urgent conservation measures so as to maximize the sustainable use of these vital resources in the study area