Assessment of the structure, diversity, and composition of woody species of urban forests of Adama city, Central Ethiopia

ABSTRACTThis study assesses the diversity, composition, structure and abundance of urban forests in Adama city, Central Ethiopia to provide baseline information useful for developing a conservation strategy. The urban forest of Adama has an estimated 525,200 trees with a tree cover of 20%. The three most common species are Azadirachta Indica(14.8%), Carica papaya(6.8%), and Acacia abyssinica(5%). The i-Tree Eco model was used to organise output. A total of 214 sample plots were generated directly in the i-Tree Eco application using the random plots’ generator via the Google Maps function. A 0.1acre circular plot was used. A total of 805 trees were sampled across the 214 plots. Among the 86 species encountered in the sample plots, 68 (79%) were introduced and only 18 (21%) were native species. Most introduced trees originated from Asia (22%). The tree diversity calculated using the Shannon Weiner index (H’) was 3.61 and the dominance of Simpson’s value was 0.95. The evenness index of the plots sampled was 0.80. The study indicates the crucial role that urban forests play in maintaining and conserving urban trees and enhancing ecosystem services in urban areas.