Effects of canopy cover and understory environment of tree plantations on richness, density and size of colonizing woody species in southern Ethiopia

To assess the effects of canopy characteristics and associated understory environmental factors of tree plantations on native woody species colonization, we measured canopy closure percent (CCP), leaf area index (LAI), understory air and soil temperatures as well as soil moisture in two broadleaved and two coniferous plantations in southern Ethiopia. The plantation species were Cordia africana (indigenous and broadleaved), Eucalyptus saligna (exotic and broadleaved), Cupressus lusitanica (exotic and coniferous) and Pinus patula (exotic and coniferous). The broadleaved species had significantly lower CCP (P