Topography and soil variables drive the plant community distribution pattern and species richness in the Arjo-Diga forest in western Ethiopia.

ABSTRACT: Understanding plant community characteristics, distributions, and environmental relationships is crucial for sustainable forest management. Thus, this study examined the relationships between plant community composition and topographic and soil variables within the Arjo-Diga forest. Vegetation data were collected from 72 nested plots (30 × 30 m2 and 2 × 2 m2) systematically laid along nine transects spaced 300 to 700 m apart. Environmental variables, including soil properties and anthropogenic disturbance, were recorded within each main plot. Agglomerative hierarchical cluster analysis and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) using R software were employed to identify distinct plant community types and examine their relationships with environmental factors. The Shannon‒Wiener diversity

SUBMITTER: Berihun Tenaw T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11302921 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature