Thesis Assessment of Gullele Botanic Gardens
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THESIS ASSESSMENT OF GULLELE BOTANIC GARDENS CONSERVATION STRATEGY IN ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA RESEARCH FROM THE PEACE CORPS MASTERS INTERNATIONAL PROGAM Submitted by Carl M. Reeder Department of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the Degree of Master of Science Colorado State University Fort Collins, Colorado Fall 2013 Master’s Committee: Advisor: Melinda Laituri Paul Evangelista Jessica Davis Robert Sturtevant Copyright by Carl M. Reeder 2013 All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT ASSESSMENT OF GULLELE BOTANIC GARDENS CONSERVATION STRATEGY IN ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA RESEARCH FROM THE PEACE CORPS MASTERS INTERNATIONAL PROGAM Monitoring of current and future conditions is critical for a conservation area to quantify results and remain competitive against alternative land uses. This study aims to monitor and evaluate the objectives of the Gullele Botanic Gardens (GBG) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The following report advances the understanding of existing understory and tree species in GBG and aims to uncover various attributes of the conservation forest. To provide a baseline dataset for future research and management practices, this report focused on species composition and carbon stock analysis of the area. Species-specific allometric equations to estimate above-ground biomass for Juniperus procera and Eucalyptus globulus are applied in this study to test the restoration strategy and strength of applied allometry to estimate carbon stock of the conservation area. The equations and carbon stock of the forest were evaluated with the following hypothesis: Removal of E. globulus of greater than 35cm DBH would impact the carbon storage (Mg ha-1) significantly as compared to the overall estimate. Conservative estimates found E. globulus accounted for 68% of the total carbon. Results of both the carbon stock and species composition analyses were used to delineate forest stands with a Geographic Information System. Ultimately, the strategy of GBG to restore native stand structure and understory species to the area will be advanced by the organization of forest stands delineated by this study. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The following research was made possible by the Center for Collaborative Conservation at Colorado State University. Tremendous effort and strategic leverage was applied by my advisors Dr. Paul Evangelista and Dr. Melinda Laituri to secure a position for me in Ethiopia’s Peace Corps Masters’ International program as a geo-spatial technology trainer for both the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority and Gullele Botanic Gardens. This effort is a reminder that enabling people to help others is perhaps the most beneficial use of academic networks. When expertly applied academic research networking will accomplish mutual educational benefits such as this collaborative research. And in teaching me this, my advisors taught me the most important lesson of my graduate studies. I extend sincere appreciation to my committee for their patience and dedication. Melinda Laituri Paul Evangelista Jessica Davis Robert Sturtevant A special thanks to my colleagues at both EWCA and GBG for teaching me far more than I could aspire to return. Specific thanks to my counterpart and brother Birhanu Belay, for his gifts of knowledge and friendship over two years of work together. I wish to recognize the following hard working and knowledgeable field crew members for their assistance on this research: Wondeye Kebede, Soloman Getahun, Ramona Arechiga, Tracy Huruska, Alex Woodward, Jon Schmierer, and Chase Rollings. Thanks to my incredibly patient partner Lauren Kourabas and my parents Michael and Sarah Reeder for their tremendous support. iii PREFACE The following thesis research was developed over the course of three years, two of which were spent in service with the Peace Corps Masters International program (PCMI). As a volunteer and masters’ student at Colorado State University in the PCMI program, I served with both the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority (EWCA) and the Gullele Botanic Garden (GBG) in Addis Ababa Ethiopia. The collaborative projects with these organizations focused on capacity development with geospatial technology to improve the efficacy of natural resources management methods in Ethiopia. The thesis is organized into the following chapters: 1) A literature review on modeling carbon dynamics in forest ecology based on allometric equations. This informed the methods of field collection and data analysis for forest and vascular plant understory inventories in the GBG forest. Native species allometry such as Juniperus procera and the exotic species of Eucalyptus globulus were given preference in this review, due to the management strategy of restoring a native forest in place of exotic E. globulus trees. 2) A technical report of the results of Carbon stock and understory vegetation analysis of GBG. In September and October of 2012 forest attributes including density and species composition were collected in 28 plots and 271 point samples from the 621 hectare forest. Baseline analysis of plot uniqueness and species composition are reported. To examine the strategy of complete type change to a native stand, the carbon stock of E. globulus, as compared to native species assessment of the carbon stock was estimated with species-specific allometric equations identified in chapter 2. The following original hypothesis (A), and subsequent calibrated hypothesis (B), examined the Carbon stock assessment with the goal of identifying the contribution of larger individual trees to the total: iv A) Removing old growth E. globulus of greater than 35cm DBH would impact the carbon storage (Mg ha-1) significantly as compared to the overall estimate. B) Removing larger DBH classes of E. globulus greater than 30cm DBH would impact the carbon storage (Mg ha-1) significantly as compared to the overall estimate. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ......................................................................................................................................................... III PREFACE .................................................................................................................................................................................... IV TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................................................................................... VI LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................................................................... VIII LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................................................................... IX LIST OF EQUATIONS .............................................................................................................................................................. X CHAPTER 1 ................................................................................................................................................................................. 1 FOREST CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT APPLICATIONS FOR BIOMASS ........................................................................... 2 SEQUESTRATION IN FOREST SOILS ........................................................................................................................................ 3 PLANTATION AND CONSERVATION TREE SPECIES IN ETHIOPIA .................................................................................... 14 VEGETATION SAMPLING ....................................................................................................................................................... 19 DISCUSSION ............................................................................................................................................................................ 20 CHAPTER 2 ............................................................................................................................................................................... 22 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................................................................... 22 BACKGROUND ......................................................................................................................................................................... 24 STUDY SITE ............................................................................................................................................................................. 30 Influence of site topography on management ......................................................................................................... 31 MATERIAL AND METHODS ................................................................................................................................................... 34 FOREST INVENTORY RESULTS ............................................................................................................................................. 38 Point cluster results .............................................................................................................................................................. 40 Carbon Stock Estimation ...................................................................................................................................................