Floristic Composition of Wetland Plants and Ethnomedicinal Plants of Wonchi District, South Western Shewa, Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia By: Getu Dida Abdo Addis Ababa University Addis Ababa, Ethiop May, 2017 Floristic Composition of Wetland Plants and Ethnomedicinal Plants of Wonchi District, South Western Shewa, Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia By: Getu Dida Abdo A Thesis submitted to The Department of Plant Biology and Biodiversity Management Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Plant Biology and Biodiversity Management Addis Ababa University Addis Ababa, Ethiopia May, 2017 ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY GRADUATE PROGRAMMES This is to certify that the Thesis prepared by Getu Dida Abdo, entitled: Floristic Composition of Wetland Plants and Ethnomedicinal Plants of Wonchi District, South Western Shewa, Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia and Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Plant Biology and Biodiversity Management complies with the regulations of the University and meets the accepted standards with respect to originality and quality. Signed by Examining Board: Name Signature Date 1. _______________________ (Examiner) ________________ _________________ 2. _______________________ (Examiner) ________________ _________________ 3. Dr. Bikila Warkineh (Advisor) _________________ _________________ 4. Prof. Sebsebe Demissew (Advisor )_________________ _________________ 5. Dr. Ermias Lulekal (Advisor ) ________________ _________________ 6. Dr. Tigist Wondimu (Chairman) _________________ __________________ Abstract Floristic Composition of Wetland Plants and Ethnomedicinal Plants of Wonchi District, South Western Shewa, Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia Getu Dida Abdo, MSc Thesis Addis Ababa University, May, 2017 Wetland ecosystems are one of the most productive ecosystems in the world and also are areas of high biodiversity. The study was undertaken to investigate the floristic composition of Wonchi Wetlands and traditional medicinal uses of plants in Wonchi District. For floristic data collection from plots of size 2 mx2 m (4 m2) were laid for estimation of cover abundance. Various techniques including semi-structured interview, group discussion and guided field walk were applied. These values were analyzed by using R software version 3.2.2. 50 plant species representing 45 genera and 23 families were recorded and all of them were herbaceous species. The family Asteraceae with 13 species was the dominant plant family followed by poaceae 9 species. Four community types were identified and these included Schoenoplectus corymbosus - Hygrophila auriculata community type, Persicaria setosula-Typha latifolia, Oenanthe palustris-Mentha aquatica and Alchemilla pedata- Sphaeranthus suaveolens. Sixty-eight (68) plant species distributed in 62 genera and 34 families were reported for their medicinal values. The most commonly used plant families were Lamiaceae represented by the highest number of species (9, 13.23%) followed by Asteraceae (8, 11.76%). Of the 68 medicinal plant species identified (48, 70.6%) were reported for used against human ailments, (14, 20.62%) were reported to treat livestock ailments and (6, 8.8%) to treat both human and livestock ailments. Herbs were most frequently reported (37, 53.7%) species followed by shrubs (17, 25.4%) and trees were (12, 17.9%) species. The most utilized plant parts were leaves (45, 66%) followed by roots (12, 17.64%). Oral route was the dominant route of administering herbal preparations (38, 55.9%) followed by dermal (20, 29.4%), nasal (8, 11.8%) and optical (2, 3%). The most important factors influencing the plant species composition of wetland plants are anthropogenic impacts followed by high population density of the district. Therefore, special attention should be given in the future management and conservation for sustainable use of wetland resources as well as medicinal plants of the study area. Key Words: Ethnobotany, Wonchi, Wetland, Medicinal plants iii Acknowledgements Above all I would like to thank the Almighty God for his support in all directions I Would like to pass heartfelt thanks to my Supervisors Dr. Bikila Warkineh, Prof. Sebsebe Demissew and Dr. Ermias Lulekal for their advice, guidance, valuable suggestions, and assistance they offered me beginning from proposal development to thesis writing throughout the time of research. My heartfelt gratitude goes to Oromia Agricultural Research Institute for sponsoring me to carryout this MSc study, I also acknowledge CAPSNAC Project for their financial support during my study thesis period. The Ethiopian National Meteorological Agency is also deeply acknowledged for delivering climate data of the study area I Would like to thank Wonchi District Administration, farmers and traditional healers for their collaboration to participate to answer my question. I want to convey a heartfelt thanks to my families, wife Asefu Gure and brother Melese Dida for their wonderful support at all aspects of this work, my gratitude goes to my friends Admassu Addi, Tura Bareke, Obsa Chimdessa, Getachew Abebe and Getachew Haile for helping me in technical support during this work. I Would like to thank AAU and Department of Plant Biology and Biodiversity Management, for delivering logistic and materials for field activities. The National Herbarium (ETH.) staff acknowledged for materials and technical support during identification iv Table of Contents List of Figure ............................................................................................................................................... ix List of Tables ................................................................................................................................................ x List of Appendices ....................................................................................................................................... xi Acronyms .................................................................................................................................................... xii CHAPTER ONE ........................................................................................................................................... 1 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background of the study ......................................................................................................................... 1 1.2. Research questions and objectives ......................................................................................................... 5 1.2.1. Research Questions ..................................................................................................................... 5 1.2.2. Objectives of the study ................................................................................................................ 6 1.2.2.1 General objective .............................................................................................................................. 6 1.2.2.2 Specific objectives ............................................................................................................................ 6 CHAPTER TWO .......................................................................................................................................... 7 2. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE ................................................................................................ 7 2.1. Ethiopian vegetation .............................................................................................................................. 7 2.2 Wetland vegetation ................................................................................................................................. 8 2.3 Types of Wetlands .................................................................................................................................. 8 2.4 Importance of Wetland ......................................................................................................................... 10 2.4.1. Hydrological functions .............................................................................................................. 10 2.4.2. Wetland resources ..................................................................................................................... 10 2.5. Challenges of Ethiopian wetlands ........................................................................................................ 11 v 2.7 Ethnobotany .......................................................................................................................................... 13 2.8. The Contribution of Ethnobotany to Research .................................................................................... 14 2.9. The Contribution of Indigenous Knowledge (IK) to Ethno medicine ................................................. 15 2.10. Origin and Development of Traditional Medicine ............................................................................. 15 2.11. Indigenous knowledge ....................................................................................................................... 16 2.12. Medicinal plants and Ethno medicine in Ethiopia ............................................................................. 17 2.13. Threats of Traditional Medicinal Plants