ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE PROGRAM POST­FIRE INFLUENCE ON ERICA SHRUBLAND WITHIN THE AFROALPINE VEGETATION A case study in south of the Bale Mountains National Park, Southeast Ethiopia BY: Mekonnen Getahun A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Environmental Science ADVISORS: Prof. Sebsebe Demissew Dr. Tamrat Bekele Dr. Mennassie Gashaw Dr. Anouska Kinahan June 2009 Addis Ababa Statement of Declaration I hereby solemnly declare that this thesis is written with the help of advisors: Prof. Sebsebe Demissew, Dr. Tamrat Bekele, Dr. Mennassie Gashaw and Dr. Anouska Kinahan. I have used and cited the materials and sources indicated in the reference list. All words, phrases or passages taken from these sources are summarized, para-phrased and/or quoted thoroughly. The thesis is wholly my work and has not been part of any presentation for any other qualification in its present form or similar version. Reported by: Name: Mekonnen Getahun Signature: Date: 29/06/2009 Approved by: Advisors’; Name: Prof. Sebsebe Demissew Signature: Date: 29/06/2009 Name: Dr. Tamrat Bekele Signature: Date: 29/06/2009 Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS........................................................................................................................................... I ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................................................................... III LIST OF ACRONYMS........................................................................................................................................... IV LIST OF TABLES................................................................................................................................................... V LIST OF FIGURES................................................................................................................................................ VI LIST OF ANNEXES ............................................................................................................................................. VII ABSTRACT....................................................................................................................................................... VIII 1. INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................................................................. 1 1.1. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY .....................................................................................................................................1 1.2. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM....................................................................................................................................4 1.3. RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND HYPOTHESIS .....................................................................................................................5 1.4. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY ........................................................................................................................................6 1.4.1. General Objective.......................................................................................................................................6 1.4.2. Specific Objectives......................................................................................................................................6 1.5. SCOPE OF THE STUDY ...............................................................................................................................................7 1.6. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY .....................................................................................................................................7 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ...................................................................................................................................... 8 2.1. DEFINITIONS AND CONCEPTS .....................................................................................................................................8 2.2. HISTORY OF FIRE IN ETHIOPIA, SOUTHEAST REGION........................................................................................................9 2.3. NATURALLY CAUSED VERSUS HUMAN INDUCED FIRE .....................................................................................................12 2.4. FIRE INFLUENCE UNDER VEGETATION DYNAMICS ..........................................................................................................14 2.4.1. Influence of fire on floristic composition ..................................................................................................15 2.4.2. Influence of fire on seed germination and plant regeneration ................................................................17 2.4.3. Influence of fire on soil property and soil nutrient concentration............................................................18 2.5. CONCEPT MAP OF FIRE MANAGEMENT & CONTROL ......................................................................................................21 3. METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................................................25 3.1. DESCRIPTION OF THE STUDY AREA.............................................................................................................................25 3.1.1. The Physical Environment ........................................................................................................................26 3.1.2. Flora .........................................................................................................................................................31 I 3.1.3. Fauna .......................................................................................................................................................31 3.1.3. Socio‐economic conditions .......................................................................................................................32 3.2. SITE SELECTION AND SAMPLING DESIGN .....................................................................................................................33 3.2.1. Vegetation sampling ................................................................................................................................34 3.2.2. Soil seed bank sampling ...........................................................................................................................36 3.2.3. Soil Sampling............................................................................................................................................38 4. RESULTS........................................................................................................................................................41 4.1. SPECIES COMPOSITION AND ABUNDANCE AFTER FIRE DISTURBANCE .................................................................................41 4.2. DENSITY AND SPECIES COMPOSITION OF GERMINATED SEEDLINGS FROM SOIL BANK AFTER FIRE DISTURBANCE ..........................44 4.3. COMPARISON IN FLORISTIC COMPOSITION BETWEEN ABOVE‐GROUND AND BELOW‐GROUND VEGETATION AFTER FIRE DISTURBANCE..............................................................................................................................................................49 4.4. SOIL PROPERTY AND SOIL NUTRIENT CONCENTRATION AFTER FIRE DISTURBANCE.................................................................49 4.4.1. Description of soil property after fire disturbance ...................................................................................49 4.4.2. Soil nutrient concentration after fire disturbance....................................................................................50 4.4.3. Comparison of SOC & N concentration between recently and previously burnt blocks ...........................51 5. DISCUSSION ..................................................................................................................................................58 5.1. FIRE INFLUENCE ON SPECIES COMPOSITION AND ABUNDANCE.........................................................................................58 5.2. FIRE INFLUENCE ON SEED GERMINATION AND PLANT REGENERATION ...............................................................................59 5.3. FIRE INFLUENCE ON SOIL PROPERTY AND SOIL NUTRIENT CONCENTRATION ........................................................................62 5.4. FIRE INFLUENCE ON SOC AND N CONCENTRATION.......................................................................................................68 5.5. SOIL SEED BANK AS AN ALTERNATIVE MEANS FOR REGENERATION AFTER FIRE DISTURBANCE..................................................69 6. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.....................................................................................................73 6.1. CONCLUSIONS ......................................................................................................................................................73 6.2. RECOMMENDATIONS .............................................................................................................................................75 REFERENCES......................................................................................................................................................76 ANNEXES ..........................................................................................................................................................90