Gebremicael Fisaha
Other projects
18 Apr 2017
Plant Diversity and Ethnobotanical Study of Medicinal Plants in Menz Gera District in the General Environs of Guassa Mountain, North Shewa Zone, Amhara Region, Ethiopia
This study is aimed to assess natural regeneration of indigenous tree species and anti-microbial test of selected medicinal plants the implication for conservation and use of natural resources and indigenous knowledge. Natural regeneration of indigenous trees species will be assessed from a total of 72 quadrats along the 14 transects from all patch forests with 20 m x 20 m, 10 m x 10 m and 5 m x 5 m size for mature tree, sapling and seedling respectively. Antimicrobial activity will be evaluated by Appling crude plant extracts against bacterial and/or yeast strains following an agar disc diffusion method which helps to check the effectiveness of the indigenous knowledge medication mechanism at the laboratory for recommending further chemical characterization and pharmaceutical drug developments.
Hagenia abyssinica (Bruce) J.F.Gmel. Seedling for natural regeneration.
This study will be conducted in Menz Gera District in the environs of Menz Guassa mountain area located in the central highlands of Ethiopia. Menz Gera District is located in North Shewa Zone, Amhara National Regional State of Ethiopia. It is 282 km northeast of the national capital, Addis Ababa; 149 km North of Debre Birhan, the capital of North Shewa. Mehal Meda town is the administrative and capital city of Menz Gera District.
Guassa community conserved area is the main reason for this study due to its presence of plant diversity and longtime services to the local community. Menz Guassa mountain area is 17 km from Mehal Meda to the main way of Debre Birhan. It lies at latitude 100 15’ - 10’’ 27’N and longitude 39045’ - 39’’ 49’E. Its total area is 100 km2, and its altitude ranges from 3200 to 3700 m a.s.l.
The second reason to this study is the remnant natural forests in the district which are Yegana natural forest from the Blue Nile (Abay) river watershed and Sregedel and Chigure natural forest from Awash River watershed are rich in floristic composition with high natural and anthropogenic pressure for their sustainability. All the remnant natural patch forests are found near Guassa Menz community conservation area belt as they were part of this community conserved area before detaching and they are homes to much floral and faunal diversity.
Juniperus procera, Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata, Ekebergia capensis, Allophylus abyssinicus Podocarpus falcatus Erica arborea, Thymus schimperi, Kniphofia foliosa, Helichrysum splendidum, and Lobelia rhynchopetalum are the most common plant species in the study area. Ethiopian wolf (Canis simensis), Gelada baboon (Theropithecus gelada), Abyssinian hare (Lepus starcki) and Ankober serin bird (Serinus ankoberensis) are the endemic large mammal fauna found in the study area.