WOODY SPECIES DIVERSITY AND CARBON STOCK POTENTIAL IN THE BOTANICAL AND ECOTOURISM GARDEN OF DILLA UNIVERSITY SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA

Botanical garden functionsas an ex-situ plant repository, playing vital role in supplementing onsiteconservation of biodiversity and climate changemitigation and adaptation.This study aimed to assess woodyspecies diversity and carbon stock potential of the Botanical and Ecotourism Garden of Dilla Universityin southern Ethiopia. Astratified random sampling method was used to gather vegetation data across three distinct vegetation types. Thirty-one plots with dimensions of 20 m × 20 m (400 m2) eachwere utilized for tree/shrub assessments. Additionally, five 1 m × 1 m (1 m2) subplots were positioned within each main plot four at the corners and one at the center, to capture data on litterfall biomass and soil characteristics .Woody plant data, including the identity, number of individuals, and diameter at breast height (DBH) wererecorded. A total of 58 species of woody plants from 34 families and 48 genera were identified. The overall Shannon-Wiener diversity index (H’) and evenness values were1.92and 0.59 respectively.The highest Shannon-Wiener diversity index was recorded in riverine vegetation followed by natural vegetation and mixed vegetationat 2.45(H’)1.9 (H’), and 1.58(H’) respectively.The most prevalent and abundant species were Premnaschimperia, Combretum molle, Grevillea robusta,Terminalia macroptera,Maesa lanceolataand Acacia siebereina, The mean biomass stock of above-ground carbon (AGC) and below-ground carbon (BGC)were 16.12ton/ha and 4.35ton/ha respectively. The highest aboveground carbon stock was measured in riverine, natural vegetation, and mixed vegetationtypes35.9tons/ha, 12.3 tons/ha,and 7.5 tons/ha respectively,andlitter carbon stock mean value of 0.48tons/ha.Moreover, the mean value of soil organic carbon was 30.15 tons/ha. The mean number of woody plant stemdensity per hectare was (701stme/ha), with a basal area (9.02 m 2 / ha). The findings of this study’s highlight the botanical garden's significant role in preserving biodiversity and its potential forclimate change mitigating through carbon sequestration. Keywords: above ground carbon, basal area, below ground carbon, litter biomass, stem density, soil carbon, woody plant diversity