FLORISTIC COMPOSITION, SPECIES DIVERSITY, VEGETATION STRUCTURE AND REGENERATION STATUS OF HALLO NATURAL FOREST, SIDAMA REGIONAL STATE, ETHIOPIA

<strong>ABSTRACT</strong>: Forests are important global resources that provide a wide range of environmental, economic, and social benefits. Understanding the structure and regeneration status of forest resources contributes to identifying the elements of diversity, threatened and endangered species. This study was conducted on Hallo natural forest in Aleta Chuko woreda, Sidama regional state. The main objective of the study was to assess the Floristic Composition, species diversity, Vegetation Structure and Regeneration status of Hallo natural forest. A systematic sampling method was used to collect woody vegetation data from 54 quadrats, each 20 × 20 m (400 m2). In each main plot, a 5m x 5m sub-plot was established for seedling and sapling count. Moreover, five 1m×1 m (1 m2) sub-plots, four at the corners and one at the center was established in each main plot for collection of data for herbaceous plant species. Woody plant species with Height (H ≥ 2m) and DBH ≥ 2.5 cm in each plot were recorded. R- software and Microsoft Excel were used to record and analyze the data. A total of 92 plant species belonging to 84 genera and 50 plant families were documented. Of these plant species, 28 (30.4%) species were shrubs, 27 (29.4%) species were herbs, 26 (28.3 %) species were trees, 10 (10.9%) species were climbers and 1 (1.1%) species was fern. Family Lamiaceae was the most dominant family in the study forest represented by 9 species (9.8%), followed by Asteraceae with 7 species (7.6%) and Fabaceae with 6 species (6.5%). The most frequently occurring plant species were Podocarpus falactus with frequency of occurrence (90.7%), followed by Macaranga kilimandscharica (74.1%) and Rubus steudneri (72.2%). DBH class ≤ 10cm had the highest density (65.5%), and DBH ≥ 50 cm had the lowest density (0.03%). Three population patterns have been observed; inverted J, J-shaped, and irregular shaped. Ocotea kenyensis was the most important plant species of the forest with basal area of 38.40m2ha-1 followed by Podocarpus falactus, with a basal area of 17.07 m2ha-1. A total density of seedlings 1776 ha-1, saplings 1541 ha-1 and 1508 mature individuals ha-1 of woody species were counted in the sample plots. The Shannon diversity index and evenness of woody plant species in study forests was 3.42 and 0.86, respectively, which is relatively high. The total basal area of the forest was about 82.245m2/ha for woody plant species that have DBH&gt;2.5 cm. In general, it was found that the study forest is in healthy state. But there was a gap regarding community awareness towards forest conservation. Therefore, participatory Forest management programs should be introduced and implemented to create awareness.