Walia Special Edition on the Bale Mountains (2011) - Zoologische ...
Walia Special Edition on the Bale Mountains (2011) - Zoologische ...
Walia Special Edition on the Bale Mountains (2011) - Zoologische ...
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Successi<strong>on</strong>al trends<br />
Changes in <strong>the</strong> stand structure of <strong>the</strong> vegetati<strong>on</strong> caused by frequent fires are more apparent al<strong>on</strong>g<br />
<strong>the</strong> northwestern slopes of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Bale</strong> <strong>Mountains</strong> due to <strong>the</strong>ir proximity to towns (Masresha Fetene<br />
et al. 2005), but <strong>the</strong>re are also clear trends <strong>on</strong> <strong>the</strong> sou<strong>the</strong>rn slopes. Frequent fires and heavy grazing<br />
pressure have apparently induced transiti<strong>on</strong>s in <strong>the</strong> plant community compositi<strong>on</strong>: <strong>the</strong> usual sequence<br />
is from <strong>the</strong> Erica trimera-Helichrysum citrispinum community to <strong>the</strong> Euphorbia dumalis-Kniphofia<br />
foliosa community (Masresha Fetene et al. 2005) This successi<strong>on</strong>al series may be unique to <strong>the</strong> <strong>Bale</strong><br />
<strong>Mountains</strong> because comparably intense land use is not known for o<strong>the</strong>r Afroalpine regi<strong>on</strong>s of East<br />
Africa.<br />
Abundance of Ericaceous species<br />
In terms of frequency, seven (out of eight) tree/shrub species showed a clear variati<strong>on</strong> in abundance<br />
with altitude (see Table 2). The eighth species, Pittosporum viridiflorum, was recorded in <strong>on</strong>e plot<br />
<strong>on</strong>ly. Trends for Erica trimera and Hypericum revolutum resembled each o<strong>the</strong>r, except that H.<br />
revolutum was absent in <strong>the</strong> upper part of <strong>the</strong> Ericaceous belt.<br />
100%<br />
80%<br />
60%<br />
40%<br />
20%<br />
0%<br />
DP EA ET HA HR RM SV<br />
Upper part of<br />
Ericaceous<br />
vegetati<strong>on</strong><br />
Central part of<br />
Ericaceous<br />
vegetati<strong>on</strong><br />
Lower part of<br />
Ericaceous<br />
vegetati<strong>on</strong><br />
Figure 1. Frequency of <strong>the</strong> seven treeline species D. penninervium (DP), Erica arborea (EA), E.<br />
trimera (ET), H. abyssinica (HA), H. revolutum (HR) S. volkensii and R. melanophloes (RM) at<br />
upper, central, and lower part of <strong>the</strong> Ericaceous vegetati<strong>on</strong>.<br />
At <strong>the</strong> lower Ericaceous subz<strong>on</strong>e <strong>the</strong> frequency of E. trimera was lower than <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r<br />
upper m<strong>on</strong>tane species because of <strong>the</strong> competitive strength of <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r m<strong>on</strong>tane woodland species<br />
(Miehe and Miehe 1994). However, <strong>the</strong> hea<strong>the</strong>r is an important comp<strong>on</strong>ent of all three subz<strong>on</strong>es<br />
of <strong>the</strong> Ericaceous belt and no o<strong>the</strong>r species including E. arborea showed such a wide altitudinal<br />
distributi<strong>on</strong>. Erica arborea occurred in all three subz<strong>on</strong>es, but was not found lower than 3200 m,<br />
while M. melanophloeos. Hypericum revolutum and D. penninervium were c<strong>on</strong>stituents of both <strong>the</strong><br />
lower and central subz<strong>on</strong>e but not of <strong>the</strong> upper subz<strong>on</strong>e. Schefflera volkensii is restricted to <strong>the</strong> lower<br />
part of <strong>the</strong> Ericaceous belt.<br />
The average percent cover of E. trimera at <strong>the</strong> upper, lower and central subz<strong>on</strong>es of <strong>the</strong><br />
Ericaceous belt was 50, 55, and 45%, respectively. Hagenia abyssinica shows a bimodal distributi<strong>on</strong><br />
with an average cover-abundance of 30 and 20% in <strong>the</strong> lower and upper subz<strong>on</strong>es, respectively; but<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>Walia</str<strong>on</strong>g>-<str<strong>on</strong>g>Special</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>Editi<strong>on</strong></str<strong>on</strong>g> <strong>on</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Bale</strong> <strong>Mountains</strong> 164