Abstract:
Human activities significantly affect forest ecosystems, particularly biodiversity and carbon
sequestration. There is limited research in the study area regarding how species diversity,
turnover, nestedness, and carbon stock respond to disturbance gradients, leaving critical
ecological processes and patterns inadequately understood. This study assesses woody
species diversity and carbon stock along a disturbance gradient in the Afromontane Forest,
southwestern Ethiopia. A gradient based research design was employed for this study.
Systematic transect lines were laid to collect vegetation data including species local name,
diameter at breast height and height. Vegetation data and human disturbance data were
collected from 45 plots of three forest compartments based on disturbance intensity. A total of
53 woody species were identified. Moderately disturbed areas exhibited the highest levels of
species richness, abundance, and tree carbon stock, underscoring their ecological
significance.
